Barriers to organisational resilience to climate hazards: A case study of Chikwawa, Malawi

Abstract

Malawi faces severe climate change impacts, with 30 climate-related disasters recorded in 20 years, causing over 4000 deaths, affecting 2.6 million people and resulting in economic losses of over $1 billion. The southern region, especially Chikwawa District, is hit the hardest, experiencing 40% of these disasters. In light of this, the study aimed to assess organisations’ capacity and obstacles to collaborative approaches for adapting and building resilience to climate change-induced extreme weather events. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire distributed among 25 organisations, involving 325 participants. Thematic analysis was employed for qualitative data analysis, and the analytical hierarchy processing (AHP) method was applied to analyse intra-organisational challenges or obstacles to adopting climate resilience strategies. Alarmingly, 90% of organisations suspended operations because of climate-related disasters, with only 5% engaged in flood mitigation approaches. About 67% lacked flood abatement measures, and only 4% had conducted risk assessments. Most enterprises relied on government (80%) and Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (70%) for resilience. Additionally, 85% of the organisations did not act collectively during extreme weather events, facing challenges such as lack of planning, adaptive capacity, leadership and funding. The results of this research offer a baseline for the organisations within the study area to map the way forward in making sure that the relentless impact of climate change-induced hazards should not always turn into disasters for their livelihoods and also the community at large.

Contribution: This study provides a methodology for the identification of barriers to fostering a culture of proactive organisational adaptation to the escalating impacts of climate change for safeguarding lives and livelihood within a neighbourhood.