MINGZ Funding Experience: Critical Geographies of Global Inequalities - Colombia

12 January 2023

Context

Colombia is located in the tropical zone in the north of South America, where there are differences in welfare levels between population groups and regions - with characteristics of a diverse and complex climate due to the marked presence of orographic factors. Most of its territory (79%) is considered as warm areas with humidity conditions between 36% and 40% (IDEAM et al. 2018).

The National Planning Department-DNP and the Inter-American Development Bank-IDB refer to a study about the projected economic impacts (2011-2100) of climate change in Colombia regarding transport, forestry, fishing, livestock sectors, agriculture, water resources and native species; showing results with losses in production, reflecting annual losses of the Gross Domestic Product-GDP of 0.49%, under an assumption of no adaptation to climate change.

Therefore, this thesis explains the importance of working with sectors vulnerable to climate change to promote a planned adaptation, as well as improving the relationship between climate and community productivity, reducing exposure to possible direct and indirect risks of climate change (DNP-IDB 2014). In this context, indigenous communities and peasant populations represent the key actors, who have been affected by land use modifications (traditional cultivation to illicit cultivation), monocultures, crop eradication processes (glyphosate use) or mining, which contributes to the ecosystem’s degradation. These effects make the territories more vulnerable to climate change effects (increase in the average temperature, variation in rainfall, greenhouse gas emissions, crop losses), thus leading to the implementation of adaptation processes.

Cauca Region

In the department of Cauca, whose economy is based on agriculture, farmers, and the rural population has to adjust agricultural systems to make them more resilient to the increasingly variable climate, leading to adaptation (Arbuckle et al. 2015). Additionally, referring to the vulnerability analysis carried out by IDEAM 2016, based on components such as food security, water resources, biodiversity, health, human habitat, and infrastructure in the Cauca department, the ability to adapt to climate change according to the indicators evaluated was between Medium, Low, and Very low. For this reason, it is important to know the key actors perceptions in the territory and involve them in the creation of strategies that increase these adaptation levels to the climate change phenomenon.

Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to analyze communities vulnerable to climate change to promote planned adaptation and improve the relationship between climate and community productivity, reducing exposure to potential direct and indirect risks of climate phenomena.

This thesis targets to contribute to a better understanding of the climate change effects from an inclusion and equity approach and to strengthen a possible adaptation capacity in rural communities in the department of Cauca, Colombia. The approach of this thesis is to generate a participatory community diagnosis of the territorial components in the historical reconstruction process-oriented framework, which helps communities and decision makers in designing participatory alternatives to climate change adaptation according to fundamental human needs, strategies, and livelihoods, assessing and managing the climate change in the study area.

To achieve the aim of this thesis, the following four objectives were pursued:

• Generation of a participatory community diagnosis of the territorial components in the historical reconstruction process
• Identification and description of the climate change effects in the rural communities according to the Community Capitals Framework (CCF)
• Analysis of the communities’ adaptive capacity to climate change
• Designing of participatory alternatives to climate change adaptation according to fundamental human needs, strategies, and livelihoods

Methods

The study consists mainly of qualitative methods with active participation of the community; complemented with a quantitative analysis focused on the analysis of the adaptive capacity of communities to climate change in 3 (three) rural communities (Guayabal, Pavitas, El Condor) in the municipality of Santander de Quilichao, Cauca, Colombia, with emphasis on the analysis of the community capital framework (CCF) as the main method of empirical information collection.

The Community Capitals Framework (CCF) was created by Flora et al. 2003 to identify the strategies, roles, and impacts from the capitals in a community’s well-being to development contribution. Furthermore, this is an approach to evaluate communities and community development efforts from a system’s perspective including a complete resources analysis (Mattos 2015). This approach allows obtaining a detailed vision of the community and the way
in which the actors carry out their activities through the use of available resources and interactions between different parts of a community (Jacobs 2011).

Use of resources according to the work plan

Phase: Field trip Colombia - January/October 2022

Fieldwork resumed in January 2022. Of the 19 communities, with which contact could already be established, 3 (Guayabal, Pavitas, El Cóndor) agreed to participate in the research project.

Firstly, in January a general participatory diagnosis of current conditions and historical reconstruction (last 10 years) through the participatory workshop method was applied, which led to the identification of positive and negative aspects of the 3 communities in Cauca, Colombia, through the implementation of focus groups, identifying community characteristics by component (technical, economic, organizational, education, environmental, and public order). In addition, social/cultural norms were identified in group dynamics, exploring a range of experiences or points of views among the inhabitants participating in the activity from each of the villages.

Subsequently and according to the availability and interest of the inhabitants, in February 2022, the application of individual methods was carried out, starting with semi-structured interviews focused on the capital framework of the community. The aim of this method was a better understanding about the individual experiences and a broader knowledge of the context, diving into sensitive topics, examining life histories, and identifying perspectives.

During the period from February to March 2022 the individual checklists were applied, based on fundamental human needs and gender equity. This method – as a quick application tool of a qualitative and quantitative nature – made it possible to address the general perception of human needs and their level of satisfaction for each person who agreed to answer the checklist. It also contributed to the idea of distinguishing between the needs and how to satisfy them in each of the villages, taking into account their perception and culture so that later strategies can be created where farmers can have a dignified life with development opportunities.

Afterwards, during March-April 2022, collective mapping, based on aerial photographs taken by a drone, was implemented as a dialogue tool to have a historical description in each village. The participating social groups in each village were represented mainly by the adult population, with a minority of young people in attendance, but the total number of men and women was almost equal. With the help of the method, a process could be initiated to jointly reflect on own experiences, knowledge, existing socio-environmental problems, and possible alternatives. The method allows improving the understanding of the local context and the relational union that sustains the historical functioning of the territory in a participatory and creative way.

Finally, during the first trip in May 2022, the application of the local climate change perception surveys was conducted. Therefore, the application of these standardized questionnaires made it possible to start with the identification of how small producers perceive the impacts of climate change, and to learn about the adaptation efforts made. Moreover, the preliminary results of the empirical data collection using different qualitative methods were socialized in community meetings.
As a result, from these circumstances, different alternatives were considered to promote the people participation in the collection of information. For instance, in agreement with community leaders, it was decided to carry out a training session on solid waste management (a previously identified problem); additionally, I received an invitation from the community action board (JAC) to participate in community activities (road repair, coffee planting, cleaning of green areas, and community assemblies). These interventions generated a greater approach with the population, so there was a positive response in the subsequent application of the protocols.

The scholarship money was used for the development of the following participatory activities:

The aim of the field research in Colombia was to carry out a broader understanding of the study site, as well as the collection of empirical information from different communities, in order to obtain an overview of the local dynamics and thus establishing the documentary basis for the development and fulfillment of the research objectives.

Despite the difficulties the field research faced due to the pandemic, it was possible to apply individual and group methods of data collection and to achieve a participatory diagnosis, identification of the community's assets, the basic human needs, main productive systems, as well as the perception of the natural phenomenon of climate change.

In addition, resources were used to implement the following climate change adaptation strategies:

Rainwater harvesting. Six rainwater collection systems were installed, two in each community, with producers who expressed their interest in obtaining them and making them sustainable over time. Each system collects 105 liters of water, with a capacity that can be modified according to the needs and possibilities of each producer. The producers with the systems installed must follow up on the system's functionality for one year and then socialize with their community on the benefits and difficulties of using the rainwater systems. The information should be expanded with the farmers' opinions on how the system worked for them.

Basic meteorological stations. At the research site, ten basic meteorological stations, each composed of a thermometer and a rain gauge, were installed in the three villages. These temperature and rainfall variables were chosen because their behavior has changed the most in the area according to the perception of the inhabitants and the municipal meteorological data, which makes it necessary to establish local monitoring of these variables to make more accurate decisions on production systems in relation to the type of crop, planting and harvesting dates.

Reforestation. With a local institution (Corpopalo Foundation's) support, the reforestation of approximately 1300 trees was carried out on a private farm in the vicinity of the Munchique nature reserve. In the activity, Guayabal village inhabitants participated, who were in charge of planting the trees and, later, must take care and ensure that the trees developed correctly, a situation with which they were very pleased and willing to collaborate in future implementations of measures to adapt to climate change.

Finally, I am grateful for the economic support granted through the STIBET III SCHOLARSHIP FOR INTERNATIONAL DOCTORAL CANDIDATES, since these resources allowed the development of a series of research activities that benefited the communities under study, as well as the research interests of my doctoral project.