How Endogenous Cultural Institutions May (Not) Shape Farmers’ Climate Adaptation Practices: Learning from Rural Cameroon

Climate change is high on the science and policy agenda of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), requiring context-specific adaptation. Studies on endogenous cultural institutions (ECIs) in climate adaptation are fragmented, impeding policy orientation. This suggests the need for complementary evidence on ECIs to inform adaptation practice. Through a sample of 158 households in rural Cameroon, we contribute to bridge this gap, by: (1) exploring socio-political factors shaping peasant farmers’ compliance with agro-based ECIs, and (2) estimating the effect of ECI compliance on farmers’ adaptation practices. Our estimation revealed the following: While political factors do not sufficiently explain compliance, state influence, mirrored through the application of formal rules negatively affects ECI compliance. Traditional rain forecast significantly explains climate adaptation; however, the pouring of libation does not. The age of peasant farmers also positively affects compliance with ECIs. We conclude that compliance with ECIs manifest in climate adaptation in varying proportions.

气候变化在撒哈拉以南非洲（sub-Saharan Africa, SSA）的科学与政策议程中占据核心地位，该地区亟需因地制宜的气候适应举措。当前针对气候适应领域内生文化制度（endogenous cultural institutions, ECIs）的研究较为零散，制约了政策制定的精准导向，这表明亟需补充关于内生文化制度的研究证据，以指导气候适应实践。本研究以喀麦隆农村地区的158户家庭为研究样本，致力于填补这一研究空白，具体开展两项工作：（1）探究影响小农遵守农业类内生文化制度的社会政治因素；（2）估算遵守内生文化制度对农户气候适应行为的影响效应。本研究的估算结果显示：尽管政治因素无法充分解释农户对内生文化制度的遵守行为，但通过正式规则应用所体现的国家影响力，会对内生文化制度的遵守行为产生负向影响；传统降雨预测能够显著解释气候适应行为，但祭酒仪式则无法显著解释该行为；小农的年龄同样对其遵守内生文化制度的行为具有正向促进作用。本研究最终得出结论：遵守内生文化制度的行为，会以不同程度体现在气候适应实践当中。