Social implications of Climate Change
Professor Margaret Alston, OAM
Gender, Leadership and Social Sustainability (GLASS)
Monash UniversityMelbourne
Summary
Introducing social impacts Why are social factors important? About the social relations of agriculture Climate change impacts Socio-economic factors Service providers Policy shortcomings Current adaptations A vision for a more positive future
Dominance of economic and environmental perspectives in policy
Boil over in M-DB
There are people and communities at the end of the policy line
Underplaying social impacts can lead to significant political/policy consequences
‘Institutional miscreancy’ - or lazy politics Policy constructed without due attention to
the social -> ongoing benign neglect of rural people and places
Implicit expectation that rural will absorb the burden of CC actions unrealistic and unfair
(quoting Molnar 2010)
Rural restructuring not new
Ongoing restructuring Population shifts and declines Long-term service infrastructure erosion Climate uncertainties adding to rapid change Policy responses must address long-standing
issues as well as current uncertainties
Why social factors are important
Environmental stewardship People are dealing with climate change Biosecurity Citizenship rights Human capital depletion Rural people need certainty
Rural people have not been successful in capturing public attention / imagination
Room for movement between farming organisations and environmental activists
But all acknowledge the pivotal role that agriculture must play to feed the world into the future
No other industry sector is subject to such vagaries and variances of production conditions
Food security is now a real issue confronting countries around the world
This is driving a nationalistic approach to farm ownership, we see countries such as China and the Arab countries actively acquiring large farming enterprises in Australia
And yet at the heart of agriculture is the family farm and rural communities
These must be nurtured
Australian studies Several years and across Australia Social impacts of drought 2003-4 Rural women’s access to services study -
2004 Impact of drought on rural and remote young
people’s access to education 2006 Rural maternity services study 2007 Declining water availability M-DB 2008 Declining water in Murray River communities
2009 Rural women and CC 2009/10
International studies
India - FAO
Africa – UN-Habitat
Pacific - UNESCO
Bangladesh March 2011 - Oxfam
Australia’s Rural places
16% of Australians in inland agricultural regions
Divergent trends Remote – bigger farms, declining populations
and services Peri-urban growth – well-serviced
communities, resources, off-farm income, cultural clashes
Climate change trends
Rising temperatures, climate variability, cyclones, rainfall variations, erosion, storm surges, bushfires
Incremental – drought Cataclysmic – bushfires, floods
Incremental - Drought – up to 10 years
January 2011 floods
Diversity of people affected
People affected feel disenfranchised from policy
Indigenous people – Boomanulla statement
Socio-economic factors
Farm families dominate agricultural production
Bigger than family farms in remote – issues for families / workers / communities
Issues with remote education and services Peri-urban – rich growth, cultural factors Bulk of family farms fall between
Significance of off-farm income for the bulk of farm families – has gendered consequences
Volunteer work declining Decline in numbers of young people from
rural areas accessing higher education Loss of workers – loss of teachers etc
Socio-economic factors Rural over-represented in lower SEIFA High levels of rural poverty Out-migration Remote communities – masculinised Higher unemployment Poorer health Lower levels of education Higher levels of ageing Poorer service infrastructure Greater proportion of Indigenous people in more remote
communities Drift of welfare dependent people The more remote the greater the levels of social exclusion
Social Adaptations
generating income off-farm to ensure the family can remain in farming;
men working in isolation while their families live and work away;
reduced attention to health care; rising levels of mental health and stress but a lack of help-
seeking behaviour; alcohol and drugs being used for self-medication for stress; young people leaving for a future elsewhere; young people dropping out of school; small business closures or reduction / casualisation of
employees; small businesses operating as quasi-banks; and gender implications leading to differential experiences for
men and women
Resistance to exit packages
Positive adaptations
Leasing in peri-urban to increase productive capacity
Changing production Water efficiencies ‘children’ returning in their 30s+
Positive adaptations to rural disasters
Community cohesion Responsiveness of emergency services Widespread community giving
Lifeline community care tee-shirt
Rural Services
Poor transport and telecommunications Basic health services often lacking Mental health services poor
Climate change impacts
Further destabilisation Rise in number of weather related events Loss of certainty in production Perceived government inaction Disaffection and alienation Unpredictability of climate events – declining
resilience
Service providers
Stretched Under-resourced High case loads Extensive geographical areas Administered from regional areas Charities bearing larger than normal burden Innovative service delivery – evident and
provides valuable learning Workers report – low mood of communities, high
levels of suicide, self-medication, effects on children
Policy shortcomings
MDB guide a catalyst to simmering anger Top-down policy Perceived lack of community consultation Market driven Lack of understanding of rural culture Rural policy equated with agricultural policy
problematic!
Policy shortcomings
Benign neglect and active exploitation (Molnar 2010)
Lack of attention to ‘place-shaping’ (Shucksmith 2009)
Sectoral rather than territorial basis to policy Ignores multifunctionality
Resilience
Ability to respond to adversity in positive ways
Failure of metagovernance is harming resilience of rural people
Need to ‘bring government back in’ (Bell and
Quiggin 2008) to work in partnership goal setting, coordination, information
exchange, risk management and resourcing Inclusive partnerships such as Landcare
Vision for rural Australia
CC social impacts addressed Citizenship rights acknowledged Environmental, economic and social factors
acknowledged as equally important Resilience enhanced Need for dedicated research to develop
informed understanding of current and potential social impacts of CC
Immediate policies
Access to Youth Allowance Access to health and welfare services Transport and infrastructure
Medium term policies
Local governments funded to form social inclusion committees, employ community development workers, develop plans on future viability, potential areas of growth and human and social capital needs
Long-term policy a vision for rural and remote areas; an assessment of the areas, communities, services and commodities
that have long-term viability and those that do not; a vision that acknowledges diversity in agriculture, small business and
rural communities; a vision that prioritises people; a vision that enhances resilience, family well-being and community
capacity; social inclusion strategies; new models of governance characterised by inclusive partnerships
between governments, non-government organisations and the private sector;
greater community participation in policy and place shaping, and an acknowledgement that rural people are experts in their own lives;
thick and comprehensive human services and supported environments for human service workers;
a commitment to rural people and communities through a vision for transition and change;
the supports - financial, services and infrastructure - that will be needed to assist people to informed choices about their futures;
a plan for the future of rural and remote areas; an acknowledgement that the people in these communities cannot
address the future unaided because of uncertainty; an investment in human capital so that people in rural areas can
achieve their potential and access education / retraining to achieve their ambitions;
a fund that provides investment into rural communities to establish new directions for change;
a social taskforce to be established to oversee the vision, the investment in rural people and communities and the change management process; and
the establishment of a new, well-funded model of Human Services practice that values and builds rural community capacity and acknowledges and values voluntary contributions through workforce practices.
Partnerships
Governments, farming organisations, women’s organisations, community groups, businesses, farm families and individuals
Conclusion
Climate change has exposed deficiencies in attention to the social
Rural people expect no more than their citizenship rights
Sustainability of our landscapes is dependent on resilient people and places
Greater certainty through visionary policy and partnerships needed
Enhancement of positive adaptations critical
Take home message
CC has significant social consequences for rural women and men
The old and the young are affected Social impacts are deeply spiritual Policy must acknowledge there are people at
the end of the policy line …..