Journal of Global Ecology and Environment

This study assessed the socio-economic effects of climate variability and community-led adaptation along the southeastern coastal zone of Côte d’Ivoire, from Abidjan to Aboisso. It combined a household survey of 280 participants with a diachronic land-use and land-cover analysis based on Landsat imagery from 1986, 2000, and 2016. Climate-change awareness was reported by 99.6% of respondents, while 81.4% associated climate variability with declining crop yields, product quality, and household income. The survey identified multiple responses to climatic and livelihood pressures, including soil fertilisation, introduction of new crops, improved crop varieties, staggered sowing, localised reforestation, and livelihood diversification. Some households moved partly or completely away from primary crop production towards poultry farming, commerce, transport, and migration. Remote-sensing analysis showed marked landscape restructuring over the 30-year period. Built-up areas increased by 7.71%, dense forest declined by 9.38%, and marshlands decreased from 2.69% of the study area in 1986 to 0.00% by 2000. Former marshland areas were subsequently used for rice cultivation, indicating a shift towards lowland farming under changing environmental and livelihood conditions. The findings show that local adaptation is expressed through interconnected agricultural, socio-economic, and land-use adjustments. However, these responses should be interpreted in relation to both climatic variability and concurrent anthropogenic pressures.