Potentials and pitfalls of social capital ties to climate change adaptation: an exploratory study of Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines

Abstract

Climate change’s impacts vary across different geographical regions and societies, thus, underpinning the value of context-specific adaptation strategies grounded in local knowledge, social cohesion and community dynamics. This paper explores the potentials and pitfalls of social capital to climate change adaptation – an underexplored area of inquiry on climate change and Indigenous development literature. A qualitative case study design was used to conduct interviews and a focus group discussion with 14 Mamanwas and two government social workers in Eastern Visayas, the Philippines, from 2018 to mid-2019. Our findings suggest that while Mamanwas’ substantial bonding social capital ties contribute to their communal safety from weather extremes and adaptation to climate change, it has also unintentionally resulted in potentially adverse conditions, as can be deduced from their fragile bridging and linking capital ties with the broader community and government institutions. This research argues that social capital constitutes a vital social aspect of adaptation; therefore, policymakers and development workers must account for multiple scales and forms of adaptation, as well as acknowledge the importance of engaging, empowering and incorporating the political voice of Indigenous Peoples in crafting solutions on issues they consider relevant and urgent to their human development.

Keywords:

• Social capital
• adaptation
• climate change
• Philippines
• Indigenous Peoples
• weather extremes

Acknowledgment

We are grateful to the Mamanwas of Basey, Samar, who participated and shared their stories for this study. We are equally thankful to the kind Social Workers in Eastern Visayas for sharing their insights in managing social development projects for and with Indigenous Peoples. Lastly, we highly appreciate the helpful comments and suggestions of the journal editors and reviewers which improved the discussions and arguments of this paper.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest in this study.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial or non-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Ginbert Permejo Cuaton

Ginbert Permejo Cuaton is a Ph.D. candidate at the Division of Environment and Sustainability of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Hong Kong SAR, China. His research interests include translations of resilience from weather extremes to contemporary crises, post-disaster community development, and resilience and adaptation strategies. Readers can reach him at [email protected].

Yvonne Su

Yvonne Su, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity Studies in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies at York University in Toronto, Canada. She is a member of the Centre for Refugee Studies, the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean, and the York Centre for Asian Research. Readers can reach her at [email protected].