Social vulnerability and adaptive capacity to climate change impacts: identifying attributes in two remote coastal communities on Haida Gwaii, British Columbia.

TitleSocial vulnerability and adaptive capacity to climate change impacts: identifying attributes in two remote coastal communities on Haida Gwaii, British Columbia.
Publication TypeThesis
Year of Publication2005
AuthorsConner TA
AdvisorWalker IJ, Dolan HA
Academic DepartmentGeography
DegreeMaster of Arts M.A.
Date PublishedNovember 12, 200
UniversityUniversity of Victoria (Canada)
CityVictoria, BC
KeywordsClimatic changes, Queen Charlotte Islands
Abstract

This study investigates the contribution of including local stakeholders in the early stages of identifying local attributes of vulnerability, adaptive capacity and resiliency to climate change impacts. The research is specific to two remote coastal communities on Haida Gwaii (The Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia. It includes community feedback on research tools, as well as on local attributes of vulnerability and adaptive capacity. I employ multiple methods and a participatory approach for data collection. Using this approach I discovered that some of the attributes I originally believed contributed to vulnerability were perceived by participants as strengthening their community. Other attributes which I believed to be strengthening, were viewed by participants as contributing to vulnerability. This thesis illustrates how the use of multiple methods and a participatory approach contribute to greater knowledge and understanding, by both the researcher and the community, of local attributes of vulnerability and adaptive capacity to projected climate change impacts.

URL<u>http://hdl.handle.net/1828/1248</u>