The potential use of natural resources in urban informal settlements as substitutes for financial capital during flooding emergencies

Publication date: Available online 13 March 2018 Source:Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C Author(s): Mwazvita T.B. Dalu, Charlie M. Shackleton Rapid and widespread land cover change and the subsequent loss of the buffering capacity provided by healthy ecosystems against natural hazards has resulted in increased vulnerability to natural hazards. There is an insufficient understanding of natural resource contribution to the resilience of poor urban communities living in informal settlements and the financial implications thereof. Thus, household strategies used to recover from the October 2012 flood shock were investigated within the informal settlements of three small South African towns using questionnaires. Within the vulnerability paradigm and the sustainable livelihood framework, the study also quantified and evaluated the relative contribution of natural resources to recovery strategies and the impacts on household financial capital. We found that natural resources contributed up to 70% to recovery of households from the flood shock, most of this being to reconstruction of housing structures after the flood. Factors such as household head education level, household income, kinship level, the extent of property damage and the cost associated with propertyrehabilitation significantly influenced the uptake of natural resources in recovery from floods, and this was variable among settlements and towns. The main findings showed that natural resources reduced ...
Source: Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts ABC - Category: Science Source Type: research