Paper short abstract:

The paper aims to examine and explore whether social capital is significant or not in mitigating the adverse impact of floods through building resilience among the displaced communities residing in one of the most prone regions hit by climate change - Matiari distrcit, Pakistan.

Paper long abstract:

Pakistan is one of the most flood-prone countries in the world, with recurrent floods affecting millions each year. Approximately, 35 million people have been displaced as well as socially dis-articulated in the wake of recent floods. This is posing a major challenge for the government in re-settling the displaced and providing them with essential support in adapting to new and changed environments. In Pakistan, the province of Sindh, particularly Matiari district, suffered the most because of floods.

Hence, in this context, this underlying study proposes a mixed method inquiry, with Matiari district being the physical area under investigation, owing to its proximity to a major river and thus being prone to continual flooding. The prime objective is to examine and explore whether social resources are significant or not in mitigating the adverse impact of disaster through building resilience among the displaced communities. In this context, for quantitative analysis, a self-administered survey will be conducted with the displaced families. This survey will be based on the Disaster Adaptation and Resilience Scale (DARS). Qualitative data will be collected by administering a number of in-depth, face-to-face interviews with primary and secondary stakeholders. The process of resettlement and reconstruction is not a stand-alone operation and requires a synergized policy framework, designed with the coordination of all stakeholders with the purpose of reconstructing livelihoods in a sustainable way. Therefore, this study, can act as a building block towards formulating a range of policies that will address intersecting crises of climate change and human displacement.