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Abstract

The Andean-Amazon foothills region, one of the richest biodiversity eco-regions on earth, is threatened by climate change, in combination with unsustainable agricultural and extensive livestock farming. These land-use practices tend to reduce the diversification of rural farming, which in turn decreases households’ livelihood alternatives, rendering them more vulnerable to climate change. We studied the relationship between rural livelihood diversification and household-level vulnerability to climate change, in a sample of Andean-Amazon foothills households in Colombia and Peru. Firstly, we determined typologies of households, based on their rural livelihood diversification, including farming diversification (agrobiodiversity and farming activities) and agroecological management practices. Secondly, we evaluated each household typology’s vulnerability to climate change by assessing two components -sensitivity and adaptive capacity- based on the ‘livelihood assets pentagon’, which encompasses the five human ‘capitals’: natural; social; human; physical; and financial. We concluded that households with higher rural livelihood diversification are less vulnerable to climate change. However, it is not possible to draw major conclusions about the relationship between the factors of ‘diversification of management practices’ and ‘vulnerability to climate change’, because most households had few agroecological practices. Results may inform future interventions that aim to decrease Andean-Amazon foothills households’ sensitivity and strengthen their adaptive capacity to climate change.