Adaptive Capacity - Climate Change Adaptation and Development: Transforming Paradigms and Practices - page 66

(including for risk reduction and adaptation). This is the case in the areas studied
in Brazil and El Salvador, where local interests are represented by residents'
associations or local committees. Another institutional measure is to 'fight' for
legal tenure to gain access to formal assistance or credits offered by national or
local authorities, banks or aid organizations. Achieving legal tenure means not
having to live in constant fear of eviction, and increases people's motivation to
improve their risk situation (Wamsler et al. 2012).
People living at risk may also adopt more emotionally oriented strategies,
such as accepting or ignoring their high risk; seeking emotional support within
their social network (family, relatives, neighbours, religious group, etc.); or
fully relying on their faith. Whereas religious faith has sometimes been linked
to fatalistic behaviour, it can also be a powerful strategy and lead to effective
action (see 'Preparedness for response' below). Other people place their trust in
hierarchical structures and rely fully on these for support, another posture that
may result in passive behaviour.
Preparedness for response
In preparing for possible emergencies , people use a range of measures that allow them
to adapt their behaviour temporarily to changed circumstances (systematized in
the third column in Tables 4.1 and 4.2 ). Some preparations may be taken shortly
before potential hazard impacts (e.g. after disaster warnings), others the whole
year round: typical examples are keeping important documents and money in a
safe place, storing food and bottles of water, or having other items on hand, like
a portable cooker, air conditioning appliances or a fan. Measures for preparing
for floods include storing plastic sheets, sandbags, electric pumps and items to
raise furniture or to block wastewater pipes and prevent backflow when water
rises (Wamsler 2007a; Douglas et al. 2008; Jabeen et al. 2010).
Physical measures for response preparedness include the construction of
temporary or permanent emergency rooms or shelters. The latter can be an
example of both communitarian and individualistic behaviour: sometimes
whole communities organize or construct their own emergency shelter; those
who can afford it, however, may buy or rent an 'extra house' in or outside
their own settlement, where they can stay with their families in case of
emergency. This was observed in both the Rio and the San Salvador case-
study areas.
People also take a range of other non-hazard specific and more communitarian
actions to prepare for disaster response, like creating local emergency groups.
After Hurricane Mitch in 1998, many low-income settlements in Central
America established such groups, often with support from national and
international non-governmental organizations (NGOs; Wamsler and Umaña
2003). The creation of social capital can also form the basis for risk-reducing
activities. Social cohesion, solidarity and community networks can facilitate
mutual aid during disasters and in the immediate aftermath. In the Rio and San