Author: Reeju Francis Leonard Gomes
Date: August 25, 2026
Article Title:
Engaging Communities in Adaptation to Climate Change by
Understanding the Dimensions of Social Capital in
Atlantic Canada
Article Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University
School of Environment, University of Guelph
Département de Sociétés, Territories et Développement
Article Citation:
Vasseur, L., Thornbush, M. J., & Plante, S. (2022). Engaging Communities in Adaptation to Climate Change by Understanding the Dimensions of Social Capital in Atlantic Canada. Sustainability, 14(9), 5250. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095250
INTRODUCTION
Climate has constantly been changing, but with anthropogenic activities, the changes are becoming more extreme and evolving rapidly to the point where various species cannot adapt to these changes. These species also include humans. As we take steps to reduce the activities that are worsening climate change and take measures to mitigate it, we must also plan to adapt to these changes. These adaptation measures are necessary for communities in Atlantic Canada to thrive.
This article summary looks at social capital, which is a term that describes a community’s ability to work together in order to achieve a common purpose and its role in adaptation to climate. Researching into social capital allows an understanding of what works or does not work in effectively adapting to climate change. The social capital is broken into three aspects: social trust, institutional trust, and social networks. Understanding each of these three aspects would give insight into what could be done to effectively communicate adaptation strategies and why some communities might be feeling isolated.
This research article was a follow-up on a much larger project called Coastal Community Challenges. 10 communities were selected in four regions: Prince Edward Island (Towns of Stratford and Morell); New Brunswick (Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence) – Cocagne; New Brunswick (Acadian Peninsula) – Shippagan, Sainte-Marie/Saint Raphael, Cap-Bateau, and Pigeon Hills; Quebec (Sainte-Flavie, Maria, and Bonaventure) and analyzed per province as the differences between each community with the same province was very little. The research participants were asked questions about the three components of social capital, all provided in the original article.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The interviews found that all participants expressed how essential family relations were during extreme weather conditions and that 84% had family members nearby and helped each other through the adverse weather conditions. 88% mentioned a strong spirit of volunteering and helping each other during the storms. All these data suggest a very close relationship among the communities, indicating high social trust. Unfortunately, the situation surrounding institutional trust was a bit complex in that some (20%) showed reliance on the municipality and 12% on the police in small matters such as clearing out the debris after the storm. 80% of the communities trusted that the local government had its heart in the right place, but did not have enough resources. Finally, about 72% of the participants did not trust higher-tiered governments, which included the provincial and federal governments and that these governments focused more on commercial and tourism. Quebec and New Brunswick seemed to have relied on the government more (85%) than in Prince Edward Island (50%).
After interpreting the results, the discussion concludes that social capital is crucial, and understanding each aspect (social trust, institutional trust, and social network) is essential. These matters are complex, and understanding them allows for effective implementation of adaptation strategies. Two of the limitations mentioned in the article are that the study did not do a complete social network analysis which could have given a much better understanding of how communities rely on various connections for help, and that this study was pre-covid which means that COVID isolation most likely has affected at least some decrease in social capital. Regardless of these limitations, the study brings out a crucial result that helps plan and implement adaptation strategies in vulnerable communities that require the most help.
Communities in different parts of Atlantic Canada require different adaptation strategies because each community has a distinct social capital. Without understanding these aspects of the communities, trying to implement a strategy from the top down would fail. The communities would grow to distrust the government and feel even more isolated. This impacts both the government and the communities, leading to a lose-lose scenario. However, being aware of such complications means that it would be more effective during the planning and implementation of adaptive strategies for climate change.
CONCLUSION
Adaptation strategies are the next best thing after all measures for reducing anthropogenic activities that contribute to climate change. Survival of the fittest still applies, and to continue surviving, communities need substantial social capital, which includes high social trust, institutional trust, and social networks. It was found in this study that the communities in Atlantic Canada have high social trust but a complicated nature of institutional trust. This means transparency needs to be focused during decision-making to improve institutional trust. A higher institutional trust would mean a greater capacity for climate change adaptation. It basically means that a community would trust that the institution, be it the government, is competent in planning and implementing these strategies.
Leave a Reply