Community actions for climate resilience
Keywords:
climate resilience, community participation, local adaptation, social organisation, early warning, water management.Abstract
Community participation is a fundamental component of climate resilience because it mobilises local knowledge, cooperation networks, and territorial resources to prevent, confront, and overcome the effects of extreme events. This study aimed to analyse the relationship between community actions and climate resilience capacity in six rural and coastal communities in Ecuador. A quantitative approach was adopted, using a non-experimental, cross-sectional, correlational-explanatory design. The dataset comprised 360 synthetic profiles of adult residents distributed equally among the represented communities. Community organisation, climate training, participation, early warning systems, local water management, ecosystem restoration, institutional support, and recovery capacity were assessed. The results showed that community organisation was positively related to climate resilience (r = 0.63; p < 0.001). Participation in preventive activities (β = 0.28), availability of early warning systems (β = 0.25), community water management (β = 0.22), and climate training (β = 0.19) were the strongest predictors. Communities with consolidated actions achieved better preparedness, response, and recovery scores. It is concluded that climate resilience increases when community initiatives receive continuity, funding, technical assistance, and formal recognition within institutional planning.
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References
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