Households in the study villages have been experiencing the impacts of climate variability and have been devising a variety of strategies to respond (Table 2.3). For response strategies, we do not distinguish between villages with different levels of tree and forest cover as the difference in households’ numbers was only a maximum of ±7%. On average the main climatic event in each village resulted in around four strategies adopted per household (± 0.1) for responses to floods in West Kalimantan and drought in Central Java, while for secondary events (i.e. drought in West Kalimantan and plant diseases in Central Java), there were 1.8 strategies adopted per household (± 0.1 depending on the village). Nanga Jemah had a slightly lower average than the others (1.3 strategy/household). The strategies were categorized according to the livelihood capital the household used to overcome the difficulty (means), which should
not be confused with sectors affected by climatic stress (target). We also considered the level at which they are implemented: actions that are taken at the individual or household level (spontaneously or autonomously) and those that were taken more collectively at the village level (often government/policy supported practices).
Table 2.3. Summary of household response strategies to drought and floods in the study sites in West Kalimantan and Central Java. The numbers indicate the percentage of the total activities adopted and are only those used by more than 5% of households.
Capital
Response strategies to climate variability West Kalimantan (Flood N = 367; drought N = 160) Central Java (Flood N = 9; drought N = 620) Natural Drought Flood 9% 5%
- Water seeds and crops
- store clean water or find alternative sources (e.g. river) for household consumption
- Relocate house/crops to higher places - plant trees to avoid landslide
- store clean water - change seed variety;
- harvest forest products (timber, NTFPs)
20% 16% 6% 15%
- Pump or drain groundwater for agriculture
- diversification of crop and species - selling yields, livestock, timber - substitute livestock fodder for leaves - expand crops in areas near water - plant trees and use fuel wood - Plant trees to avoid erosion
Physical Drought Flood 20% 7% 12% 12% 6%
- Fertilize rubber trees
- use pesticides and fertilizer on crops - Moving assets to higher place - install net in fish pond - change equipment in rubber
collection or in wood transportation - elevate house
7% - Stem river or build water channels - dig a well or pipe water to the house - use irrigation system for crops
Social Drought
Flood - Temproary shelter with family/neighbors
- provide help in cleaning/recovery
- Clean water assistance from government - consult government agricultural experts
Financial Drought
Flood
- Save money in preparation - Buy drinking water and rice - buy gasoline for waterpump - borrow money from social groups or
neighbors Human Drought Flood 9% 4% 24% 8% 5%
- Stop activities (e.g. mining, logging ) - change transportation arrangements - change rubber harvest timing
- Preventive collection and storage - collect lost items
- stop activties (gold mining, rubber, logging)
- monitor river flow - maintain house and clean
6% - Stop or reduce farming
- manage food supply and change diet - find new job opportunities (migration) - change timing of planting and harvesting - Change harvest timing
- cleaning the field - planting management
In West Kalimantan, during or after floods, local communities focused on the recovery of their main livelihoods and immediate needs (around 60% of the strategies were for short term benefits). Most of their actions used physical capital or existing infrastructure to protect valuable goods, for example to secure the harvested rubber (19%), move household assets into roof spaces or rafters (12%), or protect fishponds with nets (12%). In addition, few households discontinued the harvesting of rubber, cutting trees and gold mining (< 5%). In case of drought, half of the people adopted strategies related to rubber harvesting (fertilizing, reducing tapping, and changing equipment).
In Central Java in times of drought, 70% of the strategies reported in the household surveys were for short-term benefits in response to the consequences of drought. Local people used natural capital to address issues related to water harvesting and management (20%), substituted livestock fodder for leaves (15%), and sold timber or fuel wood (6%). Around 6% of the participants adopted more long-term strategies of species diversification, and changed from paddy to other cash crops (locally known as palawija) or seed varieties of paddy and soybean. In addition, 6% of the local people avoided possible loss or damage due to a lack of water by stopping or reducing the number of species and/or the amount planted during the driest months, mostly soybeans and peanuts.
Although several response strategies to floods and drought were employed, trees and forests represented only 2-6% of the total interventions used. People in places with less forest cover used more of their natural capital and trees in response to climate-related events (see Fig. 2.5).
Natural capital Natural capital (trees only) Financial capital Human capital Physical capital Social capital
Fig. 2.5 Capital used by households to respond to drought and floods or plant diseases in the study villages in West Kalimantan and Central Java. N indicates the total number of interventions undertaken by the households interviewed. (Source: household surveys).
Several collective actions that provide benefits for adaptation were found at the village or sub-village level, which typically involved shared means (people or land). Forests are ideal for collective actions as they are often held under communal or state tenure. Their resources are available due to free access or traditional regulations. In the four sites, a common response strategy was to extend agriculture or collection of natural resources wherever possible, especially in communal or more risky areas (insecure use rights or exposed to extreme weather). For example, farmers started planting on riverbanks (Nanga Jemah, Tubang Jaya and Sendangsari), at the edge of water reservoirs as the level decreased (in Selopuro) or on hilltops (in villages in West Kalimantan). In Central Java, when certain resources become limited due to drought, people entered the perimeters of the Perum Perhutani to collect leaves, fuel wood, and grass, and to use water resources.
In the focus group discussions, the participants identified several local rules aimed at the sustainable use of forest resources and to maintain vegetation cover. For example, in the Central Java community forest, for each tree felled, 10 must be planted if space and conditions allow. In West Kalimantan, in Nanga Jemah no more than three trees may be felled at the same time, while in Tubang Jaya a village rule bans the felling of ‘primary’ forest for cultivation and
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Nanga Jemah Tubang Jaya Selopuro Sendangsari
West Kalimantan Central Java
Capitals used in interventions in response to drought 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Nanga Jemah Tubang Jaya Selopuro Sendangsari
West Kalimantan Central Java
Capitals used in interventions in response to flood (Kalimantan) and plant disease (Java)
prescribes the use of secondary regrowth instead. Government supported programs for raising awareness and technical advice have been implemented, such as preventive interventions (terraces, wells and water harvesting systems, and reforestation) and household assistance (seeds, rice, and water tanks).