Paper short abstract:

Adaptations to present day climate variability and change are poorly documented in river deltas, limiting current and future adaptation planning. This paper investigates how households are adapting to present day climate variability in deltas, and assesses the sustainability of those adaptations

Paper long abstract:

Adaptations to present day climate variability and change are poorly documented globally. This lack of an evidence base of observed adaptations to present day climate variability and change is hindering many countries planning for and action on climate change. Of concern is the lack of understanding of climate change adaptation by households in 'climatic hot spots' - where there is a strong climate signal and a concentration of poor or marginalised people, e.g. river deltas. This paper addresses this gap by investigating how households are adapting to present day climate variability and change in deltas. Using three delta cases along a size continuum (small - the Volta, medium - the Mahanadi, large - the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Megna), we address the questions that remain unanswered for most 'hot spot' regions: what adaptations are occurring, who is adapting, what are people adapting to, and why are they adapting? Descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis and principal component analysis are applied to household survey data collected from the three deltas. We assess the prevalence and scope of adaptation activity and reflect on the sustainability of current practice. Our findings have relevance globally for better understanding of how poor and marginalised households in climate change hotspots are coping with current weather and climate hazards today, and what this means for the future sustainability of deltas.