Exploring social barriers to adaptation: Insights from Western Nepal
01 Oct 2011-Global Environmental Change-human and Policy Dimensions (Elsevier)-Vol. 21, Iss: 4, pp 1262-1274
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the role of cognitive, normative and institutional factors in both influencing and prescribing adaptation, and explore how restrictive social environments can limit adaptation actions and influence adaptive capacity at the local level, particularly for the marginalized and socially excluded.
Abstract: As the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change become increasingly apparent, the need for facilitating successful adaptation and enhancing adaptive capacity within the context of sustainable development is clear. With adaptation high on the agenda, the notion of limits and barriers to adaptation has recently received much attention within both academic and policymaking spheres. While emerging literature has been quick to depict limits and barriers in terms of natural, financial, or technologic processes, there is a clear shortfall in acknowledging social barriers to adaptation. It is against such a backdrop that this paper sets out to expose and explore some of the underlying features of social barriers to adaptation, drawing on insights from two case studies in the Western Nepal. This paper exposes the significant role of cognitive, normative and institutional factors in both influencing and prescribing adaptation. It explores how restrictive social environments can limit adaptation actions and influence adaptive capacity at the local level, particularly for the marginalised and socially excluded. The findings suggest a need for greater recognition of the diversity and complexity of social barriers, strategic planning and incorporation at national and local levels, as well as an emphasis on tackling the underlying drivers of vulnerability and social exclusion.
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TL;DR: The results show that households face considerable challenges in adapting to climate change, and the need for greater investments in rural and agricultural development to support the ability of households to make strategic, long-term decisions that affect their future well-being.
642 citations
Cites background from "Exploring social barriers to adapta..."
...A number of studies have underscored the importance of farmers’ perceptions of climate change in choosing to adapt (O’Brien et al., 2006; Maddison, 2007; Adger et al., 2009; Jones and Boyd, 2011)....
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TL;DR: The most frequently reported barriers relate to the institutional and social dimensions of adaptation as mentioned in this paper, where barriers are identified as configurations of climate and non-climate factors and conditions that emerge from the actor, the governance system, or the system of concern.
Abstract: Considerable barriers can emerge in developing and implementing climate change adaptation strategies. Understanding the nature of barriers to adaptation is important so as to find strategic ways of dealing with them. However, our current understanding is limited and highly fragmented across the academic community. This paper aims to bring some conceptual convergence in these debates by applying a systematic review method to assess the current state of knowledge on barriers to adaptation in the peer-reviewed literature. The review results show that: (1) Barriers to adaptation have hardly been defined in the literature and no clear indicators exist so as to identify and assess them systematically. (2) An impressive number of barriers have been reported, but the list of possible barriers is seemingly endless. (3) The most frequently reported barriers relate to the institutional and social dimensions of adaptation. (4) Barriers are identified as configurations of climate and non-climate factors and conditions that emerge from the actor, the governance system, or the system of concern. (5) Barriers are mainly studied in developed countries with a strong focus on water-related domains. (6) The majority of studies on barriers use small-n inductive case approaches while comparative studies across different contexts are limited. (7) Although interventions to overcome barriers are recommended by most studies, empirical studies on interventions are scarce. We present further conceptual clarification and a more precise definition of barriers to adaptation. We conclude that future research should go beyond asking the questions ‘if’ and ‘which’ barriers to adaptation exist and begin asking ‘how’ and ‘why’ barriers emerge.
488 citations
Cites background from "Exploring social barriers to adapta..."
...Although all 81 studies discussed or analysed barriers to adaptation, only seven studies provided a clear definition of what barriers to adaptation are (Boer 2010; Eisenack and Stecker 2012; Huang et al. 2011; Jones and Boyd 2011; Moser and Ekstrom 2010; Storbjörk and Hedrén 2011; Sutton and Tobin 2011)....
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...…all 81 studies discussed or analysed barriers to adaptation, only seven studies provided a clear definition of what barriers to adaptation are (Boer 2010; Eisenack and Stecker 2012; Huang et al. 2011; Jones and Boyd 2011; Moser and Ekstrom 2010; Storbjörk and Hedrén 2011; Sutton and Tobin 2011)....
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...Others have used their categorisations of barriers to guide their inquiry and investigate the barriers in specific case studies, see for example, Jones and Boyd (2011), Burch (2010a), and Sutton and Tobin (2011)....
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TL;DR: The concept of barriers is increasingly used to describe the obstacles that hinder the planning and implementation of climate change adaptation as mentioned in this paper, and there is a need for research that focuses on the interdependencies between barriers and considers the dynamic ways in which barriers develop and persist.
Abstract: The concept of barriers is increasingly used to describe the obstacles that hinder the planning and implementation of climate change adaptation. The growing literature on barriers to adaptation reveals not only commonly reported barriers, but also conflicting evidence, and few explanations of why barriers exist and change. There is thus a need for research that focuses on the interdependencies between barriers and considers the dynamic ways in which barriers develop and persist. Such research, which would be actor-centred and comparative, would help to explain barriers to adaptation and provide insights into how to overcome them.
423 citations
23 Mar 2010
TL;DR: In this paper, a socio-cognitif model of private proactive adaptation to climate change (MPPACC) is presented, where le nœud du probleme de l’adaptation se trouve dans la perception du risque et la pe...
Abstract: Cet article souligne que les recherches sur l’adaptation aux changements climatiques omettent souvent l’importance des facteurs psychologiques dans la determination des mesures et actions d’adaptation. Les auteurs presentent donc un modele socio-cognitif de l’adaptation proactive privee aux changements climatiques (socio-cognitive Model of Private Proactive Adaptation to Climate Change – MPPACC) qui montre que le nœud du probleme de l’adaptation se trouve dans la perception du risque et la pe...
400 citations
Book Chapter•
01 Nov 2014
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider ways in which risk and uncertainty can affect the process and outcome of strategic choices in responding to the threat of climate change, and propose a framing chapter that considers the effects of uncertainty on strategic choices.
Abstract: This framing chapter considers ways in which risk and uncertainty can affect the process and outcome of strategic choices in responding to the threat of climate change.
299 citations
References
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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.
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TL;DR: The One-Dimensional view, the Two-dimensional view, and the three-dimensional views of power and interest were compared in this article, where the Underlying Concept of Power - Power and Interest - Three Views Compared
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"Exploring social barriers to adapta..." refers background in this paper
...Non-decision making can serve as a powerful facet of socio-political subjugation and dominance (Lukes, 1974)....
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Book•
01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: Ostronr as discussed by the authors develops a syntax for institutions by starting from the first principles of deontic logic and makes elegant distinctions between often-confused concepts, such as a strategy determines who achieves what outcomes under which conditions; a norm is a strategy specified with what is permitted, obliged, or forbidden; and a rule is a norm specified with the consequences of not following the norm.
Abstract: Elinor Ostronr s Understanding Institutional Diversity draws an analogy between genetic rules of biological organisms and social rules of communities of humans. Just as natural scientists accumulated knowledge in the human genome project, the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework is presented as the scaffolding for accumulation of knowledge on institutions. It is a framework that many social scientists will appreciate, because of its notion that knowledge about institutions can only be attained in real-life action situations. For Ostrom, social scientists are like engineers facing complex technologies: the recognition of rules does not solve a dilemma but opens up chances for tinkering with the system. Ostrom develops a syntax for institutions by starting from the first principles of deontic logic and makes elegant distinctions between often-confused concepts. For example, a strategy determines who achieves what outcomes under which conditions; a norm is a strategy specified with what is permitted, obliged, or forbidden; and a rule is a norm specified with what are the consequences of not following the norm. These arguments are supported by an impressive pool of empirical work. The focus of empirical analysis is on interaction of participants in action arenas such as a home, a city council, a firm, or an international organisation. It is an appealing focus, because it enables shifting the scale of analysis from local to global and any 'holon' in between a key analytical strength for understanding how nested institutions operate simultaneously at different scales and interact across scales. One fascinating chapter is devoted to controlled laboratory experiments with games. Its findings are used to modify the dominant model of human behaviour: the utility-maximising individual is given its proper role among the other games of life. Bold moves like this are risky. The framework that Ostrom constructs covers a vast territory and is likely to trigger critical questions such as these from other scholars:
5,315 citations
"Exploring social barriers to adapta..." refers background in this paper
...The interaction and organisation of humans, as social beings, are largely shaped by social processes and the institutions, norms and behavioural characteristics that influence them (Ostrom, 2005; Baker et al., 2006; Bisaro, 2007)....
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...…humans use to organise all forms of repetitive and structured interactions, including institutionalised cultural rules as well as formal organisations’ (Ostrom, 2005, p. 1), play a central role in the coordination of information and action in the face of possibly diverging interests (Bisaro, 2007)....
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Book•
24 Dec 2012
TL;DR: Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln as mentioned in this paper discuss the discipline and practice of qualitative research and the politics and practices of funding qualitative inquiry in the context of qualitative health research.
Abstract: Preface - Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln About the Editors About the Contributors 1. Introduction: The Discipline and Practice of Qualitative Research - Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln I. Strategies of Inquiry 2. The Politics and Practices of Funding Qualitative Inquiry: Messages About Messages About Messges - Julianne Cheek 3. Controversies in Mixed Methods Research - John W. Creswell 4. Mixed Methods Research: Contemporary Issues in an Emerging Field - Charles Teddlie and Abbus Tashakkori 5. Case Study - Bent Flyvbjerg 6. Performance Ethnography - Judith Hamera 7. Braiding Narrative Ethnography with Memoir and Creative Nonfiction - Barbara Tedlock 8. The Constructionist Analytics of Interpretive Practice - James A. Holstein and Jaber F. Gubrium 9. Grounded Theory Methods in Social Justice Research - Kathy Charmaz 10. In the Name of Human Rights: I say (how) you (should) speak (before I listen) - Antjie Krog 11. Jazz and the Banyan Tree: Roots and Riffs on Participatory Action Research - Mary Brydon-Miller, Michael Kral, Patricia Maguire, Susan Noffke and Anu Sabhlok 12. What is Qualitative Health Research? - Janice M. Morse Author Index Subject Index
3,566 citations