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| We examine the dynamics of household vulnerability
during the past 30 years within three different socialecological
upland systems in Lijiang, Yunnan. Interviews
were conducted to construct coupled human-environmental
timelines to facilitate the understanding of livelihood dynamics
in the context of more general changes that constitute both
constraints and opportunities. The results indicate that significant
livelihood changes including specialization, diversification
and migration have been primarily driven by sociopolitical
influences. Overall vulnerability of households has
decreased differently across villages. Nevertheless, climate
change is a concern as households perceive increasing temperature,
declining precipitation and unpredictable extreme
events. In the future, households’ vulnerability might increase
since important components of current livelihoods remain
climate sensitive. Moreover, environmentally destructive
practices such as illegal logging might reinforce the negative
impacts of climate change and thus undermine sustainable
adaptation. | |
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