Mining for Resilience : Exploring artisanal and small-scale mining as a pathway for climate change adaptation in rural Malawi
Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has emerged as a major rural nonfarm activity in sub-Saharan Africa amidst increasingly unpredictable climate regimes.This thesis critically examines the role of ASM in climate change adaptation and resilience building among vulnerable rural households using a case study of Malawi.The research pursued three interconnected objectives.The first was to determine whether, and in what ways, ASM enables vulnerable households to adapt to climate change and strengthen their resilience.The second was to explore the differentiated roles played by individual family members in ASM and other adaptation initiatives, highlighting how gender and intrahousehold dynamics shape responses to climatic stress.The final objective was to assess Malawi's capacity to formalise ASM from both livelihood and climate adaptation perspectives, interrogating whether existing institutional arrangements are adequate for such a growing sector.Methodologically, the study adopted a qualitative design grounded in political ecology theory, resilience scholarship, formalisation studies and sustainable livelihoods framework.Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 403 mining households across Malawi, complemented by 17 focus group discussions involving women, men, youth
Author: Adamson, Kennedy
Language: English
Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Ministry of Environment
OpenAlex ID: W7215213984