Coping with multiple stresses in rural South Africa

This research paper examines how rural communities in semiarid South Africa adapt to intersecting stresses, including water scarcity, disease, and institutional limitations, arguing that climate adaptation must be understood within broader social and political contexts to avoid maladaptation.

• The study identifies a decline in the productivity of agro-ecosystems during droughts, alongside low adaptive capacity at the household level and significant institutional barriers that hinder support for households facing multiple stresses.
• Climate change is expected to increase water insecurity in South Africa by making rainfall more variable and uncertain, which interacts with other stressors such as disease, limited livelihood opportunities, and a lack of institutional capacity to reduce overall adaptive capacity.
• The research concludes that vulnerability is the result of multiple agroecological, socioeconomic, and institutional forces, meaning adaptation to climate change cannot be viewed in isolation from the social, economic, and political conditions that shape a community's ability to cope.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2011). Coping with multiple stresses in rural South Africa. https://www.sei.org/publications/coping-with-multiple-stresses-in-rural-south-africa/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Coping with multiple stresses in rural South Africa. 2011. https://www.sei.org/publications/coping-with-multiple-stresses-in-rural-south-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Coping with multiple stresses in rural South Africa |date=15 December 2011 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/coping-with-multiple-stresses-in-rural-south-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2011coping, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Coping with multiple stresses in rural South Africa}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2011}, month = dec, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/coping-with-multiple-stresses-in-rural-south-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }