From Vulnerability to Adaptation to Climate Change: Food for Thoughts in Social Sciences - Vulnerability of Coastal Ecosystems and Adaptation - page 243

Therefore, ecosystems are likely to lose their protective function
when they become stressed by extreme events or gradual changes,
whether these pressures are related to climate change or to human
activities in general (pollution, mechanical degradation, etc.).
6.3.2.3. Social cohesion
Social cohesion relies on social relationships among the individuals
of a group, on the sharing of a cultural identity and, a priori , on a
relative level of homogeneity among the different economic classes 10 .
It can contribute to reducing the vulnerability of a territory by
favoring mechanisms of solidarity at different scales (individual and
collective) and in different domains (food production and supply,
schooling, accommodation, training, etc.). The cohesion of a society is
built on the basis of a feeling of belonging to the same group, in which
the fate of each individual is somewhat related to the fate of any other
individual. In itself, it is a key element to the achievement of shared
identity and in time, to the acknowledgment of a common territory.
Social cohesion can come under different forms depending on the
context: for instance from insurance mechanisms for industrial
countries to food sharing strategies in traditional systems.
Whatever its form, social cohesion plays an important role during
crises as it encourages collective response strategies as opposed to
individual ones, which can limit the scale of the disaster and its
consequences over time.
Social cohesion also influences the possibility of implementing
anticipation measures which rely on the willingness of the population
to provide immediate efforts for benefits that will result later. This is a
crucial point in the current fight against climate change, both from the
point of view of greenhouse gas emissions and of the implementation
of adaptation strategies and measures.
6.3.2.4. The diversification of economic and subsistence activities
Vulnerability is even more pronounced where the number of
different activities practised on the territory is limited and where these
10 In a situation where gaps in wealth are not too significant.