MEASURING SOCIAL VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTIVE CAPACITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC COASTAL COMMUNITIES

People’s	  capacity	  to	  adapt	  to	  shifting	  and	  emerging	  climate	  conditions is	  one	  of	  the	  most	  important	  characteristics	  to	  consider	  when	  addressing climate	  risks.	  This	  study	  explores	  the	  vulnerability	  and	  adaptive	  capacity	  to changing	  climate	  conditions	  of	  individuals	  in	  various	  sectors	  of	  employment in	  three	  coastal	  communities	  of	  the	  Dominican	  Republic.	  Participants included	  individuals	  who	  directly	  use	  marine	  resources	  for	  their	  occupation and	  those	  who	  do	  not.	  Specific	  research	  questions	  in	  this	  study	  are:	  What	  are the	  factors	  related	  to	  adaptive	  capacity	  in	  coastal	  communities	  of	  the Dominican	  Republic?	  Do	  these	  factors	  vary	  between	  direct	  resource	  users	  and non-­‐direct	  resource	  users?	  Do	  these	  factors	  vary	  amongst	  individuals	  who	  do and	  do	  not	  share	  household	  responsibility	  for	  income? Principal	  component	  analysis	  of	  responses	  to	  26	  likert	  statements resulted	  in	  seven	  factors	  related	  to	  occupational	  adaptive	  capacity:	  ability	  to plan,	  learn,	  and	  reorganize;	  attachment	  to	  occupation;	  occupational adaptability/flexibility;	  attachment	  to	  place;	  employment	  security;	  financial security;	  and	  occupational	  mobility.	  Factor	  scores	  were	  compared	  between direct	  resource	  users	  and	  non-­‐direct	  resource	  users,	  as	  well	  as	  between individuals	  who	  are	  the	  sole	  providers	  of	  household	  income	  and	  those	  who share	  the	  responsibility	  of	  providing	  income	  to	  the	  home,	  to	  explore	  if	  there	  is a	  difference	  in	  vulnerability	  and	  adaptive	  capacity	  between	  these	  groups	  of coastal	  residents.	  Results	  suggest	  that	  responses	  to	  many	  of	  the	  factors related	  to	  vulnerability	  and	  adaptive	  capacity	  are	  similar	  for	  all	  coastal


Introduction
Recent research suggests that people's capacity to adapt to shifting and emerging climate conditions may be the most important characteristic when addressing climate risks (Dixit et al., 2012). In particular, the capacity of natural resource-dependent communities to adapt to unavoidable climate impacts requires immediate attention because global changes in climate patterns and events are altering the accessibility, quality, and availability of natural resources. This leads to extensive impacts on the social and economic systems they support (Marshall, 2011).
Increasingly, studies about resource-reliant populations focus on coastal communities of the tropics (Bailey & Pomeroy, 1996;Adger, 2000;Folke, 2006;Costanza et al., 1995). The livelihoods of individuals in these communities are diverse and vary in the degree to which they depend on natural resources.
Enterprises that rely directly on ecosystem goods and services are highly vulnerable to impacts of climate change (Zamani et al., 2006). Ultimately, though, all coastal social systems depend on healthy and functional ecosystems to be productive (Adger, 2000). Therefore risks to the resilience of these socioecological systems must be understood and reflected in practical, effective, and adaptive community planning.
Impacts of climate variability include increased storm intensity, ecosystem degradation, and cultural change due to increased use of technology (e.g. advanced boat engines, fishing gear, GPS) ( (Marshall et al., 2010). Climate-driven changes have altered marine resource regulations and management as well, such as permitting fewer days at sea due to poor weather conditions. These climatic stressors may also catalyze non-climate dependent drivers of economic, environmental, institutional, cultural and political pressures (Marshall et al., 2010;Nelson et al., 2007). For instance, more frequent foul weather that keeps fishing and tourism vessels from leaving port can create tension between the regulating authorities and boat operators. The combination of stresses makes socio-ecological changes inevitable.
To sustain communities challenged with unknown levels of change, it is important to identify aspects of vulnerability, or susceptibility to impacts of change, and take actions to enhance the ability to adapt, or cope with, such changes (Marshall, et al., 2010Gunderson et al, 2002). This can help local, regional, and national leaders to develop policies that are feasible and practical for the community or communities of interest (Smit & Wandel, 2006). This study examines the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of individuals living in coastal communities in the Dominican Republic.

Vulnerability and adaptive capacity related to climate change
Vulnerability is the susceptibility of an individual within a system or community to disturbances caused by exposure to perturbations, sensitivity to perturbations, and the capacity to adapt to such perturbations (Nelson et al., 2007).
Exposure refers to the degree to which a community or resource incurs changes in climate (Marshall et al., 2010). In many parts of the Caribbean and the tropics in general, exposure to increased sea surface temperatures and more frequent storms of high intensity can threaten the integrity of coral reef ecosystems (Kushner et al., 2012). Sensitivity describes the degree to which a system or community is affected by and responds to changes in climate (Marshall et al., 2010). For instance, the extent to which individuals whose livelihoods occur on the sea, like fishers and tour operators, are affected by regulations prohibiting vessels to leave port, and thus prohibiting work, in foul weather.
Adaptive capacity is the third factor that affects vulnerability, and is argued to be the factor most effectively addressed by policy (Dixit et al., 2012;Marshall et al., 2010). According to much of the climate change literature, adaptive capacity describes the ability to respond to changes in a system through learning, managing risk and impacts, accruing new knowledge and developing effective management plans (Marshall et al., 2010;Caffrey et al., 2013). The capacity of individuals to cope and adapt to climate variability is determined by their circumstances, characteristics, and the ability to take advantage of other opportunities (Marshall et al., 2010).
Resilience is inversely related to vulnerability. Social resilience, therefore, is the flexibility with which an individual or system can cope and adapt to changes in climate, resource availability and access (Marshall & Marshall, 2007;Nelson et al., 2007).

Measuring Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity
There are multiple methods for assessing vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Theoretical contributions to such studies are derived from a combination of social, ecological, and psychological perspectives (Folke, 2006;Adger, 2000;Berkes & Ross, 2013). Indicators have been established to measure vulnerability and adaptive capacity at many levels, from national (e.g. Brooks et al., 2005) to community (e.g. Magis, 2010;Berkes & Ross, 2013) to household (e.g. Cinner et al., 2011) and individual (e.g. Marshall & Marshall, 2007).
Besides exposure and sensitivity, social capital can affect people's vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Social capital is the intangible resources (e.g., ideas, information) that individuals access via relationships with others (Grootaert, 2004). The nature and extent of one's formal and informal networks greatly affects the ability to cope with change (Grootaert, 2004;Magis, 2010;Marshall et al., 2010;Berkes & Ross, 2013).
This study adapts the Marshall et al. (2010) method for assessing social vulnerability and adaptive capacity. This method is itself a modified version of that which was used in a study of Australian fishers (Marshall & Marshall 2007). This method has been adapted for multiple related studies of individual community member's vulnerability to climate change in tropical, coastal communities (e.g., Cinner et al., 2011;Shaffril et al., 2013).
Indicators used to measure adaptive capacity in this framework fall into four categories: perception of risk associated with potential change; perception of ability to plan, learn, and reorganize; perception of ability to cope with change; and level of interest in change (Marshall & Marshall, 2007;Marshall et al., 2010).
These indicator categories include specific measures related to attachment to occupation, attachment to place, employability, family characteristics, formal and informal networks, and financial status (Marshall et al., 2010). For instance, an individual's financial situation, ability to secure alternative employment, and ability to remain competitive within a current occupation are used to measure one's perception of risk, which relates to one's management of risk (Marshall & Marshall, 2007).
Recent research on impacts of climate variability to individuals in resource dependent groups has focused primarily on individuals whose livelihood is based on the abundance and health of certain natural resources (e.g., Marshall et al., 2010). Few studies have examined individuals with livelihoods that indirectly rely on natural resources via functional ecosystem goods and services.

Occupational Multiplicity and Diversity
The complexity of coastal socio-ecological systems in the tropics can complicate the assessment of vulnerability related to livelihoods. Individuals in these communities often take advantage of multiple available resources, decreasing the dependence on any one particular resource or livelihood (Bailey & Pomeroy, 1996). An individual or household that participates in more than one livelihood activity is considered to exhibit occupational multiplicity (Daw et al., 2012;Cinner et al, 2008). A related phenomenon is occupational diversity, which is the "maintenance and continuous adaptation of a highly diverse portfolio of activities in order to secure survival that is a distinguishing feature of rural livelihood strategies in contemporary poor countries" (Ellis, 2000, p. 290).
Individuals and households that undertake multiple, diverse livelihoods including some degree of fishing is often seen in coastal communities of the tropics (Pollnac et al., 2001;Daw et al., 2012;Cinner et al., 2008), and is important when considering how individuals within these communities will respond to change.
Furthermore, occupational multiplicity has been shown to affect one's willingness to leave a risky occupation, such as fishing (Daw et al., 2012;Cinner et al., 2008). An individual with more than one occupation, or an employed individual living in a household where others have occupations as well, is able to spread the risks associated with decreased productivity or total loss of one particular livelihood. That is, an individual who is solely responsible for providing income to a household assumes more responsibility, and thus more risk, if s/he decides to leave his/her occupation and take a chance with another. A study in Madagascar that assessed the adaptive capacity of individuals whose primary livelihood was in fisheries used an adapted version of the method used in Marshall & Marshall (2007). This study found that the extent to which alternative livelihood opportunities are available is an indicator of flexibility, or resilience, within a community .

Vulnerability and adaptive capacity in coastal Dominican Republic
This study examines vulnerability and adaptive capacity of individuals in coastal communities of a Caribbean nation that is experiencing socio-ecological changes of both climate and non-climate origin. The Dominican Republic is an ideal location to investigate the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of individuals in coastal communities because many of its coastal communities are highly dependent on the health of coastal habitats to sustain major livelihoods of fishing and tourism and mitigate the effects of potential and frequently more probable natural disasters, such as flooding and storm surge (Caffrey et al., 2013).
Furthermore, the Dominican Republic was recently listed as one the most at-risk developing nations for impacts from climate change (Hallegatte et al., 2013).
This study expands the population of interest to both direct marine resource users and non-direct resource users, or individuals with occupations not directly  While the World Bank classifies the Dominican Republic as an upper middle-income country, the nation suffers severe inequality in income distribution as more than 40 percent of its people live at or below the poverty line (Caffrey et al., 2013). A majority of the residents in the study sites suffer from income inequality and poverty, with some representation of the poorest ten percent of the population (Caffrey et al., 2013). USAID (2013) characterized Samana and Montecristi, as well as rural areas surrounding Santo Domingo (like La Caleta/Boca Chica), as communities with vulnerable individuals of low socioeconomic status and limited formal education.
All individuals living and working in Dominican coastal communities are at risk to climate change stressors like intense rainfall events and associated flood risk, less specific rainy and dry seasons, degraded beaches and fish spawning areas, and sea level rise (Caffrey et al., 2013). These threats are coupled with nonclimatic stressors like unchecked sedimentation and pollution from the land and alterations to the natural drainage system due to land-based development.

Samana
Samana lies at the peninsular mouth of Samana Bay, on the central northern coast of the country. The municipality is 410.8 sq km in size, has a population of 58,156 residents, and an unemployment rate of 11 percent (ONE, 2010). A majority of residents rely on fisheries and agriculture for livelihoods, with up to three-quarters of the population involved in informal agriculture of plants and livestock and approximately 9,000 formal and informal fishers (Caffrey et al., 2013). Also important for the area's livelihoods are businesses associated with tourism, including the service industry and real estate.

Montecristi
Montecristi is on the northern, westernmost coast of the nation, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the neighboring nation of Haiti to the west.
The municipality is 517.4 sq km in size and has approximately 24,644 inhabitants, with an unemployment rate of 6.8 percent (ONE, 2010). Montecristi is particularly vulnerable to long periods without regular rainfall, and has been suffering a debilitating drought that has left many farmers without work for three consecutive years since 2011. Common livelihoods here are fishing and salt harvesting, along with a nascent tourism sector.

Data Collection
This study used the individual person as the main unit of analysis. Since vulnerability and resilience can be measured at many scales, studying individuals and households of individuals that collectively make up larger social groups (communities, societies, etc.) provides information that can be useful to understand policy and development issues at community, regional, or national scales (Marshall et al., 2010;Adger, 2000).
Consultations with national actors, such as natural resource managers and climate and environmental policymakers, were held to identify the specific communities to include in this study. The communities of La Caleta/Boca Chica, Samana, and Montecristi were chosen because these communities are characterized by high resource dependence (a large number of individuals participating in marine resource-dependent livelihoods) and high exposure to threats from climate change. Discussions with at least one relevant stakeholder at each study site were held prior to survey implementation to find out best times and places to encounter representatives of a variety of occupations within the municipality.
Structured face-to-face surveys were conducted with community members living in La Caleta and Boca Chica, Samana, and Montecristi. Structured surveys provide a relatively straightforward approach to studying attitudes, values, beliefs and motives. They are adaptable to collect generalizable information from a variety of human populations and allow for large amounts of collected data to be standardized and analyzed (Robson, 2011). Community members participating in the surveys included non-direct resource users as well as direct resource users, the latter being the only population of interest in previous uses of Marshall et al.'s (2010) method. In this study, individuals who interact directly with natural resources for a living (e.g., fishers, tour and transportation operators) are considered to be direct resource users, while individuals who rely on direct resource dependents and other residents of a community for a living (e.g., restaurateurs, shop keepers, mechanics) are considered non-direct resource users.
The survey was implemented using purposive sampling at multiple local locations and at various times of day for two weeks at each site. Purposive sampling relies on the researcher's judgment and interest to build a sample that satisfies the specific needs of the project (Robson, 2011). In this way, locations that were sure to provide encounters with direct resource users and/or non-direct resource users were chosen to maximize the number of surveys collected in a community in a short amount of time. Sampling sites included the local waterfront, beaches, fishers' landing and distribution sites, domino parks and the downtown business area of each municipality. There are no official estimates of the population of Dominican Republic resource users, so purposive sampling in a wide variety of sites allowed for a diverse array of resource users to be included in this study.

Survey Instrument
The survey contained three sections (Appendix A). The first section  (Marshall et al., 2010). This section asked participants to rate their level of agreement on a 4point likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly agree) with statements regarding the perception of risk; capacity to plan, learn, reorganize and cope; and level of interest in adapting to change (Marshall & Marshall, 2007). The four-point scale was used to discourage ambiguous responses of neutrality (Marshall, 2011).
The third section of the survey included thirteen statements related to an individual's environmental awareness and preferences. This final section also included three statements about the degree to which, on a 4-point likert scale (1= strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree), the participant had observed changes in climate (e.g., rainfall, temperature, storms) in the past ten years or less and whether such changes have affected their work. Participants were encouraged to provide more detailed, qualitative responses to these questions as well.
The survey was translated into Spanish and previewed by several Dominican research experts in order to maximize the effectiveness of the language used. The survey was piloted in Puerto Plata, a coastal community with several conditions in common with the communities of interest including the prevalence of tourism and fishing for local livelihoods. Responses to pilot surveys benefit a study by ensuring that the vocabulary and concepts introduced in the survey were understandable and elicited the intended thoughts and considerations from the participants (Robson, 2011). After the pilot implementation, further revisions to the specific language used in the survey were made before implementation in the study sites. All surveys were conducted by one person, which eliminated the possibility of between-researcher bias in the ranking of responses and ensured that all questions were asked in the same way during data collection (Robson, 2011).  (Table 1). First, factor scores were compared between direct resource users and nondirect resource users using a t-test to determine if there was a difference in vulnerability and adaptive capacity between these groups of coastal residents. Ttests were also conducted to assess the vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the context of occupational multiplicity. Factor scores of individuals with a single livelihood were compared to those of individuals with multiple livelihoods, and factor scores for individuals who were sole providers of household income were compared to individuals who were shared providers of household income.

Data Analysis
Significance for all statistical tests was determined at the commonly accepted 5% level.
Finally, responses to questions from section three of the survey about changes in climate and weather in the past ten years were analyzed to explore perceived changes. Qualitative responses from participants regarding the type of change(s) they have noted were coded and counted. Coding creates clusters, or categories, of similar responses by different participants to be counted and analyzed (Miles et al., 2014). Six categories emerged from the responses: rainfall, temperature, seasonality, wind, storms, and sea level rise. The number of times each type of climate change was mentioned by respondents was counted. Some respondents mentioned more than one type of change, and some respondents mentioned no change at all.

Results
A total of 175 surveys were conducted. This sample included 90 direct resource user participants and 85 non-direct resource user participants, 97 participants with one livelihood and 78 with multiple livelihoods, and 85 participants who were sole providers of household income and 90 participants who shared household income responsibilities (Table 2). Overall, characteristics between participant groups were relatively similar. Across all groups, the average age across groups ranged from 37-41 years old while the age of all participants ranged from 18 to 71. The mean number of years of formal education ranged from 9-11 years, and the individual's mean household size was between three and four persons. All participants had on average between one and three employed persons in their household, and approximately two dependent, or unemployed, persons per household.

Comparing individuals with and without occupational multiplicity
There were no significant differences in vulnerability and adaptive capacity between participants with a single livelihood and those with multiple livelihoods (Appendix D).
Mean factor scores were compared for participants who are sole providers in their households and participants who are shared providers in their households (

Changes in climate and weather
Finally, yes or no responses from participants regarding changes in climate and weather events in the past ten years or less were counted to determine coastal residents' perceived changes in climate (Table 6). By asking about specific changes in climate events (e.g., rainfall, storms) and climate patterns (e.g., rainy season), these results further explore the different effects of climate change for direct and non-direct resource users. Results show that a majority of participants from both direct and non-direct resource user groups (159 of 175, or 91%) have noticed changes in weather conditions. Direct resource users felt that these changes affected their work more than non-direct resource users (64% and 24% respectively), and 81% of participants from both user groups (  Qualitative responses from participants regarding the type of change(s) they have noticed were coded and counted for seasonality, temperature, rain, wind, storms, and sea level rise (Table 7). Overall, 73 participants (42%) said that the seasons had changed in the recent past; that is, the rainy season was less predictable and reliable than it used to be. Over half of participants (57%) noted changes in temperature and many participants (56%) noted changes in the rainfall.
Twenty-six participants (15%) mentioned changes in the wind, and twenty participants (11%) acknowledged changes in storms.

Perceived changes in climate and weather
Most study participants acknowledged that there have been changes in climate within the past ten years. They observed changes in rainfall, temperature, seasons, wind, storms, and sea level rise. With regard to rainfall, many individuals commented that there is less rainfall than there used to be. Many individuals surveyed commented that the rainfall events of the rainy season (roughly May-July) to which they are accustomed are no longer predictable or reliable. There is less rain during this season than in the past, but more frequently now there are rainy events during other times of the year.
Temperatures are said to have risen, in general and also specifically in the summer. Many participants shared negative comments about the hot and dry summers they experience now compared to the past, when they used to have rains that brought relief from the heat.
About a third of participants commented that the seasons, which are typically distinguished by moderate changes in temperature and serious changes in rainfall, are no longer predictable. A common remark was that it rains when it shouldn't (if and when it rains at all) and it is hotter than it should be, in the summer season in particular. Many of the direct resource users and a handful of non-direct resource users also commented that it is windier than it used to be, and that storms are more intense. Changes in wind and storms were of greatest concern to direct resource users, many of whom were concerned because the frequency of heavy winds and foul weather in general prohibits them from leaving port to fish.
Six participants noted sea level rise.  (Marshall, 2011). The ability to plan, learn, and reorganize and financial security factors are captured in other studies, but with a slightly different representation of only two or three statements each (Marshall & Marshall, 2007;Marshall et al., 2010). Marshall et al.'s (2010) study found a single factor referred to as Employability, which in this study is captured in several different factors, such as

Factors of vulnerability and adaptive capacity
Occupational adaptability/flexibility, Occupational mobility, and Employment security. It is possible that employability did not emerge as one single factor because the occupations considered in this study are broader than those in other studies that used a similar method to focus on a single employment sector, such as grazers or fishers (Marshall, 2011;Marshall & Marshall, 2007).
The division of employability found in this study is useful to separately measure an individual's interest (occupational adaptability/flexibility), willingness (occupational mobility), and preparedness (employment security) to adapt to changes because a change of occupation out of necessity is not the same as change due to choice (Ellis, 2000). For instance, a person may have an interest in change but feel that they are in a financial or social situation that discourages such action.
This type of circumstance is quite different than a person who, regardless of personal interests, considers change of occupation to be required. This could be caused, for example, by a loss in employment (e.g., fired from a job), a change in access rights (e.g., loss of hunting or fishing license) or changes in costs and fees they are unable, not just unwilling, to meet.

Comparing vulnerability across user groups
The only significant difference between direct and non-direct users was that direct marine resource users were more likely to be attached to their occupation, which is a common finding in studies that focus on resourcedependent groups around the world (e.g., Cinner et al., 2008;Shaffril et al., 2012;Pollnac et al., 2001). This indicator of vulnerability, characterized by a low level of interest in changing occupation, often presents a serious challenge to the suitability and success of attempts to introduce alternative livelihoods that reduce pressure on natural resources (Cinner et al., 2008;Shaffril et al., 2012;Pollnac et al., 2001). Greater attachment to occupation usually means less interest in changing location and livelihood, which threatens an individual's ability to provide for themselves and others when climate variability and/or limitations to resource availability reduce the productivity of and income from one's work (Shaffril et al., 2012).
Direct resource users were also more likely than non-direct users to note that changes in climate conditions, specifically wind and storms, affected their ability to work. When the weather is foul and winds are strong, the Dominican Navy prohibits vessels from leaving port. Stronger winds and stronger storms reduce the productivity of direct resource users by limiting their ability to conduct work on the sea. For a group of individuals who are not interested in changing occupation, reduced productivity may make them more vulnerable.
It should be noted, however, that only one of seven factors characterizing vulnerability and adaptive capacity showed a significant difference between direct and non-direct resource users. Within the scope of this study, results imply that direct resource users and non-direct resource users in coastal communities of the Dominican Republic share many of the same characteristics of vulnerability and adaptive capacity. This finding suggests that it is important to consider the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of all stakeholders because climate change will have impacts that affect the occupations of many people within a community, not just isolated groups of resource-dependent people.

Exploring how occupation relates to vulnerability
There are many dimensions of occupation that have been studied in relation to preparedness for climate change. One particular dimension is occupational multiplicity, or the participation of an individual or household in more than one livelihood. This study explored occupational multiplicity in terms of the numbers of jobs held by an individual (single/multiple livelihoods) and by a household (sole/shared providers). Participants in this study who were shared providers to household income displayed higher financial security (confidence in one's savings and job security, and awareness of possible economic impacts stemming from potential changes) than those who were sole providers of household income.
Individuals who are sole providers might feel less willing to take risks, such as a change in occupation, because of a lack of alternative or supplementary sources of income in the home. Shared providers may feel more willing and able to consider risky decisions, like making changes related to occupation, because they do not feel as individually responsible for household financial security and well-being.
That shared providers for household income may be more equipped to take risks, such as those related to employment, is consistent with other studies of occupational diversification. For instance, fishers in the Pacific and Indian Oceans were more likely to be willing to stop fishing when they lived in households that had multiple occupations (Daw et al., 2012;Cinner et al., 2008). This suggests that an individual's occupation is just one part of a broader network of income and resource sharing within households. Therefore, the factors that influence whether an individual will be willing and able to make changes may be better understood if viewed through a wider lens that considers an individual's connections to others in their household, family or broader social network.
Distinguishing between changes made by choice and those made out of necessity may also provide greater insight into the motivations and reasoning for an individual's decision to make a change. For example, an individual who used to fish but is now trying to make a living as a mechanic might have done so by choice because fishing became less beneficial (e.g., less fish are caught but costs to go out are the same or higher). However, s/he also might have done so out of necessity, without having a choice, because fishing ceased to be an option (e.g., loss of fishing license due to stringent regulation changes; income from fishing no longer meets requirements for rent and children's school fees). These different circumstances may lead to a similar outcome but conclusions about the reason for the change (e.g., willingness and interest in doing it) may not be clear.

Management Implications
This study provides valuable insight for local officials, practitioners and This recommendation is supported by the findings of a job satisfaction study in Southeast Asia, which found that fishers were not interested in changing their livelihoods nor interested in their children becoming fishers (Pollnac et al., 2001). Rather than spending time, money, and energy trying to change the occupation-often considered a way of life-of people who are not interested in such a change, it may be more advisable to aim the often limited resources of alternative opportunities at those who have yet to come in to a livelihood.
Furthermore, practitioners should consider working beyond the unit of individuals, to ensure that entire households are financially secure. While Marshall et al.'s (2010) framework for assessing social vulnerability and adaptive capacity has primarily focused on the characteristics of an individual, the findings from this study indicate that characteristics of an individual's household, such as the number of jobs in a household, can influence adaptive capacity. This suggests that planners and managers could work toward increasing overall employment levels in households within a community rather than focusing employment efforts on individuals who are working in vulnerable sectors. For example, a community that promotes and/or offers incentives for households to seek employment for more than one person can increase financial security at the household level. Also, offering small loans to individuals, especially direct resource users, who commit to a new and/or alternative livelihood can help compensate for the income that the individual and their household may lose during a time of occupational transition. A study measuring the success of microfinance programs in vulnerable, rural communities in India supports this recommendation. Eighteen months after providing loans to certain households, these families were more likely to have started a business and to consume less while investing more to ensure the success of their business (Banerjee& Duflo 2011, p. 171). This suggests that providing a small financial safety net to jumpstart new, alternative occupational initiatives and buffer from the risk of financial collapse or debt may make a big difference to households who are interested in, but unable to, make changes in livelihoods.
Other studies have also found that social development (e.g., training and education) must be integrated with economic development (e.g., job creation, microfinance, market access) in order to sustain coastal communities with vulnerable livelihoods (Pomeroy et al., 2006). The importance of financial security to the willingness and ability of an individual to make changes should be incorporated into development projects in vulnerable coastal communities, especially for individuals who are sole providers of income.
This study also supports recent findings that point to a lack of public knowledge and awareness in the Dominican Republic regarding climate change impacts specific to the sea (Tejada et al., 2014). Many of the concerns voiced by this study's participants about changes in climate were related to public health and terrestrial resource management, and marine-related issues were less frequently mentioned, if at all. For example, most participants who noted less rain and hotter temperatures felt these changes were detrimental to agricultural productivity.
Environmental concerns about the ocean were rare, with only six participants mentioning sea level rise, and only two individuals, who were involved in scuba diving businesses, mentioning declining coral reef health.
This notable lack of awareness and concern for the ocean among Dominican citizens was confirmed through conversations with more than one Dominican resource manager and environmental policy expert. Many professionals involved in environmental conservation and climate change in the Dominican Republic seem to agree that there is greater professional capacity, research, and education related to the terrestrial environment compared to the marine environment. This seems surprising for an island nation whose economy depends on its coral reefs and coastal beaches for tourism and fisheries, yet whose reefs are losing productivity and beaches are eroding (Wielgus et al., 2010). The high level of reliance on coastal and marine resources, coupled with an overall low level of awareness, calls for more resources and initiatives devoted to marinefocused research, education, and awareness for the public from local to national scales. A greater understanding of all possible impacts of climate change to the environment, and specifically the threats to livelihoods that depend on healthy marine resources like fishing and tourism, may lead to greater public concern for the potential consequences and increase support for adaptation and mitigation efforts.

Future Research
There are several opportunities for extending the current research study.
For instance, Marshall et al.'s (2010) survey questions could be supplemented with a section that explicitly asks for information about an individual's household employment circumstances. Assessing the perceived level of shared responsibility, and perhaps the level of risk faced by others in the household, would provide greater insight into the capacity and willingness of individuals to make changes and take risks. Also, further research to better understand why direct resource users are so attached to their occupations would help to identify other, less vulnerable jobs that offer similar benefits to those they experience now and therefore may be more successful as lasting alternatives.
Future studies would also benefit from a more careful consideration of gender, as there was a notable lack of female participants in this study. There are fewer women in the Dominican Republic who work as direct marine resource users than men, but the bias toward male perspective should be noted and considered with regard to the accuracy of comparing the responses of direct (mostly male) and non-direct (male and female) resource users. A more even distribution of males and females, or a sample population specific to one gender, should be considered for future studies.

Conclusion
This study provides new information about the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of individuals in coastal communities of the Dominican Republic. Results suggest that direct resource users and non-direct resource users share many of the same characteristics of vulnerability and adaptive capacity, such as the ability to plan, learn, and reorganize; occupational adaptability/flexibility; attachment to place; employment security; financial security; and occupational mobility.
Direct resource users were found to have a greater attachment to occupation compared to non-direct resource users. This finding has been reported in other studies of direct resource users around the world, and may have important implications for practitioners interested in developing alternative livelihood opportunities, especially within a direct resource-using sector of employment.
Individuals who have yet to enter a livelihood may better receive alternative occupation opportunities, and further research should be aimed at better understanding the reason for such strong attachment to these occupations.
Sole providers of household income in this study displayed lower financial security compared to individuals who shared income responsibilities with others in the home. Local officials and practitioners in development and aid projects would benefit from considering these results when deciding how to direct loans and related microfinance funds, as individuals may be more able to cope with changes that affect their occupation if they have a financial buffer to protect them and the rest of their household from the risks of lost income when making a transition in employment. Results also point to the need for a deeper understanding of an individual's role in a household to better understand their ability and willingness to make changes. 40. The friendships I have with people in this community mean a lot to me. Las amistades que tengo con la gente de esta comunidad significan mucho para mí. 1 2 3 4 41. I plan to be a resident of this community for many years. Tengo la intención de ser un residente de esta comunidad por muchos años. 1 2 3 4 42. I have strong ties to people in other communities. Tengo fuertes lazos con gente de otras comunidades. 1 2 3 4 43. I always get professional advice before making any business decision. Siempre me dan consejo/asesoramiento profesional antes de tomar cualquier decisión de negocios. 1 2 3 4 44. We must take care of land & sea resources or they will not be available in the future. Hay que tener cuidado de los recursos de la tierra y del mar si no van a estar disponibles en el futuro. 1 2 3 4 45. If our community works together then we will be able to protect our resources. Si nuestra comunidad trabaja en conjunto entonces seremos capaces de proteger nuestros recursos. 1 2 3 4 46. Farming and other land uses far from the coastline cause harm to the sea. La agricultura y otros usos de la tierra lejos de la costa causa un daño al mar. 1 2 3 4 47. If we throw garbage on the beach, the ocean takes it away and it causes no harm. Si tiramos basura en la playa, el mar se la quita y que no causa ningún daño. 1 2 3 4 48. There are so many fish in the sea that no matter how many we catch, there will always be enough for our needs. Hay tantos peces en el mar que no importa cuántos cogemos, siempre habrá suficiente para nuestras necesidades. 1 2 3 4 49. Human activities do not affect the number of fish in the sea. Las actividades humanas no afectan el número de peces en el mar. 1 2 3 4 50. Protecting coastal and sea areas is important for the health of the sea in the future. La protección de las zonas costeras y marinas es importante para la salud del mar en el futuro. 1 2 3 4 51. Closing areas of the sea to fishing is an effective way to protect fish resources. Áreas del mar cerrado a la pesca es una forma eficaz de proteger los recursos pesqueros.