Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Livelihood resilience in the face of climate change

Nature Climate Change volume 5, pages 23–26 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

The resilience concept requires greater attention to human livelihoods if it is to address the limits to adaptation strategies and the development needs of the planet's poorest and most vulnerable people. Although the concept of resilience is increasingly informing research and policy, its transfer from ecological theory to social systems leads to weak engagement with normative, social and political dimensions of climate change adaptation. A livelihood perspective helps to strengthen resilience thinking by placing greater emphasis on human needs and their agency, empowerment and human rights, and considering adaptive livelihood systems in the context of wider transformational changes.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Adger, W. N. et al. Resilience implications of policy responses to climate change. WIREs Clim. Change 2, 757–766 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Bahadur, A. V., Ibrahim, M. & Tanner, T. M. Characterising resilience: Unpacking the concept for tackling climate change and development. Clim. Dev. 5, 55–65 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Holling, C. S. in Engineering within Ecological Constraints (ed. Schulze, P. C.) Ch. 2 (National Academies Press, 1996).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Folke, C. Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social–ecological systems analyses. Glob. Environ. Change 16, 253–267 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Brand, F. S. & Jax, K. Focusing the meaning(s) of resilience: Resilience as a descriptive concept and a boundary object. Ecol. Soc. 12, 23 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Tanner, T. M. & Horn-Phathanothai, L. Climate Change and Development (Routledge, 2014).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  7. O'Brien, K. L. & Wolf, J. A values-based approach to vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. WIREs Clim. Change 1, 232–242 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Leach, M. (ed.) Reframing Resilience: A Symposium Report (STEPS Centre, 2008).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Cote, M. & Nightingale, A. Resilience thinking meets social theory: Situating social change in socio-ecological systems (SES) research. Prog. Hum. Geogr. 36, 475–489 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Tanner, T. M. & Allouche, J. Towards a new political economy of climate change. IDS Bull. 43, 1–14 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Dow, K. et al. Limits to adaptation. Nature Clim. Change 3, 305–307 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Beymer-Farris, B. A., Bassett, T. J. & Bryceson, I. in Resilience in the Cultural Landscape (eds Plieninger, T. & Bieling, C.) 283–299 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2012).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  13. Béné, C., Wood, R., Newsham, A. & Davies, M. Resilience: New Utopia or New Tyranny Working Paper 405 (IDS, 2012).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Wrathall, D. et al. Migration and climate rigidity traps: Socio-ecological possibilism and resource politics in Honduras and Peru. Ann. Assoc. Am. Geogr. 104, 292–304 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Ribot, J. C. in Social Dimensions of Climate Change: Equity and Vulnerability in a Warming World (eds Mearns, R. & Norton, A.) 47–74 (World Bank, 2011).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Miller, F. et al. Resilience and vulnerability: Complementary or conflicting concepts? Ecol. Soc. 15, 11 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Cannon, T. & Muller-Mahn, D. Vulnerability, resilience and development discourses in context of climate change. Nat. Hazards 55, 621–635 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. O'Brien, K. Responding to environmental change: A new age for human geography? Prog. Hum. Geogr. 35, 542–549 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Brown, K. Global environmental change I — A social turn for resilience? Prog. Hum. Geogr. 38, 107–117 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Hayward, B. Rethinking resilience: reflections on the Earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, 2010 and 2011. Ecol. Soc. 18, 37 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Weichselgartner, J. & Kelman, I. Geographies of resilience: Challenges and opportunities of a descriptive concept. Prog. Hum. Geog. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0309132513518834 (2014).

  22. Marschke, M. J. & Berkes, F. Exploring strategies that build livelihood resilience: a case from Cambodia. Ecol. Soc. 11, 42 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Speranza, C. I., Wiesmann, U. & Rist, S. An indicator framework for assessing livelihood resilience in the context of social–ecological dynamics. Glob. Environ. Change 28, 109–119 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Chambers, R. & Conway, G. R. Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Practical Concepts for the 21st Century (IDS, 1991).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Ashley, C. & Carney, D. Sustainable Livelihoods: Lessons from Early Experience (DFID, 1999).

    Google Scholar 

  26. Ellis, F. Household strategies and rural livelihood diversification. J. Dev. Studies, 35, 1–38 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Davidson, D. J. We still have a long way to go, and a short time to get there: A response to Fikret Berkes and Helen Ross. Soc. Nat. Resour. 26, 21–24 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Westley, F. R. et al. A theory of transformative agency in linked social-ecological systems. Ecol. Soc. 18, 27 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Aldrich, D. Building Resilience: Social Capital in Post-Disaster Recovery (Univ. Chicago Press, 2012).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  30. Palmer, P. I. & Smith, M. J. Model human adaptation to climate change. Nature 512, 365–6 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Sen, A. Elements of a theory of human rights. Phil. Publ. Aff. 32, 315–356 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Bronen, R. in Humanitarian Crises and Migration (eds Martin, S., Weerasinghe, S. & Taylor, A.) 221–242 (Routledge, 2014).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  33. Molyneux, M. D. & Lazar, S. Doing the Rights Thing: Rights-Based Development and Latin American NGOs (ITDG, 2003).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  34. Satterthwaite, D. & Mitlin, D. Reducing Urban Poverty in the Global South (Routledge, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  35. Pelling, M. Adaptation to Climate Change: From Resilience to Transformation (Routledge, 2010).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  36. Brown, K. & Westaway, E. Agency, capacity, and resilience to environmental change: Lessons from human development, well-being, and disasters. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 36, 321–342 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Welsh, M. Resilience and responsibility: governing uncertainty in a complex world. Geogr. J. 180, 15–26 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Smith, M. S., Horrocks, L., Harvey, A. & Hamilton, C. Rethinking adaptation for a 4 °C world. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 369, 196–216 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. O'Brien, K. Global environmental change II: From adaptation to deliberate transformation. Prog. Hum. Geogr. 36, 667–676 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Kates, R. W., Travis, W. R. & Wilbanks, T. J. Transformational adaptation when incremental adaptations to climate change are insufficient. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 109, 7156–7161 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Park, S. E. et al. Informing adaptation responses to climate change through theories of transformation. Glob. Environ. Change 22, 115–126 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Walker, B., Holling, C. S., Carpenter, S. R. & Kinzig, A. Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social–ecological systems. Ecol. Soc. 9, 5 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Lebel, L. et al. Governance and the capacity to manage resilience in regional social–ecological systems. Ecol. Soc. 11, 19 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. ISSC/UNESCO World Social Science Report 2013: Changing Global Environments (OECD/UNESCO, 2013).

  45. Human Development Report 2014: Vulnerability and Resilience (UN Development Programme, 2014).

  46. Lewis, D. Non-Governmental Organizations, Management and Development (Routledge, 2014).

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge support of the Munich Re Foundation and other participants of the 2013 Resilience Academy meeting, which led to the development of this paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Climate and Environment Programme, Overseas Development Institute (ODI), 203 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ, UK

    Thomas Tanner

  2. Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics & Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK

    David Lewis

  3. United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1, Bonn, 53113, Germany

    David Wrathall

  4. Alaska Institute for Justice, 431 West 7th Avenue Suite 208, Anchorage, Alaska, USA

    Robin Bronen

  5. Landcare Research, Manaaki Whenua, PO Box 69040, 13 Gerald Street, 7640, Lincoln, New Zealand

    Nick Cradock-Henry

  6. International Centre for Climate Change and Development, Independent University, Bangladesh Bashundhara, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Saleemul Huq

  7. School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham University, 32 Old Elvet, Durham, DH1 3HN, UK

    Chris Lawless

  8. Institute of Behavioral Science, 1440 15th Street, Boulder, 80302, Colorado, USA

    Raphael Nawrotzki

  9. Department of Environmental Science and Public Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, 22030, Virginia, USA

    Vivek Prasad

  10. School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, 1009 East South Campus Drive, Tucson, 85721, Arizona, USA

    Md. Ashiqur Rahman

  11. Social Sciences Department, Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, 1 Grand Ave San Luis Obispo, 93407, California, USA

    Ryan Alaniz

  12. Community and Family Medicine, Duke University, 318 Hanes House, Durham, 27710, North Carolina, USA

    Katherine King

  13. School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Queensland, Australia

    Karen McNamara

  14. Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Renees Drive, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK

    Md. Nadiruzzaman

  15. Disaster Resilience, LLC, PO Box 256649, Honolulu, 96825, Hawaii, USA

    Sarah Henly-Shepard

  16. Stockholm Environment Institute–Asia, 15th Floor, Witthyakit Building, 254 Chulalongkorn University, Chulalongkorn Soi 64, Phyathai Road, Pathumwan, 10330, Bangkok, Thailand

    Frank Thomalla

Authors
  1. Thomas Tanner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David Lewis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David Wrathall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Robin Bronen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Nick Cradock-Henry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Saleemul Huq
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Chris Lawless
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Raphael Nawrotzki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Vivek Prasad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Md. Ashiqur Rahman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Ryan Alaniz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Katherine King
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Karen McNamara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Md. Nadiruzzaman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Sarah Henly-Shepard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Frank Thomalla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

T.T., D.L., D.W. and R.B. led the drafting of the text with inputs from all other authors. All authors contributed to the intellectual content.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Tanner.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tanner, T., Lewis, D., Wrathall, D. et al. Livelihood resilience in the face of climate change. Nature Clim Change 5, 23–26 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2431

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2431

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing