1. The diversity of gendered adaptation strategies to climate change of Indian farmers: A feminist intersectional approach
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Unai Pascual, Adam G. Drucker, Berta Martín-López, and Federica Ravera
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Intersectionality ,Male ,Gender and Diversity ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Climate Change ,Geography, Planning and Development ,Vulnerability ,Identity (social science) ,Climate change ,India ,Context (language use) ,010501 environmental sciences ,Environment ,Social Environment ,Sustainability Science ,01 natural sciences ,Article ,Adaptation strategies ,Adaptation, Psychological ,Humans ,Environmental Chemistry ,Sociology ,Economic geography ,Agricultural productivity ,Adaptation ,Livelihoods ,Gender research ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,media_common ,Himalayan region ,Adaptive capacity ,Ecology ,Caste ,Gender Identity ,Agriculture ,General Medicine ,Indian Gangetic mid-plains region ,climate change ,Female ,Diversity (politics) - Abstract
This paper examines climate change adaptation and gender issues through an application of a feminist intersectional approach. This approach permits the identification of diverse adaptation responses arising from the existence of multiple and fragmented dimensions of identity (including gender) that intersect with power relations to shape situation-specific interactions between farmers and ecosystems. Based on results from contrasting research cases in Bihar and Uttarakhand, India, this paper demonstrates, inter alia, that there are geographically determined gendered preferences and adoption strategies regarding adaptation options and that these are influenced by the socio-ecological context and institutional dynamics. Intersecting identities, such as caste, wealth, age and gender, influence decisions and reveal power dynamics and negotiation within the household and the community, as well as barriers to adaptation among groups. Overall, the findings suggest that a feminist intersectional approach does appear to be useful and worth further exploration in the context of climate change adaptation. In particular, future research could benefit from more emphasis on a nuanced analysis of the intra-gender differences that shape adaptive capacity to climate change. This paper examines climate change adaptation and gender issues through an application of a feminist intersectional approach. This approach permits the identification of diverse adaptation responses arising from the existence of multiple and fragmented dimensions of identity (including gender) that intersect with power relations to shape situation-specific interactions between farmers and ecosystems. Based on results from contrasting research cases in Bihar and Uttarakhand, India, this paper demonstrates, inter alia, that there are geographically determined gendered preferences and adoption strategies regarding adaptation options and that these are influenced by the socio-ecological context and institutional dynamics. Intersecting identities, such as caste, wealth, age and gender, influence decisions and reveal power dynamics and negotiation within the household and the community, as well as barriers to adaptation among groups. Overall, the findings suggest that a feminist intersectional approach does appear to be useful and worth further exploration in the context of climate change adaptation. In particular, future research could benefit from more emphasis on a nuanced analysis of the intra-gender differences that shape adaptive capacity to climate change. © 2016, The Author(s).
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