Adapting to Sea Level Rise: Household Head Gender Role Differences from Ada, Ghana

Felix Hayford Nyamedor, University of Ghana
Samuel N. A. Codjoe, University of Ghana

Recent anthropogenic changes in the climate exacerbated effects on the human population. Sea-level rise and its resulted coastal flooding affect the livelihoods of many coastal settlers globally. Understanding how the sex of a household head influences adaptation decisions is beneficial to help target adaptation efforts. A mixed method of 350 household self administered survey and 12 focus group discussions, 16 in-depth interviews to coastal settlelers were analyzed using bivariate and thematic analysis for both quantitative and qualitative data respectively. Adaptation efforts in communities include construction of drains, use of sack bags, relocation, migration and change of house wall materials. Male household heads were found to have high migration expectations and 34% (P=0.05) more likely to adapt than their female counterparts. Ghana's efforts in building resilience will be enhanced if adaptation efforts and interventions are gender sensitive. This also empower the nation meet its Millenium Development Goal 1.