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Journal ArticleDOI

Déjà vu or something new? The adaptation concept in the climate change literature

01 Aug 2013-Geoforum (Pergamon)-Vol. 48, pp 42-53
TL;DR: This article explored the extent to which the early political economic critique of the adaptation concept has influenced how it is used in this literature and discussed its main interpretations, concluding with a discussion of continuity and change in the conceptualization of adaptation, and point to new research directions.
About: This article is published in Geoforum.The article was published on 2013-08-01. It has received 361 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Political economy of climate change & Vulnerability.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper explored a broader conceptualisation of adaptation pathways that draws on path-thinking in the sustainable development domain to consider the implications of path dependency, interactions between adaptation plans, vested interests and global change, and situations where values, interests or institutions constrain societal responses to change.
Abstract: The need to adapt to climate change is now widely recognised as evidence of its impacts on social and natural systems grows and greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated. Yet efforts to adapt to climate change, as reported in the literature over the last decade and in selected case studies, have not led to substantial rates of implementation of adaptation actions despite substantial investments in adaptation science. Moreover, implemented actions have been mostly incremental and focused on proximate causes; there are far fewer reports of more systemic or transformative actions. We found that the nature and effectiveness of responses was strongly influenced by framing. Recent decision-oriented approaches that aim to overcome this situation are framed within a “pathways” metaphor to emphasise the need for robust decision making within adaptive processes in the face of uncertainty and inter-temporal complexity. However, to date, such “adaptation pathways” approaches have mostly focused on contexts with clearly identified decision-makers and unambiguous goals; as a result, they generally assume prevailing governance regimes are conducive for adaptation and hence constrain responses to proximate causes of vulnerability. In this paper, we explore a broader conceptualisation of “adaptation pathways” that draws on ‘pathways thinking’ in the sustainable development domain to consider the implications of path dependency, interactions between adaptation plans, vested interests and global change, and situations where values, interests, or institutions constrain societal responses to change. This re-conceptualisation of adaptation pathways aims to inform decision makers about integrating incremental actions on proximate causes with the transformative aspects of societal change. Case studies illustrate what this might entail. The paper ends with a call for further exploration of theory, methods and procedures to operationalise this broader conceptualisation of adaptation.

801 citations


Cites methods from "Déjà vu or something new? The adapt..."

  • ...Most adaptation efforts to date have, to varying degrees, adopted the IPCC’s predict-and-provide or impact-analytical approaches to the design and implementation of adaptation (Downing, 2012; UNEP, 2012; Bassett and Fogelman, 2013)....

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  • ...A more recent analysis of ‘‘the adaptation concept in the climate change literature’’ by Bassett and Fogelman (2013) report that most (70...

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The root cause analysis of vulnerability is absent from most climate response assessments as mentioned in this paper, while attributing some causal weight to proximate social variables, such as poverty or lack of capacity.
Abstract: Causal analysis of vulnerability aims to identify root causes of crises so that transformative solutions might be found. Yet root-cause analysis is absent from most climate response assessments. Framings for climate-change risk analysis often locate causality in hazards while attributing some causal weight to proximate social variables such as poverty or lack of capacity. They rarely ask why capacity is lacking, assets are inadequate or social protections are absent or fail. This contribution frames vulnerability and security as matters of access to assets and social protections. Assets and social protections each have their own context-contingent causal chains. A key recursive element in those causal chains is the ability – means and powers – of vulnerable people to influence the political economy that shapes their assets and social protections. Vulnerability is, as Sen rightly observed, linked to the lack of freedom – the freedom to influence the political economy that shapes these entitlements. In the ...

387 citations


Cites background from "Déjà vu or something new? The adapt..."

  • ...Rather than looking back in time, however, most practitioners of adaptation, resilience and disaster relief still start by attributing climate-related disasters to acts of nature, or, in the Anthropocene, to anthropogenic climate change (see Gaillard 2010, Bassett and Fogelman 2013)....

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  • ...(Drèze and Sen, Hunger and public action 1989, 47) The vast majority of policy-oriented and scholarly publications on climate-related vulnerability and adaptation attend to response rather than causality (Bassett and Fogelman 2013, 47)....

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  • ...…vulnerability as a ‘dose-response relation between an exogenous hazard to a system and its adverse effects’ (Füssel and Klein 2006, 305; also see Bassett and Fogelman 2013), is concerned with predicting the ‘impact’ of a given climate event or stress, and estimating the increment of damage…...

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors raise the awareness of the dependent variable problem in comparative studies on climate change adaptation policy by exploring its origins and propose ways to deal with it, and propose a way to operationalize the concept of adaptation policy.
Abstract: An increasing number of studies have compared climate change adaptation policies within and between different countries. In this paper we show that these comparative studies suffer from what is known as the “dependent variable problem’ – the indistinctness of the phenomenon that is being measured, and disagreement on its scope and boundaries. This problem has been signaled in other scientific fields where it proved to hamper meaningful comparisons and policy evaluations, transnational learning, and policy transfer. This paper aims to raise consciousness of the dependent variable problem in comparative studies on climate change adaptation policy by exploring its origins and proposes ways to deal with it. Three main sources of the problem are discussed: (1) conceptual indistinctness of adaptation policy and the heterogeneity and lack of consistency of what is being compared between cases. (2) Inadequate research designs to compare cases. (3) Unclear indicators and explanatory variables to compare across cases. We propose a way to operationalize the concept of adaptation policy, provide a narrower description of the research designs for policy change or outcomes analysis, and finally discuss possible measurements concepts.

259 citations


Cites background from "Déjà vu or something new? The adapt..."

  • ...The concept has been used in a wide array of scientific disciplines such as geography (Denevan, 1983; Head, 2010), biology or ecology (Bassett and Fogelman, 2013; Smit and Wandel, 2006)....

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BookDOI
12 Jun 2015
TL;DR: The origins of political ecology can be traced back to the early 1970s, when Watts et al. as discussed by the authors defined political ecology as "the production of socio-natures" in the context of political action.
Abstract: PART I: INTRODUCTION Editors' introduction Introductory overview: The Origins of Political Ecology Michael Watts PART II: ORIGINS, TRAJECTORIES AND FUTURES OF POLITICAL ECOLOGY Activist political ecology Ben Wisner Reflections on non-Anglophone political ecology Enrique Leff French research traditions on peasant agriculture Denis Gautier & Christian Kull Political ecology as trickster Paul Robbins The end of critique? Bruce Braun PART III: DOING POLITICAL ECOLOGY Ethics and Entanglement Juanita Sundberg Ethics in research beyond the human Rosemary-Claire Collard Relationship and Research Methods Abby Neely & Thoko Nguse Methods in Environmental Science Karl Zimmerer Activism and Direct Action Politics Nik Heynen & Levi Van Sant Political ecology as praxis Alex Loftus Political ecology and policy Brent McCusker Policy Networks and Moments of Government Tony Bebbington PART IV: CORE QUESTIONS AND CONCEPTS OF POLITICAL ECOLOGY A: Environmental Knowledge Political ecology and Actor-Network Theory Rebecca Lave Promises of Participation in Science and Political Ecology David Demeritt Indigenous/local environmental knowledge Leah Horowitz Participatory Mapping Joe Bryan Historical approaches Diana Davis B: Environmental Change Capitalist production of socio-natures Noel Castree Risk, hazards and vulnerability Jim Wescoat Climate change and environmental transformation Diana Liverman Environment and development: Reflections from Latin America Astrid Ulloa Livelihoods and social reproduction Ed Carr Political Ecologies of Disease and Health Brian King Environmental degradation and Marginalization Tor Benjaminsen Industrialization and environmental change Stefania Barca International trade, development and environment Alf Hornborg C: Environmental Governance Nature conservation Rod Neumann International Agri-food systems Derek Hall Certification regimes Tad Muttersbaugh Property and commodification Scott Prudham Neoliberalization of nature Karen Bakker Political ecology and state theory Morgan Robertson Eco-governmentality Gabriela Valdivia Energy and resources Matt Huber Biosecurity Celia Lowe Scales and polities Nathan Sayre D: Environmental Identities Gender/feminist political ecology 2 Rebecca Elmhirst Indigeneity Emily Yeh & Joe Bryan Class formation and nature Michael Ekers Nature, difference and the body Julie Guthman & Becky Mansfield E: Environmental Politics Social Movements Wendy Wolford & Sarah Keene Environmental justice Ryan Holifield Environmental conflict Philippe LeBillon Urbanization and environmental imaginaries Erik Swyngedouw Editor's conclusion

255 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Aug 2017-Geoforum
TL;DR: In this article, the concepts of authority and recognition are used to capture power and politics as they play out in struggles over governing changing resources, and a case study in Nepal shows how adaptation policy formation and implementation becomes a platform in which actors seek to claim authority and assert more generic rights as political and cultural citizens.

237 citations

References
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01 Jul 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors set the stage for impact, adaptation, and vulnerability assessment of climate change in the context of sustainable development and equity, and developed and applied scenarios in Climate Change Impact, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Assessment.
Abstract: Summary for policymakers Technical summary Part I. Setting the Stage for Impact, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Assessment: 1. Overview 2. Methods and tools 3. Development and application of scenarios in Climate Change Impact, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Assessment Part II. Sectors and Systems: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability: 4. Hydrology and water resources 5. Natural and managed ecosystems 6. Coastal zones and marine ecosystems 7. Energy, industry, and settlements 8. Financial services 9. Human health Part III. Regional Analyses: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability: 10. Africa 11. Asia 12. Australasia 13. Europe 14. Latin America 15. North America 16. Polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic) 17. Small island states Part IV. Global Issues and Synthesis: 18. Adaptation to climate change in the context of sustainable development and equity 19. Synthesis and integration of impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability Index.

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01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a cross-chapter case study on climate change and sustainability in natural and managed systems and assess key vulnerabilities and the risk from climate change, and assess adaptation practices, options, constraints and capacity.
Abstract: Foreword Preface Introduction Summary for policymakers Technical summary 1. Assessment of observed changes and responses in natural and managed systems 2. New assessment methodologies and the characterisation of future conditions 3. Fresh water resources and their management 4. Ecosystems, their properties, goods and services 5. Food, fibre and forest products 6. Coastal systems and low-lying areas 7. Industry, settlement and society 8. Human health 9. Africa 10. Asia 11. Australia and New Zealand 12. Europe 13. Latin America 14. North America 15. Polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic) 16. Small islands 17. Assessment of adaptation practices, options, constraints and capacity 18. Inter-relationships between adaptation and mitigation 19. Assessing key vulnerabilities and the risk from climate change 20. Perspectives on climate change and sustainability - 811 Cross-chapter case studies Appendix I. Glossary Appendix II. Contributors to the IPCC WGII Fourth Assessment Report Appendix III. Reviewers of the IPCC WGII Fourth Assessment Report Appendix IV. Acronyms and abbreviations Appendix V. Index and database of regional content Index CD-ROM.

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argue that the social, political and economic environment is as much a cause of disasters as the natural environment and that the concept of vulnerability is central to an understanding of disasters and their prevention or mitigation, exploring the extent and ways in which people gain access to resources.
Abstract: Many disasters are a complex mix of natural hazards and human action. At Risk argues that the social, political and economic environment is as much a cause of disasters as the natural environment. Published within the International Decade of Natural Hazard Reduction, this book suggests ways in which both the social and natural sciences can be analytically combined through a 'disaster pressure and release' model. Arguing that the concept of vulnerability is central to an understanding of disasters and their prevention or mitigation, the authors explore the extent and ways in which people gain access to resources. Individual chapters apply analytical concepts to famines and drought, biological hazards, floods, coastal storms, and earthquakes, volcanos and landslides - the hazards that become disasters'. Finally, the book draws practical and policy conclusions to promote a safer environment and reduce vulnerability.

6,432 citations


"Déjà vu or something new? The adapt..." refers background in this paper

  • ...’s At Risk: Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability, and disasters, that was notable for its ‘‘pressure and release’’ model that explicitly focused on political economy as the explanation for varied vulnerability and adaptive capacity (Blaikie et al., 1994)....

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  • ...…of the first edition of Blaikie et al.’s At Risk: Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability, and disasters, that was notable for its ‘‘pressure and release’’ model that explicitly focused on political economy as the explanation for varied vulnerability and adaptive capacity (Blaikie et al., 1994)....

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Book
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: In this paper, the challenge of disasters and their approach are discussed, and a framework and theory for disaster mitigation is presented. But the authors do not address the problem of access to resources and coping in adversarial situations.
Abstract: Part 1: Framework and Theory 1. The Challenge of Disasters and Our Approach 2. Disaster Pressure and Release Model 3. Access to Resources and Coping in Adversity Part 2: Vulnerability and Hazard Types 4. Famine and Natural Hazards 5. Biological Hazards 6. Floods 7. Severe Coastal Storms 8. Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Landslides Part 3: Action for Disaster Reduction 9. Vulnerability, Relief and Reconstruction 10. Towards a Safer Environment

5,190 citations