| Abstract [eng] |
Currently, climate change is one of the top priority global problems and its impact not only on nature but also on society is indisputable. Agriculture is named as one of the most sensitive sectors in the context of changing climate. There are a lot of scientific evidences about the impact of climate change; on a political level, the measures for mitigating and adapting to climate change are developed, however, there is little studied on the effect of the subjectively perceived welfare of residents. Also, there is a lack of research on a broader effect of risks related to climate change towards the welfare of Lithuanian farmers. In this Master’s thesis, the farmers’ attitude towards the emerging risks of climate change to their wellbeing is analysed. The work arises the following problematic questions: How the threats of climate change and the effect of these threats on farmers’ subjective wellbeing are perceived by the farmers? What political measures can be recommended in order to overcome the emerging risks of climate change on the farmers’ wellbeing? The aim of the project is to investigate Lithuanian farmers’ attitude towards the emerging threats of climate change on their subjective wellbeing. In order to achieve the aim, the following objectives have been set: 1) to systemize scientific knowledge on the threats of climate change to the agriculture sector and critically discuss a theoretical conception of wellbeing; 2) to analyse the European Union and national level solutions relevant to agriculture sector for adapting to climate change; 3) to empirically investigate the attitudes of Lithuanian farmers’, draw conclusions and recommendations for creating means of welfare security and overcoming risks. In order to reveal Lithuanian farmers’ attitude towards the emerging threats of climate change on their wellbeing, the qualitative research was chosen. A semi-structured interview was chosen as an instrument of the research method. The interview was carried out based on predefined interview questionnaire guidelines which were formed based on the analysed scientific literature related to this work. During the research, 12 farmers selected by applying the target criterion sampling method were interviewed. The research data was analysed using the qualitative content analysis method. The obtained results of the analysis showed that, according to the farmers, the biggest risk for agriculture is extreme weather conditions determined by the changing climate: drought, heavy rain, the disappearance of snow cover. Mainly the respondents assess the effect of climate change towards activity that is carried out and they have little discussion about the effect on health and other wellbeing aspects. Most of the farmers that participated in the research expressed a huge concern over the emerging threats of climate change. Also, they participate in the projects that take place in Lithuania regarding the adaptation to climate change; however, the involvement of some of the farmers is determined by the reasons that are related not to climate change but to financial incentives or other reasons. Recommendations are presented based on the research results. The work consists of theoretical and exploratory parts, conclusions, recommendations, the list of literature and appendices. There are 5 illustrations, 15 tables, 2 appendices and 78 used literature sources in the project. |
