Assessment of social factors that promote the vulnerability of communities to coastal hazards in the Volta estuary in Ghana

dc.contributor.authorMattah, M.M.
dc.contributor.authorMattah, P.A.D.
dc.contributor.authorMensah, A.
dc.contributor.authoret al.
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-05T10:12:01Z
dc.date.available2023-09-05T10:12:01Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.descriptionResearch Articleen_US
dc.description.abstractAlthough vulnerability assessments have been widely conducted along the coast of Ghana, they have not focused on the factors contributing to social vulnerability of households and communi ties to disaster risks. Using an indicator-based approach, this study examines the social factors that affect the exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of households and communities in the Volta estuary, Ghana. Results indicate that all the communities within the study area were ex posed to climate change related hazards. However, two communities, Azizanya in Ada East Dis trict and Fuveme in Anloga District, were highly exposed with unweighted indexes of 0.50 and 0.76, respectively. Sensitivity among communities was generally high ranging from 0.00 to 0.87 due to several social factors including low household income, high number of children and aged at home, and lack of social amenities such as roads, health facilities, markets, and schools. The communities recorded high adaptive capacity and were able to withstand the ravages of the ocean and the river system. Households and communities developed various adaptation measures such as relocation to nearby communities or higher grounds, open spaces and packing of their be longings on higher objects such as tables, whiles government actions included occasional dredg ing and constructions of sea defense structures. An integrated, multi-stakeholder approach in volving government, non-governmental community-based organisations, communities, house holds, and other stakeholders is proposed to design and implement a comprehensive disaster management plan to combat climate change related coastal disasters.en_US
dc.identifier.otherhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103896
dc.identifier.urihttp://ugspace.ug.edu.gh:8080/handle/123456789/39889
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherInternational Journal of Disaster Risk Reductionen_US
dc.subjectEstuarineen_US
dc.subjectSocial vulnerabilityen_US
dc.subjectClimate changeen_US
dc.titleAssessment of social factors that promote the vulnerability of communities to coastal hazards in the Volta estuary in Ghanaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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