Fostering Resilience in Climate change : Self-efficacy Approach

Fostering Resilience in Climate change : Self-efficacy Approach

D. Dutta Roy, Ph.D.

Psychology Research Unit

INDIAN STATISTICAL INSTITUTE, KOLKATA

Climate change is the result of changes in the weather due to the increase in the earth’s average temperature. This is caused by increases in greenhouse gases from activities such as burning fossil fuels, land clearing and intensive agriculture.

Climate change can be understood through climate change index.

Climate change index

•The International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) group suggests climate change index.

•it gives an annual snapshot of how the planet's complex systems - the ice, the oceans, the land surface and the atmosphere - are changing.

Ref: http://www.igbp.net/globalchange/climatechangeindex.html

Climate is defined as the average weather patterns existing throughout several years over a large portion of Earth's surface. Usually, climate is measured for a specific area or region based on weather patterns over a 30-35 year time period. Climate therefore varies from weather because weather is concerned only with short term events. Since climate is composed of long-term average weather patterns, it encompasses the average measurements of various meteorological elements like humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind,precipitation and temperature. In addition to these components, Earth's climate is also composed of a system consisting of its atmosphere, oceans, land masses and topography, ice and biosphere. Each of these is a part of the climate system for their ability to influence long-range weather patterns. 

From psychological viewpoint, instead of climate change detection, it is worthy to think of weather change detection as it becomes difficult for individual to remind weather pattern of 30-35 years. 

Some weather change pics:

Resilience scale 

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0039879

Climate change affects severely the Uganda people. A pilot project regarding the same has been launched in the Lake Victoria situated at Kalangala district in Uganda with the joint efforts of Uganda Department of Meteorology (UDoM), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), MTN, Ericsson, National Lake Rescue Institute (NLRI) and the Kalangala Fishing community.

As stated in a press release, this project is an amalgamation of weather forecasting and mobile technology in order to provide information to fishermen in their local language by the community representatives with basic knowledge of responding to the alerts. With these forecasts, there will be a deduction in mishaps happen during fishermen while fishing in bad weather.

According to the press release, “The pilot involves training community representatives in basic understanding of weather forecasts and how to respond to various alerts. Equipped with mobile phones, the community representatives then pass on their knowledge to fishermen and traders to sign up to the Mobile Weather Alert service.”

Ref: Climate change support in Uganda

http://insightvas.com/ugandan-fishermen-to-benefit-from-mobile-weather-forecast-service/

   In West Bengal, PRISM initiated climate change research in Basirhat municipality.
Following sites are important to know the municipality

http://basirhatmunicipality.in/map.php?id=4
http://basirhatmunicipality.in/

Google map: https://maps.google.co.in/maps?q=google+map+basirhat&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x39ff567854e8190f:0xf12dc8b635ba902f,Basirhat,+West+Bengal&gl=in&ei=PfPYUZinHYOJrAevqIHYAw&ved=0CC0Q8gEwAA

GHQ-28: The General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ-28) is a self-administered screening test designed to detect current non-psychotic psychiatric disorder in community settings [24]. Participants were asked to assess their state in recent weeks compared to their usual state. This scale consists of four sub-scales for somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression. It comprises seven positive and 21 negative items with a total score ranging from 0 to 28 (high level of current disorder). In our sample the median score, was chosen as a cut-off.
Ref: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0039879

Psychological approach:

Resilience to climate change can be fostered through individual and societal approaches. Individual approach is psychological approach:

1. Awareness generation:    Through different training and ICE programs, awareness generation about the climate change can be introduced. Communities are aware of climate change by observing (a) behaviour of weather - Intermittent change in temperature , heavy shower in one place and not in nearby place;   (b) animal behaviour - abnormal movement of animals; (c) landscape change -flooding, land slides, abnormal movement of water;. Other global issues are awareness of 

• Agriculture condition:   The organic matter (elements carbon and nitrogen) in soil, which is supposed to be recharged by multiple plants, is the main source of nutrients for crop growth.^[7] At the same time, intensive agriculture practices in response to global food demand and shortages involves the removal of weeds and the application of fertilisers to increase food production. However as a result of agricultural intensification and the application of herbicides to control weeds, fertilisers to accelerate and increase crop growth and pesticides to control insects, plant biodiversity is reduced as is the supply of organic matter to replenish soil nutrients and prevent run-off. This leads to a reduction in soil fertility and productivity.^[7] More sustainable agricultural practices would take into account and estimate the resilience of the land and monitor and balance the input and output of organic matter.
• Deforestation: Deforestation also decreases biodiversity of both plant and animal life and can lead to an alteration of the climatic conditions of an entire area. Deforestation can also lead to species extinction, which can have a domino effect particularly when keystone species are removed or when a significant number of species is removed and their ecological function is lost.
• Sea level change: rising sea levels, increasingly frequent large storms, tidal surges and flooding damage. One of the main results of climate change is rising sea water temperature which has a serious effect on coral reefs, through thermal-stress related coral bleaching. Between 1997-1998 the most significant worldwide coral bleaching event was recorded which corresponded with the El Nino Southern Oscillation, with significant damage to the coral reefs of the Western Indian Ocean.^[10]
• Over fishing:   overfishing threatens marine ecosystem resilience and this is mostly by rapid growth of fishing technology.^[11] One of the negative effects on marine ecosystems is that over the last half-century the stocks of coastal fish have had a huge reduction as a result of overfishing for its economic benefits.^[12] Blue fin tuna is at particular risk of extinction. Depletion of fish stocks results in lowered biodiversity and consequently imbalance in the food chain, and increased vulnerability to disease.In addition to overfishing, coastal communities are suffering the impacts of growing numbers of large commercial fishing vessels in causing reductions of small local fishing fleets. Many local lowland rivers which are sources of fresh water have become degraded because of the inflows of pollutants and sediments.^[13]

• Dumping: Dumping of sewage and other contaminants into the ocean is often undertaken for the dispersive nature of the oceans and adaptive nature and ability for marine life to process the marine debris and contaminants. However, waste dumping threatens marine ecosystems by poisoning marine life andeutrophication.
• According to the International Maritime Organisation oil spills can have serious effects on marine life. The OILPOL Convention recognized that most oil pollution resulted from routine shipboard operations such as the cleaning of cargo tanks.  In the 1950s, the normal practice was simply to wash the tanks out with water and then pump the resulting mixture of oil and water into the sea. OILPOL 54   prohibited the dumping of oily wastes within a certain distance from land and in 'special areas' where the danger to the environment was especially acute. In 1962 the limits were extended by means of an amendment adopted at a conference organized by IMO. Meanwhile, IMO in 1965 set up a Subcommittee on Oil Pollution, under the auspices of its Maritime Safety committee, to address oil pollution issues.^[14]
  The threat of oil spills to marine life is recognised by those likely to be responsible for the pollution, such as the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation:
  The marine ecosystem is highly complex and natural fluctuations in species composition, abundance and distribution are a basic feature of its normal function. The extent of damage can therefore be difficult to detect against this background variability. Nevertheless, the key to understanding damage and its importance is whether spill effects result in a downturn in breeding success, productivity, diversity and the overall functioning of the system. Spills are not the only pressure on marine habitats; chronic urban and industrial contamination or the exploitation of the resources they provide are also serious threats.^[15]

  Eutrophication and algal blooms[edit]

  The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution calls nutrient pollution the most widespread, chronic environmental problem in the coastal ocean. The discharges of nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients come from agriculture, waste disposal, coastal development, and fossil fuel use. Once nutrient pollution reaches the coastal zone, it stimulates harmful overgrowths of algae, which can have direct toxic effects and ultimately result in low-oxygen conditions. Certain types of algae are toxic. Overgrowths of these algae result in harmful algal blooms, which are more colloquially referred to as "red tides" or "brown tides". Zooplankton eat the toxic algae and begin passing the toxins up the food chain, affecting edibles like clams, and ultimately working their way up to seabirds, marine mammals, and humans. The result can be illness and sometimes death.^[16]
  
  
  Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resilience_(ecology)

1. Enactive mastery experience: Communities must develop mastery over controlling the environment.
2. Self regulation: Belief in one’s capability to regulate self for goal setting and its achievement. 
3. Vicarious experience: Belief in capability to imitate successful farmers and to follow the agriculture related information from village meetings and mass-media.
4. Controlling physiological and emotional states: Belief in one’s capability to control anxiety and physical illness. 

  

•Judgments of his capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performance is called self efficacy.

•Self-efficacy is multidimensional in nature. It has been defined in terms of five traits namely (i) environment monitoring, (ii) self-regulation, (iii) enactive mastery experience, (iv) vicarious experience, (v) physiological and affective states.