Exploring the factors influencing community adaptations to coastal flooding using the adaptive capacity framework

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Impacts of coastal flooding driven by climate change are intensifying worldwide. Significant efforts have been made across levels to help affected communities adapt to unpredictable changes. Yet the adaptive capacities of these communities are often overlooked in institutional disaster management. The study objectives were to explore the factors that shape community resilience and drive its responses to environmental changes by focusing on Tambak Lorok, the largest and most vulnerable fishing community in Central Java, Indonesia. The novelty of this study lies in the use of the adaptive capacity framework for exploring factors influencing community adaptations and the visualization of adaptive capacity distributions across different neighborhoods.METHODS: To collect data, this study employed face-to-face questionnaires, field observations, unstructured interviews, and document reviews. The data gathered were analyzed using Multinomial Logistic Regression and Principal Component Analysis with International Business Machines’ Statistical Package for Social Sciences version ۳۱. Respondents were selected through simple random sampling, resulting in a total of ۱۸۱. To explain the factors influencing community responses to coastal flooding, the study utilized the adaptive capacity framework, which includes five dimensions: agency, assets, social capital, institutions, and local knowledge.FINDINGS: The findings revealed four adaptive capacity typologies representing community resilience across the five neighborhoods of Tambak Lorok: attentive observers, cultural stewards, social activists, and self-assured individuals. Among these categories, cultural stewards, who possess strong local knowledge but lack access to credit, tend to take no action in response to coastal flooding. The majority of respondents, identified as attentive observers, were marked by a strong capacity to save money, participation in decision-making, sharing information, and leadership. Despite receiving minimal institutional support, these individuals demonstrate the ability to promote in situ adaptations. Additionally, the study further found that agency (B=-۴.۲۰۶, p<.۰۰۵) and access to credit (B=۳.۴۵۳, p<.۰۰۵) significantly influence communities’ adaptations, yet with different directions. CONCLUSION: Understanding the adaptive capacity of at-risk communities can help policymakers identify specific enablers and barriers to effective adaptations to coastal flooding, ultimately guiding the development of appropriate interventions to address challenges in building community resilience.

کلیدواژه ها:

">Access to credit ، adaptive capacity ، agency ، Climate change ، Coastal flooding ، In-situ adaptations ، Local knowledge.