Power relations and adaptive capacity – Exploring gender relations in climate change adaptation and coping within small-scale farming in western Kenya

Climate adaptation is an important and necessary response to global climate change. Numerous studies show that adaptive capacity is shaped by cultural and social determinants. Gender relations are an integral aspect of social relations in all societies, yet the literature on how gender influences climate adaptation is limited. Women and men, with different roles, responsibilities and decision-making power have different possibilities to cope and adapt with climate change, thus adopting a gendered approach to climate adaptation is essential to enhance our understanding of successful adaptation.
 
The aim of the study is to explore how cultural attributes and power relations of gender influence adaptive capacity in relation to climate change among smallholder farmers in western Kenya. Furthermore this study contributes to resilience thinking by using the lens of post-structural feminist political ecology and the concept of gender contracts, which highlights the influence of power laden gender discourses and the construction and reconstruction of such contracts. The study is triangulated by the use of qualitative methods and draws upon 12 semi-structured interviews, 4 focus group discussions and 4 expert interviews.

Gendered power relations were primarily a constraint to the adaptive capacity of women, restricting their possibilities to pursue a number of coping and adaptation strategies, which in turn affected the resilience of the household. Capacity building and farmer group formation promoted by a Swedish NGO (ViAFP) resulted in altered power relations, renegotiated and reconstructed gender contracts which increased adaptive capacity and adaptation opportunities for both men and women, although particularly for women because of their initial vulnerable position. This study adds an understanding of the gendered dimensions of local climate change adaptation and shows that adaptation cannot be understood separate from social relations. The policy implication is thus that enhancing local climate adaptation requires consideration of power relations and gender equality.
 
Laszlo Ambjörnsson, E. (2011). Power relations and adaptive capacity – Exploring gender relations in climate change adaptation and coping within small-scale farming in western Kenya. Master’s Thesis. Stockholm Resilience Centre. Stockholm University.
 
Link to publication