Learning from disaster: Community-based marine protected areas in Fiji

This paper empirically examines whether and how experiencing climate-related disasters can improve the rural poorfs adaptation to climate change through community-based resource management. Original household survey data in Fiji capture the unique sequence of a tropical cyclone and the establishment of community-based marine protected areas as a natural experiment. The analysis reveals that household disaster victimization increases its support for establishing marine protected areas for future safety nets. Under Fijian traditional consensual institutions, social learning from disaster experience among community members facilitates their collective decision-making for conservation to enhance community resilience to climate shocks.