AbstractsPsychology

The aim of this thesis is to explore how vulnerable communities can strengthen their resilience to adapt to climate change and for that purpose, a case study of vulnerable communities in Malawi, that recently faced climate related challenges, was conducted. A case study was chosen as it allows for a certain generalization to be made by studying a representative case thoroughly and therefore it would serve as a good insight into how the research question might be answered. The theoretical framework of the thesis is based on the concepts of development and knowledge, both of which will be explored and put into context with each other. The issue of climate change and its manifestations will also be explored in a general manner as it is highly relevant to the research question. Due to the complexity of the question of how vulnerable communities can strengthen their resilience to adapt to climate change, a concrete answer was hard to come by but by generalizing from the case study some conclusions could be drawn. Main findings point to the feasibility of an approach that combines the existing strengths of the local level with those of the international level. The benefits of including agents from within the community as well as from the outside, in resilience-building could be considerable as the knowledge each possesses is important for a strategy to be successful. Key concepts: Development, climate change, knowledge, Malawi, adaptation, vulnerability, resilience, community