Case title
Livelihood futures in Papua New Guinea
Many coastal communities in Papua New Guinea are dependent on marine resources and ecosystems for their livelihoods and therefore are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It is vital to plan 'no regrets' adaptation strategies for these communities which can help prepare them for a range of future uncertainties.
The project used participatory scenario planning workshops with stakeholders from the provincial, local government and ward scales. By combining stakeholders’ knowledge of livelihoods’ drivers of change, important ecosystem goods and services, and communities’ adaptive capacity, the process explored plausible futures and generated ‘no regrets’ adaptation strategies for vulnerable communities in West New Britain, hence building the capacity of participants.
A questionnaire survey carried out before and after the workshop examined how participants’ perceptions had changed. To the statement “compared to other challenges WNB will face in the future, climate change is the most important”, the majority (65%) strongly agreed before, but this fell to 33% afterwards. The influence of population growth was felt to be more important after the workshop. To the statement “WNB’s climate adaptation policies are enabling WNB to be ready to cope with climate change”, 41% strongly agreed before, but this fell to 27% afterwards. The majority (86%) felt that the information presented in the workshop had increased their understanding of future change and how WNB can adapt, or that they were now motivated to take action.
The scenarios were made in:
2013
The scenarios look out to:
2090
Project facts
Papua New Guinea
West New Britain province
2013
Submitted by:
James Butler
Project leader
October 16, 2019
How to cite this page:
James Butler
Livelihood futures in Papua New Guinea
10/16/2019
Resources
Butler J, Skewes T, Wise R, Bohensky E, Bou N, Masikiri B, 2013. Climate Futures, Ecosystem Services and Livelihood Adaptation Strategies in West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea. West New Britain Futures Workshop Report 18-19 July 2012. SEWPAC, Canberra: CSIRO. 64 Pages.
Project images
Workshop participants
