6.4 Discussion
6.4.1 Synthesis of Findings
The results of this study reveal that local communities in semi-arid Ghana have low
resilience to floods and droughts, and thus a limited ability to deal adequately with
their impacts (Table 4, Figs. 2–4). This low perceived community resilience is
largely consistent between groups and localities and further suggests the high
vulnerability of local communities in semi-arid Ghana to the interplay of multiple
natural and human shocks and stresses (Songsore 2011). Furthermore, they corroborate other studies in semi-arid Ghana (Antwi et al. 2014; Nyantakyi-Frimpong and
Bezner-Kerr 2015), providing further evidence about context-specific vulnerabilities
to climate hazards and the underlying biophysical conditions and socio-economic
disparities (Acheampong et al. 2014; Antwi-Agyei et al. 2012).
The, generally low community resilience, combines with the low adaptive capacity and high exposure and sensitivity to seasonal flooding to explain the very
negative effects that such hazards have for local livelihoods (Musah and Oloruntoba
2013; Musah and Akai 2014; Owusu et al. 2016; Armah et al. 2011; Wossen and
Berger 2015). For example, a large fraction of the more than 325,000 people
negatively affected by the devastating 2007 floods in semi-arid Ghana were located
in the study areas (NADMO 2011). For similar reasons, the persistent droughts
across the study sites have been identified as a major reason behind the prevailing
food insecurity, malnutrition and labour outmigration (Jarawura 2013; Lolig et al.
2014; Kusakari et al. 2014) (see Chap. 2 Vol. 2 for similar case in Uganda). All these
findings reinforce partly the widely accepted proposition that the semi-arid areas of
Ghana lag behind the rest of the country despite their potential due to such economic,
social and ecological vulnerabilities (Oteng-ababio et al. 2017).
However, despite the general consensus in resilience, there are some interesting
variations between age groups for some resilience dimensions, sub-dimensions and
elements (Figs. 2–4). Overall, elderly respondents (both men and women) tend to
report relatively higher scores for more resilience elements compared to young
adults (Figs. 2–4), possibly due to the fact that many young adults may fail to
appreciate and value the ecological knowledge, practices and norms that could help
them cope with floods and droughts. This might reflect their comparatively limited
engagement with (and experience of) the local agro-ecosystem due to modernization, and especially the influence of western education and religion (Boafo et al.
2016). A second, and closely related, reason may be the widespread outmigration of
young adults from the semi-arid regions of Ghana to the larger cities of southern
Ghana such as Kumasi and Accra (Songsore 2011; Awumbila et al. 2014).
However, the low perceived community resilience among young adults could be
one of the factors influencing their outmigration. This further suggests that in order
to improve socioeconomic resilience in the rural communities of semi-arid Ghana,
young adults must be provided with tangible opportunities for decent, stable and
viable occupations. These livelihood options should go beyond the prevailing
smallholder-based farming systems.
6 Perceived Community Resilience to Floods and Droughts Induced by Climate Change. . . 211
6.4.1 Synthesis of Findings
The results of this study reveal that local communities in semi-arid Ghana have low
resilience to floods and droughts, and thus a limited ability to deal adequately with
their impacts (Table 4, Figs. 2–4). This low perceived community resilience is
largely consistent between groups and localities and further suggests the high
vulnerability of local communities in semi-arid Ghana to the interplay of multiple
natural and human shocks and stresses (Songsore 2011). Furthermore, they corroborate other studies in semi-arid Ghana (Antwi et al. 2014; Nyantakyi-Frimpong and
Bezner-Kerr 2015), providing further evidence about context-specific vulnerabilities
to climate hazards and the underlying biophysical conditions and socio-economic
disparities (Acheampong et al. 2014; Antwi-Agyei et al. 2012).
The, generally low community resilience, combines with the low adaptive capacity and high exposure and sensitivity to seasonal flooding to explain the very
negative effects that such hazards have for local livelihoods (Musah and Oloruntoba
2013; Musah and Akai 2014; Owusu et al. 2016; Armah et al. 2011; Wossen and
Berger 2015). For example, a large fraction of the more than 325,000 people
negatively affected by the devastating 2007 floods in semi-arid Ghana were located
in the study areas (NADMO 2011). For similar reasons, the persistent droughts
across the study sites have been identified as a major reason behind the prevailing
food insecurity, malnutrition and labour outmigration (Jarawura 2013; Lolig et al.
2014; Kusakari et al. 2014) (see Chap. 2 Vol. 2 for similar case in Uganda). All these
findings reinforce partly the widely accepted proposition that the semi-arid areas of
Ghana lag behind the rest of the country despite their potential due to such economic,
social and ecological vulnerabilities (Oteng-ababio et al. 2017).
However, despite the general consensus in resilience, there are some interesting
variations between age groups for some resilience dimensions, sub-dimensions and
elements (Figs. 2–4). Overall, elderly respondents (both men and women) tend to
report relatively higher scores for more resilience elements compared to young
adults (Figs. 2–4), possibly due to the fact that many young adults may fail to
appreciate and value the ecological knowledge, practices and norms that could help
them cope with floods and droughts. This might reflect their comparatively limited
engagement with (and experience of) the local agro-ecosystem due to modernization, and especially the influence of western education and religion (Boafo et al.
2016). A second, and closely related, reason may be the widespread outmigration of
young adults from the semi-arid regions of Ghana to the larger cities of southern
Ghana such as Kumasi and Accra (Songsore 2011; Awumbila et al. 2014).
However, the low perceived community resilience among young adults could be
one of the factors influencing their outmigration. This further suggests that in order
to improve socioeconomic resilience in the rural communities of semi-arid Ghana,
young adults must be provided with tangible opportunities for decent, stable and
viable occupations. These livelihood options should go beyond the prevailing
smallholder-based farming systems.
6 Perceived Community Resilience to Floods and Droughts Induced by Climate Change. . . 211