“Social networks have always been important to humans, and in the 21st century, they play a role in dealing with the challenges of climate change and natural resource management. While close friends are usually the first to step in when disaster strikes, research shows that long-distance relationships are also very important and, in these situations, they can provide much-needed help.

“Our study looked at the role of long-distance friendships in Tanzanian fishing villages in managing fisheries and forests. Fishers in these villages move around the coast and often stay in other communities and make connections there. The women, who specialize in cleaning and selling the fish, will meet other women at markets they travel to and become friends. These friendships provide key support, like helping with money to buy new nets or upgrade boats, and for managing natural resources—in this case, the fisheries themselves. Although a long-distance friend may live far away, they also rely on shared resources for their livelihood. We also observed that having long-distance relationships means people were more willing to participate in things like beach clean-ups or reporting someone who is breaking the rules, because of the value of shared resources and because the behavior of people in one community affects resources for other communities.

“In the U.S., we see similar situations where farmers across the country create support networks. In the face of uncertainty, the power of long-distance relationships is one way to come up with solutions.”