Depeasantization and the Development of Natural Disasters Vulnerability

• In Event: 229 - Regular Session. Global Perspectives on Modern Disasters

Abstract

In this paper I utilize the depeasantization development framework to explicate the historical nature of disasters vulnerability. The depeasantization literature notes that a distinctive features of modern developmental processes is a movement out of subsistence agriculture and changes in the resources available to the rural poor. These various alternative sources of income that have increasingly come to replace agricultural subsistence in rural areas of the global south have not become equally available across socioeconomic divides. For the relatively wealthy segment of rural populations, these alternative livelihood strategies have resulted in increased income, diversified across a range of sources. The condition of the poorest segment of rural areas of the global south, in contrast, has grown increasingly tenuous. As vulnerability and resilience fundamentally relates to the ability to draw on resources to respond to shocks, changes in resources and livelihood options imply change in disasters resilience and vulnerability. This paper uses panel data available for Nicaragua preceding and following the occurrence of Hurricane Mitch in order to explore socioeconomic divides in access to income necessary for recovery following a large scale natural disaster. This study asks: What resources were available to rural households following Hurricane Mitch? How did these resources distribute across existing socioeconomic divisions? How effective were these various resources for long-term household recovery?

Author

• Peter Joseph Loebach, University of Utah