While policy responses to global warming have mainly been driven by debates among scientists, the insights of poor people living on the frontline have been largely neglected. This study seeks to understand what is happening from poor peoples' perspectives. A field study was conducted using Participatory Vulnerability Analysis (PVA) in two districts of Malawi. Two villages were selected that face both floods and droughts.
Key messages:

smallholders farmers experience change in the climate which is reducing productivity
inappropriate government policies have undermined attempts to diversify
 development factors exacerbate climate change impacts
 climate change exposes the underlying causes of food insecurity
 existing local government capacity cannot support the challenges smallholder farmers face in adapting to climate change.

The report recommends that:

these farmers need skills, knowledge and access to credit for addressing short and long-term needs
 the Hyogo Framework for Action, adopted at the World Conference in Disaster Reduction in Japan 2005, offers comprehensive disaster reduction policies which should be implemented.