Marianne Mosberg - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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Papers by Marianne Mosberg
This thesis investigates if local supply of solar energy can contribute to sustainable adaptation... more This thesis investigates if local supply of solar energy can contribute to sustainable adaptation to climate variability and change, by examining the case of a decentralized solar energy centre in the remote, rural village of Ikisaya in Kenya. Sustainable adaptation is here understood as a process which involves leading a society on a development pathway that is socially and environmentally sustainable. Reducing vulnerability, caused by contextual conditions and multiple stressors, is an essential element of sustainable adaptation. This thesis therefore first examines how climatic and societal factors, and people’s responses to these, shape the vulnerability context in Ikisaya. Findings from this research demonstrate that high inter-annual rainfall variability, erratic precipitation, frequent droughts and occasional floods, are the main climatic drivers of vulnerability in the area. Economic, political and socio-cultural factors, as well as conflicts and insecurity, are identified as the main societal factors that contribute to vulnerability. These climatic and societal factors are interlinked in a variety of ways. Furthermore, this thesis demonstrates that responses to contextual conditions and multiple stressors form an integral part of the vulnerability context. A variety of coping strategies and adaptive measures employed by people in Ikisaya are identified in this thesis. The coping strategies primarily focus on acquiring food or income through livelihood diversification, drawing on social networks, engaging in group activities, performing illegal activities or receiving emergency food aid from the government or church. These strategies generally provide marginal income, are instable, risky, and some are socially or environmentally unsustainable. Adaptive measures aim at enhancing agricultural productivity or securing access to water, but these are not available to most people due to high investment costs or manual labor demand. The thesis then investigates how Ikisaya Solar Energy Centre influences the vulnerability context in Ikisaya, and how climatic and societal factors in turn affect the viability of the Centre. Findings from this research show that the Energy Centre has a number of direct and indirect positive implications for livelihoods, education, and health. Yet, not everyone in the community is able to access the services at the centre. Climatic and societal factors are also found to influence the financial viability of the centre through fluctuating demand for the services
Sciences (NMBU). The Department's activities include research, education and assignments.
Forest Policy and Economics, 2021
Abstract In this paper, we explore the interactions between political, social and environmental c... more Abstract In this paper, we explore the interactions between political, social and environmental changes and forest governance in Kenya, through a study of Mukogodo forest in Laikipia county. Drawing on findings from key informant and group interviews as well as analysis of policy documents, we argue that political reform processes – including devolution and changing land and forest policies – combined with “green militarisation” and socio-environmental changes have profound implications for the politics of forest governance in Mukogodo. The way policy reforms interact with wider political dynamics has important implications for the management of environmental change. We find that competing claims to authority both within and between communities are exacerbated by increasingly weaponised resource management regimes, electoral politics and a territorialisation of resource rights. Contestations and tensions between different social groups ensue as some gain secure access to forest resources while others do not. Claims to decision-making authority over resources or to socio-political positions in general are often made based on ethnicity, gender, age, clan, education levels or other dimensions of social differentiation. The way that groups and organisations portray others as mismanaging the forest – and themselves as solving the problem – also forms part of how authority claims are being made in forest governance. The result is a forest governance regime that exhibits less flexibility and cooperation between social groups living in and around the forest, thus undermining livestock mobility and other practices that are critical for the resilience of pastoral systems in a changing climate.
World Development, 2021
This paper critically reviews the outcomes of internationally-funded interventions aimed at clima... more This paper critically reviews the outcomes of internationally-funded interventions aimed at climate change adaptation and vulnerability reduction. It highlights how some interventions inadvertently reinforce, redistribute or create new sources of vulnerability. Four mechanisms drive these maladaptive outcomes: (i) shallow understanding of the vulnerability context; (ii) inequitable stakeholder participation in both design and implementation; (iii) a retrofitting of adaptation into existing development agendas; and (iv) a lack of critical engagement with how 'adaptation success' is defined. Emerging literature shows potential avenues for overcoming the current failure of adaptation interventions to reduce vulnerability: first, shifting the terms of engagement between adaptation practitioners and the local populations participating in adaptation interventions; and second, expanding the understanding of 'local' vulnerability to encompass global contexts and drivers of vulnerability. An important lesson from past adaptation interventions is that within current adaptation cum development paradigms, inequitable terms of engagement with 'vulnerable' populations are reproduced and the multi-scalar processes driving vulnerability remain largely ignored. In particular, instead of designing projects to change the practices of
IDS Bulletin, 2017
This article examines adaptation to climate change in view of changing humanitarian approaches in... more This article examines adaptation to climate change in view of changing humanitarian approaches in Isiolo County, Kenya. While humanitarian actors are increasingly integrating climate change in their international and national-level strategies, we know less about how this plays out at sub-national levels, which is key to tracking whether and how short-term assistance can support long-term adaptation. The article suggests that increasing attention to resilience and adaptation among humanitarian actors may not lead to reduced vulnerability because resources tend to be captured through existing power structures, directed by who you know and your place in the social hierarchy. In turn, this sustains rather than challenges the marginalisation processes that cause vulnerability to climate shocks and stressors. The article highlights the important role of power and politics both in channelling resources and determining outcomes.
49, 2018
Sciences (NMBU). Noragric's activities include research, education and assignments, focusing part... more Sciences (NMBU). Noragric's activities include research, education and assignments, focusing particularly, but not exclusively, on developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Noragric Reports present findings from various studies and assignments, including programme appraisals and evaluations. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this publication are entirely those of the authors and cannot be attributed directly to the Department of International Environment and Development Studies (NMBU/Noragric). Nagoda, Sigrid, Mosberg, Marianne and Eriksen, Siri. Humanitarian policy and practice in a changing climate-Guiding principles for practitioners.
This article investigates the role of 'illicit' activities in shaping vulnerability dynamics and ... more This article investigates the role of 'illicit' activities in shaping vulnerability dynamics and exemplifies the role of subjectivities and authority in the politics of adaptation. Through drawing on data from several areas in Kitui County in Kenya, the article shows how people are able to use illicit strategies very differently, with differential outcomes on their vulnerability. We suggest that this dynamic has important political dimensions in terms of how authority, legitimacy, subjectivity and social status are reproduced or challenged through the daily practice of how individuals and households within a village engage in strategies to manage shocks and change. We use the term 'illicit' here to emphasize that some activities carried out to cope with shocks and change in the study area, namely bush-meat hunting, home-brewing, charcoal production, prostitution, forest uses and theft, are actually subject to legal or social sanctions and repercussions because they are counter to statutory and/or customary law and moral codes. What is seen as socially acceptable locally (and by whom) however, and what sanctions can be expected, is malleable as a result of a dynamic interplay between statutory and customary law and social norms, subjectivity and environmental conditions, which do not always coincide. People may use this to their advantage differentially. Engaging in illicit activities can alter subjectivity and authority, as people are ascribed roles characterized as 'immoral' or 'criminal', which in turn may affect their social standing and authority in the community. Illicit strategies are, however, also in part an arena where people assume authority and control over their own circumstances and resist rules of what is socially acceptable or not. Longer-term implications of the illicit coping strategies identified in this article were found to be contradictory and unpredictable, multifaceted and complex, particularly in terms of social differentiation and vulnerability. Coping strategies that might make a person or household less vulnerable on one time scale, might make them more vulnerable on another, thereby illustrating that adaptation is not a linear nor static process.
This thesis investigates if local supply of solar energy can contribute to sustainable adaptation... more This thesis investigates if local supply of solar energy can contribute to sustainable adaptation to climate variability and change, by examining the case of a decentralized solar energy centre in the remote, rural village of Ikisaya in Kenya. Sustainable adaptation is here understood as a process which involves leading a society on a development pathway that is socially and environmentally sustainable. Reducing vulnerability, caused by contextual conditions and multiple stressors, is an essential element of sustainable adaptation. This thesis therefore first examines how climatic and societal factors, and people’s responses to these, shape the vulnerability context in Ikisaya. Findings from this research demonstrate that high inter-annual rainfall variability, erratic precipitation, frequent droughts and occasional floods, are the main climatic drivers of vulnerability in the area. Economic, political and socio-cultural factors, as well as conflicts and insecurity, are identified as the main societal factors that contribute to vulnerability. These climatic and societal factors are interlinked in a variety of ways. Furthermore, this thesis demonstrates that responses to contextual conditions and multiple stressors form an integral part of the vulnerability context. A variety of coping strategies and adaptive measures employed by people in Ikisaya are identified in this thesis. The coping strategies primarily focus on acquiring food or income through livelihood diversification, drawing on social networks, engaging in group activities, performing illegal activities or receiving emergency food aid from the government or church. These strategies generally provide marginal income, are instable, risky, and some are socially or environmentally unsustainable. Adaptive measures aim at enhancing agricultural productivity or securing access to water, but these are not available to most people due to high investment costs or manual labor demand. The thesis then investigates how Ikisaya Solar Energy Centre influences the vulnerability context in Ikisaya, and how climatic and societal factors in turn affect the viability of the Centre. Findings from this research show that the Energy Centre has a number of direct and indirect positive implications for livelihoods, education, and health. Yet, not everyone in the community is able to access the services at the centre. Climatic and societal factors are also found to influence the financial viability of the centre through fluctuating demand for the services
Sciences (NMBU). The Department's activities include research, education and assignments.
Forest Policy and Economics, 2021
Abstract In this paper, we explore the interactions between political, social and environmental c... more Abstract In this paper, we explore the interactions between political, social and environmental changes and forest governance in Kenya, through a study of Mukogodo forest in Laikipia county. Drawing on findings from key informant and group interviews as well as analysis of policy documents, we argue that political reform processes – including devolution and changing land and forest policies – combined with “green militarisation” and socio-environmental changes have profound implications for the politics of forest governance in Mukogodo. The way policy reforms interact with wider political dynamics has important implications for the management of environmental change. We find that competing claims to authority both within and between communities are exacerbated by increasingly weaponised resource management regimes, electoral politics and a territorialisation of resource rights. Contestations and tensions between different social groups ensue as some gain secure access to forest resources while others do not. Claims to decision-making authority over resources or to socio-political positions in general are often made based on ethnicity, gender, age, clan, education levels or other dimensions of social differentiation. The way that groups and organisations portray others as mismanaging the forest – and themselves as solving the problem – also forms part of how authority claims are being made in forest governance. The result is a forest governance regime that exhibits less flexibility and cooperation between social groups living in and around the forest, thus undermining livestock mobility and other practices that are critical for the resilience of pastoral systems in a changing climate.
World Development, 2021
This paper critically reviews the outcomes of internationally-funded interventions aimed at clima... more This paper critically reviews the outcomes of internationally-funded interventions aimed at climate change adaptation and vulnerability reduction. It highlights how some interventions inadvertently reinforce, redistribute or create new sources of vulnerability. Four mechanisms drive these maladaptive outcomes: (i) shallow understanding of the vulnerability context; (ii) inequitable stakeholder participation in both design and implementation; (iii) a retrofitting of adaptation into existing development agendas; and (iv) a lack of critical engagement with how 'adaptation success' is defined. Emerging literature shows potential avenues for overcoming the current failure of adaptation interventions to reduce vulnerability: first, shifting the terms of engagement between adaptation practitioners and the local populations participating in adaptation interventions; and second, expanding the understanding of 'local' vulnerability to encompass global contexts and drivers of vulnerability. An important lesson from past adaptation interventions is that within current adaptation cum development paradigms, inequitable terms of engagement with 'vulnerable' populations are reproduced and the multi-scalar processes driving vulnerability remain largely ignored. In particular, instead of designing projects to change the practices of
IDS Bulletin, 2017
This article examines adaptation to climate change in view of changing humanitarian approaches in... more This article examines adaptation to climate change in view of changing humanitarian approaches in Isiolo County, Kenya. While humanitarian actors are increasingly integrating climate change in their international and national-level strategies, we know less about how this plays out at sub-national levels, which is key to tracking whether and how short-term assistance can support long-term adaptation. The article suggests that increasing attention to resilience and adaptation among humanitarian actors may not lead to reduced vulnerability because resources tend to be captured through existing power structures, directed by who you know and your place in the social hierarchy. In turn, this sustains rather than challenges the marginalisation processes that cause vulnerability to climate shocks and stressors. The article highlights the important role of power and politics both in channelling resources and determining outcomes.
49, 2018
Sciences (NMBU). Noragric's activities include research, education and assignments, focusing part... more Sciences (NMBU). Noragric's activities include research, education and assignments, focusing particularly, but not exclusively, on developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Noragric Reports present findings from various studies and assignments, including programme appraisals and evaluations. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this publication are entirely those of the authors and cannot be attributed directly to the Department of International Environment and Development Studies (NMBU/Noragric). Nagoda, Sigrid, Mosberg, Marianne and Eriksen, Siri. Humanitarian policy and practice in a changing climate-Guiding principles for practitioners.
This article investigates the role of 'illicit' activities in shaping vulnerability dynamics and ... more This article investigates the role of 'illicit' activities in shaping vulnerability dynamics and exemplifies the role of subjectivities and authority in the politics of adaptation. Through drawing on data from several areas in Kitui County in Kenya, the article shows how people are able to use illicit strategies very differently, with differential outcomes on their vulnerability. We suggest that this dynamic has important political dimensions in terms of how authority, legitimacy, subjectivity and social status are reproduced or challenged through the daily practice of how individuals and households within a village engage in strategies to manage shocks and change. We use the term 'illicit' here to emphasize that some activities carried out to cope with shocks and change in the study area, namely bush-meat hunting, home-brewing, charcoal production, prostitution, forest uses and theft, are actually subject to legal or social sanctions and repercussions because they are counter to statutory and/or customary law and moral codes. What is seen as socially acceptable locally (and by whom) however, and what sanctions can be expected, is malleable as a result of a dynamic interplay between statutory and customary law and social norms, subjectivity and environmental conditions, which do not always coincide. People may use this to their advantage differentially. Engaging in illicit activities can alter subjectivity and authority, as people are ascribed roles characterized as 'immoral' or 'criminal', which in turn may affect their social standing and authority in the community. Illicit strategies are, however, also in part an arena where people assume authority and control over their own circumstances and resist rules of what is socially acceptable or not. Longer-term implications of the illicit coping strategies identified in this article were found to be contradictory and unpredictable, multifaceted and complex, particularly in terms of social differentiation and vulnerability. Coping strategies that might make a person or household less vulnerable on one time scale, might make them more vulnerable on another, thereby illustrating that adaptation is not a linear nor static process.