Changing Land Use, Land Cover and Climate: The Significance of Social Capital in Disaster Resilience in Kerala

Objectives: It aims to identify the land use and land cover effect on climate change in cyclone affected areas in Thiruvananthapuram District. It aims to demonstrate the significance of examining social capital at the community or spatial level to achieve resilience more rapidly. Method: Several satellite imageries were utilized in order to evaluate the changes in land use land cover (LULC) that occurred within the research area. In order to comprehend the spatial distribution of social capital among households in the district's coastal and inland villages, which is essential for achieving disaster resilience, a primary survey was also carried out among 200 households in two Ockhi-affected villages, Karumkulam and Venganoor. Findings: The study shows that the studied area has seen substantial changes during the period 2018 and 2025. The period was characterized by the continuous decrease in vegetation cover and the doubling of the built-up area of two villages. Furthermore, it shows that inland villages immediately became resilient after the disaster, whereas coastal villages took almost two years to do so due to a lack of social networks. Novelty: Satellite images used in remote sensing have been used to classify and map changes in LULC by finding different parts of the landscape. More than 70 training samples were gathered from all LULC classes to ensure precise classification, with over 15 samples obtained for each class. Variations in four classes, such as built-up areas, agriculture, mixed trees, and water bodies in two villages, have been identified for three periods 2000, 2018 & 2025. Keywords Climate Change, Cyclone, Disaster Resilience, LULC, Social Capital