Social capital is increasingly recognized as a key determinant of adaptive capacity to climate change. Beyond formal adaptation infrastructure like insurance and public disaster support programmes, it can be difficult to identify the role that informal social capital—such as relationships, trust, and mutual support between community members—plays in climate adaptation. Drawing on a multi-site qualitative study in the Canadian Prairie region, this paper examines how three forms of social capital (bonding, bridging, and linking) shape rural communities’ adaptation to climate extremes. Based on in-depth interviews with 163 community members, the findings demonstrate how social capital contributes to adaptive capacity, particularly in rural areas where more formal supports may be absent or lacking. We examine how social capital is affected by existing socio-economic sensitivities, such as rural depopulation, which can reduce informal social capital while simultaneously increasing people’s dependence on it. The findings indicate the strengths and limitations of bonding and bridging social capital, particularly in the face of future climate extremes that may exceed local adaptive capacity. Further, we find that informal social capital may also reinforce gender inequality, exclusion, and inter-group differences, indicating its limitations for socially inclusive adaptation. Addressing these structural factors can help communities move past coping and toward long-term adaptation. In the face of increasing climate risks, our findings suggest the importance of public supports that are attentive to local strengths, gaps, and social relations.

中文翻译：

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“您依靠上帝和您的邻居来克服它”：加拿大大草原地区的社会资本和气候变化适应

社会资本日益被认为是适应气候变化能力的关键决定因素。除了诸如保险和公共灾难支持计划之类的正式适应基础设施之外，可能很难确定非正式的社会资本（如社区成员之间的关系，信任和相互支持）在气候适应中所起的作用。本文基于加拿大大草原地区的多点定性研究，研究了三种形式的社会资本（结合，桥接和联系）如何塑造农村社区对极端气候的适应。在对163名社区成员进行的深入访谈的基础上，研究结果表明了社会资本如何有助于适应能力，特别是在缺少或缺乏正式支持的农村地区。我们研究了社会资本如何受到现有社会经济敏感性（如农村人口减少）的影响，这种敏感性可以减少非正式的社会资本，同时增加人们对其的依赖。研究结果表明，结合和架起社会资本的优势和局限性，尤其是面对未来可能超出当地适应能力的极端气候。此外，我们发现非正式的社会资本也可能加剧性别不平等，排斥和群体间的差异，这表明其在社会包容性适应方面的局限性。解决这些结构性因素可以帮助社区摆脱应对并走向长期适应。面对日益增加的气候风险，我们的研究结果表明，重视当地优势，差距和社会关系的公共支持的重要性。