Political dimensions of climate change adaption: Conceptual reflections and African examples = Dimensions politiques de l'adaptation au changement climatique (original) (raw)
Related papers
Political Dimensions of Climate Change Adaptation: Conceptual Reflections and African Examples
Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation, 2014
This paper supports the argument that social science research should focus on adaptation to climate change as a social and political process, by analyzing the politics and interests of actors in climate change adaptation arenas, and by acknowledging the active role of those people who are expected to adapt. Most conventional climate research depoliticizes vulnerability and adaptation by removing dominant global economic and policy conditions from the discussion. Social science disciplines, if given appropriate weight in multidisciplinary projects, contribute important analyses by relying on established concepts from political science, human geography, and social anthropology. This paper explains relevant disciplinary concepts (climate change adaptation arena, governance, politics, perception, mental models, weather discourses, risk, blame, travelling ideas) and relates them to each other to facilitate the use of a common terminology and conceptual framework for research in a developmental context.
2013
This paper supports the argument that social science research should focus on adaptation to climate change as a social and political process, by analyzing the politics and interests of actors in climate change adaptation arenas, and by acknowledging the active role of those people who are expected to adapt. Most conventional climate research depoliticizes vulnerability and adaptation by removing dominant global economic and policy conditions from the discussion. Social science disciplines, if given appropriate weight in multidisciplinary projects, contribute important analyses by relying on established concepts from political science, human geography, and social anthropology. This paper explains relevant disciplinary concepts (climate change adaptation arena, governance, politics, perception, mental models, weather discourses, risk, blame, travelling ideas) and relates them to each other to facilitate the use of a common terminology and conceptual framework for research in a developmental context.
Translating the ‘adaptation to climate change’ paradigm: the politics of a travelling idea in Africa
The Geographical Journal, 2013
In the past few years, adaptation to climate change has emerged as a dominant new theme in development politics, to an extent that it can almost be considered as a new development paradigm. Yet, this new paradigm and its effects are not unproblematic, as the empirical research in three East African countries presented in this article indicates. The article argues that the current transformation of environmental governance reflects not only climate change as such, but also-and perhaps even more so-the discourse of a changing climate and its effect on development politics. The empirical evidence shows that African farmers, politicians and government officials often respond to the new 'adaptation paradigm' more readily than to directly felt phenomena caused by a changing climate. We therefore argue that the ontology of the concept of adaptation to climate change needs to be readjusted. Epistemologically, our concern is to trace the discourse of adaptation to climate change across multiple sites, i.e. how it 'travels' between global epistemic communities and adaptation projects in developing countries. Drawing on actor-network theory and its concept of translation, we provide an alternative view of adaptation to climate change by highlighting the contested and multi-sited narratives and practices that bring adaptation into being.
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 2015
To enhance understanding of the process of climate change adaptation and to facilitate the planning and implementation of socially-just adaptation strategies, deeper consideration of the factors that impede adaptation is required. In response, scholars have increasingly identified barriers to adaptation in the literature. But, despite this progress, knowledge of barriers that hamper adaptation in developing countries remains limited, especially in relation to underlying causes of vulnerability and low adaptive capacity. To further improve understanding of barriers to adaptation and identify gaps in the state-of-the-art knowledge, we undertook a synthesis of empirical literature from sub-Saharan Africa focusing on vulnerable, natural resource-dependent communities and livelihoods. Our review illustrates that: (1) local-level studies that reveal barriers to adaptation are diverse, although there is a propensity for studies on small-holder farmers;
Bridging Research and Policy Processes for Climate Change Adaptation
IDS Bulletin, 2011
This article addresses the link between research on adaptation to climate change and the related policy environment in which it operates. Drawing on recent case studies under the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) programme, we show how unpacking of policy processes through analysis of narratives, actors and politics can help shed light on important policy challenges for adaptation. The case studies reveal competing views on adaptation problems and strategies as well as their associated actors and political interests. They also identify spaces that could provide opportunities for policy engagement and influence, and ways of bridging research-policy gaps to support adaptation. We argue that such analyses are critical in order to provide greater coherence between evidence from adaptation research and emerging government policies and strategies on climate change in developing countries.
Climate change is expected to intensify existing problems and create new combinations of risks, particularly in Africa, where there is widespread poverty and dependence on the natural environment. Accordingly, there is a growing need for proactive adaptation to climate change risks. In order to achieve this, the requisite competence needs to be developed on the use and interpretation of climate information to support informed decisions. The present paper assesses the extent to which climate change scenarios are currently used in developing adaptation strategies within the agricultural development sector, with a focus on Africa. The data, based on interviews with practitioners and donors working in the climate change field in Africa, suggest that although annual climate information (such as seasonal climate forecasts) is used to a certain extent to inform and support some decisions, climate change scenarios are rarely used at present in agricultural development. However, respondents suggest a number of ways to improve the application of climate change science in these endeavors; these include strengthening technical skills for downscaling climate models, as well as using scenario outputs to develop and prioritize robust locally relevant adaptation strategies to provide examples of ‘good’ adaptation practice. Improved understanding, packaging, and communication of climate scenarios are required between scientists, practitioners, policymakers and civil society, both within areas in the global south as well as between the global south and north. In addition, we argue that a paradigmatic shift is required from supply-driven activities to a userfocused approach that addresses decision makers’ needs for climate change data. Such a shift would focus on generating the information required to provide actionable suggestions to formulate viable adaptation policies and reduce the negative consequences of climate change, particularly for Africa’s most vulnerable groups.
Contrasting perceptions with climate change : scientific observations in three West African contexts
2017
In parallel with measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, climate change adaptation has become a major research subject in recent years. Based on anticipation and resilience mechanisms, adaptation is aimed at ‘managing the inevitable; when reduction seeks to avoid the unmanageable’ (TUBIANA et al., 2010). The study of perception is of major interest in particular in rural West Africa, where adaptation is more likely to be autonomous. Indeed, it is accepted that cognitive factors play a role in the adaptation process through the perception of changes, the perception of risks and the perception of adaptive capacities (HANSEN et al., 2004; GROTHMANN and PATT, 2005; WEBER, 2010). Normative information in questions of climate is clearly given by scientific expertise. However, learning about climate change from personal experience is a strongly shared experience and the resulting perceptions are often a prior condition for action (mitigation and adaptation), whether or not there has b...
Climate change adaptation and its implementation at national and international levels
Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The), 2020
Climate change adaptation is the second arm of climate change action and seeks to ensure that all countries tackle the impacts of climate change by addressing both social and geographical vulnerabilities. The article discusses adaptation and its application at national and international levels. It also examines adaptation to climate change as a developmental challenge and how the principles of sustainable development can aid climate change action. The article analyses relevant aspects of national and international instruments relating to climate change adaptation and spotlights the commitment of Nigeria and South Africa to climate change adaptation. The article finds that integrating sustainable development into governance helps adaptation and increases resilience against the impacts of climate change. The article also emphasizes the necessity of good governance, particularly protection of human rights, climate finance and effective land use governance, to ensure climate change adap...