Assessing Adaptive Capacity and Sustainable Livelihoods for Climate Resilience in Margorukun Village, West Papua

¹ Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Papua, 98314 Manokwari, Indonesia
² Our ConservaSea. 98312 Manokwari, Indonesia
³ Postgraduate Program, University of Papua, 98314 Manokwari, Indonesia
⁴ Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Universitas Papua, 98314 Manokwari, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Climate change poses increasing challenges to rural communities, including Margorukun Village in West Papua, where local livelihoods are highly dependent on natural resources. Strengthening community adaptive capacity is therefore essential for enhancing resilience to climate-related impacts. This study aims to assess sustainable livelihood assets and evaluate the community's adaptive capacity to climate change. Data were collected from 58 households (10% of the village population) using a mixed-methods approach combining household surveys, semi-structured interviews, and policy review. Sustainable livelihood assets were analysed using Likert-scale scoring, while adaptive capacity was assessed using the Adaptive Capacity Wheel (ACW) framework. The results indicate that natural capital was the strongest asset (67.38%), supported by land availability for farming, aquaculture, and livestock, whereas financial capital was the weakest (30.86%) due to subsistence-based livelihoods and limited access to financial services. Adaptive capacity varied across six dimensions, with variety scoring highest, reflecting diverse livelihood strategies, and fair governance scoring lowest, indicating unequal participation in decision-making. These findings highlight the importance of leveraging strong natural and social assets while addressing financial and institutional constraints to enhance community resilience to climate change.