Claudia Hemp
Changes in population dynamics or global climate change can put Social-Ecological-System’s (SES’s) under pressure. In order to understand the resilience of a SES under pressure, in-depth knowledge of the dynamics of change within the system is required, i.e. how all system components respond to change at one end of the system. The social impulse to adapt to ecological changes within the SES can come from various sources, including institutions, initiatives or individuals within a community. A better understanding of the role of individuals to promote change within the Kilimanjaro SES requires answers to two broad questions: First, how do people within the SES respond to changes in NCP supply? Second, what capacity do they have to transform the SES?
Objectives
The main objective of SP4 is to study how changes in NCP supply induce a response from individuals, and, to what extent these responses have the potential to induce transformative change in human-nature interaction patterns within a community. To achieve this, we will study the determinants of an individual’s willingness to adapt to changes in NCP supply, paying particular attention to (1) specific change characteristics (e.g. cause and extent) and the proposed solution (e.g. extent and costs), as well as (2) the heterogeneity in how individuals perceive the change.
To study how changes at the individual level can lead to community-wide change, we will investigate potential determinants of an individual’s capacity to spread changes. In particular, we will focus on socio-demographic characteristics and a person’s network embeddedness.
Outcomes
The expected outcome of WP1 is to obtain an in-depth understanding of which NCP supply changes induce the largest adaptation response, and which type of adaptation response receives the largest support. WP2 provides the survey module to map respondents’ perceptions of change and solution pathways, used to obtain a profound understanding of how (1) attitudes, preferences, and socio-demographic factors, as well as (2) social network position affect a person’s perceptions and willingness to implement changes.
Finally, WP3 complements the analysis of WP1 and WP2 by providing a comprehensive understanding of the determinants of an individual’s ability to spread changes within a community, along with detailed information on the social networks of the studied village communities.
Team members
Prof. Dr. Katrin Rehdanz (Principal Investigator)
Dr. Susann Adloff (Principal Investigator)
Prof. Dr. Dr. Ulrich Schmidt (Co-Principal Investigator)
Prof. Dr. Berta Martín-López (Co-Principal Investigator)
Dr. Dominic Martin (Co-Principal Investigator)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jennifer Kasanda Sesabo (Tanzanian Co-Principal Investigator)
Carla Hunklinger (PhD student)
Ramadhani Semvua (PhD student)
(for more information see People page)