Strengthening social resilience and reducing poverty and inequality through flood protection investment as climate adaptation

Water-related disasters not only directly lead to loss of life and property, but also entrench poverty, widen disparities, and hinder the accumulation of human capital such as education and health, posing a long-term threat to people’s livelihoods. The impact is not uniform: the more vulnerable the group, the greater the damage and the slower the recovery. Those lacking assets and social capital, in particular, have been found to recover more slowly, even from disasters of the same scale. Ultimately, this leads to increased poverty and inequality.
In recent years, the number of water-related disasters worldwide has increased due to the impacts of climate change and other factors, accompanied by growing economic losses. Against this backdrop, there has been a growing trend to shift the focus of assessments from the traditional emphasis on ‘costs of damage and loss’ to ‘restoring livelihood opportunities and socio-economic activities’. Therefore, it is essential to consider not only the direct damage and loss caused by water-related disasters, such as housing destruction, road inundation, farmland damage and asset loss, but also their medium- to long-term socioeconomic effects, such as widening inequality and the intergenerational entrenchment of poverty. New measurement and evaluation methodologies must also be pioneered.
We argue that ‘water-related disasters cause direct damage and loss and can also contribute to the widening of socioeconomic inequality, particularly in lower-middle- and low-income countries’. Based on the hypothesis that ‘appropriate flood protection investments as climate adaptation measures can contribute to mitigating damage and loss, as well as reducing disparities and strengthening social resilience’, we have conducted extensive research and development. This presentation introduces the following: (1) an empirical analysis of the impact of floods on poverty and economic inequality; and (2) an evaluation of climate adaptation measures that enhance social resilience, with a focus on the long-term socioeconomic spillover effects of flood protection investments.