The importance of socio-cultural differences and of pathway analysis for understanding local actors' responses

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Book chapter

Title:	The importance of socio-cultural differences and of pathway analysis for understanding local actors' responses
Authors:	Bruijn, Mirjam de Dijk, Han van
Book title:	The impact of climate change on drylands: with a focus on West Africa
Year:	2004
Pages:	341-362
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Burkina Faso Mali
Subjects:	livelihoods risk climate change
Abstract:	The enormous diversity of responses to the drought conditions in the Sahel in the last thirty years makes it difficult to formulate general conclusions about people's responses to climate change. It is important to study the pathways of decisionmaking units at the micro-level and even at individual level and to emphasize the socioeconomic differences in changing patterns of responses and the gradual changes in people's 'habitus'. To understand the options available to people it is wise to focus on the technological changes in land use, the changes in the control over resources, migration and mobility, the trends of livelihood diversification and institutional change. The chapter is based on recent and ongoing research in Kaya (Burkina Faso), and Koutiala and Douentza (both in Mali). Sum. [Book abstract]