Rural communities worldwide are increasingly confronted with the simultaneous impacts of environmental change dynamics and processes of economic restructuring that diminish traditional sources of state support while shifting investments toward large-scale intensive production models. A key question in this context is how livelihoods are affected by these interacting forces of change and whether new production models can contribute to resilience at the household and community scales. Here we examine the impacts of oil palm production on marginal rural communities in Mexico that have experienced both the economic changes associated with neoliberal policy reforms and the dynamics of environmental change. We find that oil palm production can contribute to livelihood resilience when community members participate in its management and governance and when production is associated with state support, but that the kinds of neoliberal policies promoting oil palm expansion may exacerbate existing community vulnerabilities in the face of environmental change.

Rural inhabitants in many parts of the world face multiple stressors associated with socioecological and climatic change, yet their risk-reducing strategies have rarely been linked to these stressors. Extant studies present unclear and often unspecific definitions of adaptation or focus on just one type of stressor rather than acknowledging that there can be multiple responses to myriad stressors. In an attempt to overcome some of these gaps, we utilize a typology of adaptation strategies that addresses deficiencies in the current adaptation literature. This research draws on qualitative interview data to examine resident perceptions of water-related socioecological and climatic changes and potential risk-reducing strategies within small rural communities in Tabasco, Mexico. The increased frequency of drought and flooding in low-lying areas near the Usumacinta River has reduced local community members’ ability to sustain their livelihoods. Results from interview analysis show that residents are using four major strategies that they perceive as helping them respond to water-related problems. They are mobility, diversification, communal pooling, and environmental management. Our findings contribute to understandings of rural community risk reduction strategies that may be shared by other rural communities in places around the world experiencing negative climate change impacts.