Perceptions of resilience to climate-induced disasters in Mbale municipality in Uganda

Abstract

Resilience has been raised as a core task within disaster risk reduction frameworks, yet it remains difficult to implement these global ideas in local communities. This study used Community Based Resilience Analysis Approach to investigate the components that are perceived as important in resilience and the extent to which these components have been achieved. It explored the trend of resilience and beneficial interventions for building resilience as perceived by interviewed participants in Mbale Municipality in Eastern Uganda. The study results indicate that access to education, healthcare, employment, peace and security were the most important components of resilience. Respondents perceived to have progressed in accessing credit, building productive farms and sustaining peace and security byJuly 2017. However, they assessed a lack of diverse income-generating activities, access to insurance, food security,employment and health care. Moreover, the study showed that respondents from marginalised parts of the municipality experienced decreasing resilience while respondents in other divisions had increased resilience. These results provide context-specific components of resilience by the local people. This can inform the formulation of resilience indices and bear relevance for policy-makers and practitioners to understand areas to invest more resources to achieve resilience.

Description

Keywords

Resilience, perceived, climate change, shocks, stresses, Mbale

Citation

Oriangi, G., Albrecht, F., Bamutaze, Y., Mukwaya, P. I., Bob, N., & Pilesjö, P. (2021). Perceptions of resilience to climate-induced disasters in Mbale municipality in Uganda. Environmental Hazards, 20(2), 116-131.