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 …..