TRANSOCAP I: Building adaptive capacity through translocal social capital: Sea level rise and resilience of coastal communities and households in Indonesia

Translocally anchored social capital plays a key role for building adaptive capacity. Through processes of migration and trans-local networking, people establish social fields that stretch far beyond local borders. Through networks of trust and mutual support, individuals and communities have access to remittances, loans, information, and knowhow that may become valuable resources for innovations, community resilience and adaptation.
We focused on coastal communities in Indonesia that are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, subsidence, and coastal hazards. The goal was to decipher the relations between translocally organized social capital and adaption to coastal hazards. We analyzed how the social capital of coastal communities is structured and how it enables the endowed people to respond to short-term hazards (e.g. cyclones and floods) as well as to adapt to slowly emerging and less perceivable sea level change and land subsidence. A mixed-method approach was applied, including focus group discussions, expert interviews, and a standardized household survey. The study areas included Jakarta as a megacity, Semarang as a regional urban center, as well as rural villages in the districts of Demak and Kendal (Java).

Link to TRANSOCAP I project page for further information:

https://geographie.uni-koeln.de/index.php?id=15457

Publication list:

Bott, L. M., Schöne, T., Illigner, J., Haghighi, M.H., Gisevius, K., Braun, B., 2021. Land subsidence in Jakarta and Semarang Bay – The relationship between physical processes, risk perception, and household adaptation. Ocean and Coastal Management 211, 105775. 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105775 . Link to Paper

Bott, L. M., Pritchard, B., Braun, B., 2020. Translocal social capital as a resource for community-based responses to coastal flooding – Evidence from urban and rural areas on Java, Indonesia. Geoforum 117, 1-12. 10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.08.012 . Link to Paper

Bott, L. M., 2020. Living with sea level change and coastal flooding – Collective responses of households and communities in Indonesia. Dissertation Universität zu Köln. Link to Dissertation

Bott, L. M., Ankel, L., Braun, B., 2019. Adaptive neighborhoods: the interrelation of urban form, social capital, and responses to coastal hazards in Jakarta. Geoforum 106, 202-213. 10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.08.016 .

Bott, L. M., Braun, B., 2019. How do households respond to coastal hazards? A framework for accommodating strategies using the example of Semarang Bay, Indonesia. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 37, 101177. 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101177 .

Bott, L. M., Illigner, J., Marfai, M. A., Schöne, T., Braun, B., 2018. Meeresspiegelanstieg und Überschwemmungen an der Nordküste Zentraljavas – Physische Ursachen und soziale Anpassungsmaßnahmen. Geographische Rundschau, 70 (4), 4-8.