Applicability of Microfinance for Adaptation to Sea Level Rise Impacts

Abstract

The aim of this study is to study the applicability of hypothetical microfinance for household adaptation to sea level rise impacts at community level. The study examines two hypothesis: 1) microfinance can (cannot) be applied as an adaptive measure to the impacts of sea level rise; 2) whether or not the factors of risk perceptions, attitudes, social references, microfinance conditions, government supports, and demographic influence an individual participation to a designed microfinance. The study sites are six vulnerable coastal villages located in the Gulf of Thailand. A designed microfinance for adaptation to sea level rise impacts is assumed in hypothetical market and tested with residents in the villages. Acceptance analysis, Pearson correlation, and stepwise regression analysis are used to test the hypothesis of the study. The study results reveal that microfinance can be applied for household adaptation to sea level rise impacts at community level. However, there are some correlated factors that affect individual participation to the designed microfinance. The likelihood of successful implementation of microfinance for the adaptation purposes is depended on how those factors affecting participation are properly addressed by implementer.