This study examines the opportunities for linking social protection, climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the context of agriculture and rural growth, exploring whether linking these three approaches together will help enhance resilience to shocks and stresses in agriculture-dependent rural communities. The study does this by: (i) reviewing conceptual and policy-related similarities and differences between the three disciplines; (ii) collecting evidence from several case studies where climate change resilient social protection approaches have been trialled; and (iii) developing an adaptive social protection framework that highlight opportunities for better coordination.
This paper suggests social protection and DRR measures designed to limit damages from shocks and stresses may not be sufficient in the longer term. For social protection to be resilient to climate change impacts, it will need to consider how reducing dependence on climate-sensitive livelihood activities can be part of adaptive strategies. Similarly, CCA and DRR cannot effectively address the root causes of poverty and vulnerability without taking a differentiated view of poverty, something that further integration with social protection can help with.
Key Findings:
The evidence presented in this paper suggests social protection and DRR measures designed to limit damages from shocks and stresses may simply not be sufficient in the longer term. For social protection to be resilient to climate change impacts, it will therefore need to consider how reducing dependence on climate sensitive livelihood activities can be part of adaptive strategies. Similarly, adaptation and DRR cannot effectively address the root causes of poverty and vulnerability without taking a differentiated view of poverty, something that further integration with social protection can help with. To offer a way forward, the study concludes by suggesting follow-up work and by establishing the concept of adaptive social protection, which features:
- An emphasis on transforming productive livelihoods as well protecting, and adapting to changing climate conditions rather than simply reinforcing coping mechanisms.
- Grounding in an understanding of the structural root causes of poverty in a particular region or sector, permitting more effective targeting of vulnerability to multiple shocks and stresses.
- Incorporation of rights-based rationale for action, stressing equity and justice dimensions of chronic poverty and climate change adaptation in addition to instrumentalist rationale based primarily on economic efficiency.
- An enhanced role for research from both the natural and social sciences to inform the development and targeting of social protection policies and measures in the context of the burden of both geophysical hazards and changing climate-related hazards.
- A longer-term perspective for social protection policies that takes into account the changing nature of shocks and stresses.
Recommendations:
- Social protection programmes themselves can be made more robust in the face of current and future shocks through: a) Climate proofing social protection through a long-term vision in the context of more reliable and accurate predictions and consideration of vulnerability; b) policy and programmatic options for climate change adaptation; c) a preventative and holistic poverty approach for DRR; and d) an improved growth focus for agriculture.
