Local people's perceptions of climate change and related hazards in mountainous areas of northern Thailand

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThis study investigates the perceptions of local people on climate change and related hazards in Yang Luang Village (YLV), which is located in the mountainous region of the Mae Chaem basin in northern Thailand. Furthermore, this study examines the differences between the perceptions of local people and scientific observations in this area. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used, and the data were collected from various sources. Results show that nearly 45% of households have personally perceived climate change, mainly in the form of increasing rainfall, decreasing number of rainy days in the last two decades and of extremely late rainfall in recent year's rainy season. A comparison of locals' perceptions and climatic observations shows that local people have correctly perceived rainfall changes, which have largely influenced the experiences and perceptions regarding climate-related hazards. More than 70% of households have perceived droughts and floods impacts on their livelihoods but have not completely understood their causes. They have correctly perceived the landslide resulted from increasing amounts of rainfall. However, they are unaware of increasing landslide trends, flood hazards and the associated potential risks. The results are helpful to assess the needs in terms of actions and information to facilitate climate-related hazard management at the local level in Thailand. Hazard awareness campaign, training and early warning system are necessary for breaking the low perception of potential hazards in YLV. Moreover, a hazard management strategy without waiting for proof of a trend coming from reviews of the climate science is essential.

Factors effecting farmers’ risk attitude and risk perceptions: The case of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

“…The results suggest that younger farmers are more willing to take risk compared to older farmers. The result is in agreement with Dadzie Acquah [14] and Manandhar et al [30] who also found an inverse relationship of age with risk attitude of the farmers. Our results suggest that with an increase in the education level of the farmer the risk aversion also increases.…”

“…Farmers with more years of experience identify risk of heavy rains, risk of pest and diseases and risk of drought as main threats compared to farmers with lower farming experience. Manandhar et al [30] also found that farmers with more than 30 years of farming experience have higher risk perception of natural hazards resulting from climate change. Higher off-farm income reduces farmers concern of risk of flood, risk of heavy rains and risk of pest and diseases however farmers with higher off-farm income see risk of drought to be a potential threat to their farming activities.…”

“…Therefore, it is important to anticipate the nature of expected changes and to understand how climate change and its relate hazards are perceived, experienced and interpreted by local people [36 and 30]. These local perceptions of natural hazards stem from routine interaction with environment [24] therefore, reflecting local issues [15] including the actual impacts of climate change and its related hazards on lives of local people [30]. Literature on the effect of socioeconomic and demographic factors on farmers' risk perceptions and risk attitude revealed mix results.…”

Tropical cyclone perceptions, impacts and adaptation in the Southwest Pacific: an urban perspective from Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga

“…The benefits of this information, which can result in a more resilient nation that is less vulnerable to the threat of an extreme event is demonstrated by Wachinger et al (2010Wachinger et al ( , 2013. Across the world, surveys have also been used to understand public perception on a range of environmental extremes and hazards including drought (Ashraf and Routray, 2013;Udmale et al, 2014), climate change (Acquah, 2011;Deressa et al, 2011;Manandhar et al, 2011Manandhar et al, , 2015Vedwan and Rhoades, 2001) and tropical cyclones (Li, 2009). Weather-related traditional knowledge (TK) has also been shown to be a cost-effective, participatory and sustainable method of adaptation (Nyong et al, 2007;Robinson and Herbert, 2011).…”

Bag-of-words-based anomaly-detection principal component analysis and stochastic optimization for debris flow detection and evacuation planning

“…Debris flows are extremely dangerous disasters, and occur frequently on mountainsides worldwide. Serious damage to residents, private property, buildings, roads, and bridges has been caused by debris flows in the past (Wieczorek, 1987;Cheng et al, 2005;Fan et al, 2015;Calvello et al, 2015;Manandhar et al, 2015). Since 2002, the Taiwan Soil and Water Conservation Bureau (Taiwan SWCB) has installed 24 fixed stations for debris flow observation, as well as various monitoring devices in areas at high risk from debris flows.…”