Abstract
Adaptive capacity is widely held as a key property of resilient and transformative social-ecological systems. However, current knowledge of the term does not yet address key questions of how to operationalize this system condition to address sustainability challenges through research and policy. This paper explores temporal and agency dimensions of adaptive capacity in practice to better understand how system conditions and attributes enable adaptation. An institutional dynamics lens is employed to systemically examine empirical cases of change in urban water management. Comparative analysis of two Australian cities' drought response is conducted using institutional analysis and qualitative system dynamics mapping techniques. The study finds that three forms of adaptive capacity appear critical: the ability to learn, decide, and act. The analytical approach developed provides insight into change dynamics and the agency mechanisms that generate them. The paper proposes a typology of adaptive capacity by characterizing these change dynamics and mechanisms for locked-in, crisis, reorganizing, and stabilizing systems. This set of propositions on institutional conditions and forms of adaptive capacity is offered to further advance research on the topic and help to operationalize adaptive capacity in practice.
Highlights
The ability of a system to anticipate and respond to various stressors, its adaptability, is considered a central tenet for aligning complex social and ecological systems in the face of uncertain futures (Smit et al 2001, Walker et al 2004). Engle (2011) highlights that this concept of adaptive capacity has connotations of being a property that can be harnessed, making the term relevant and attractive to policy makers
Current research has critiqued earlier approaches that focused on adaptive capacity determinants and indicators, arguing it is more important to understand the dynamics of adaptive capacity in the relationships between common determinants in different contexts and across scales (Gallopin 2006, Smit and Wandel 2006, Nelson et al 2007)
The results of this study suggest that understanding the forms of learning dominant in different phases of adaptation, and the effect this learning capacity exerts on other system conditions will be critical to the ability to harness adaptive capacity
Summary
The ability of a system to anticipate and respond to various stressors, its adaptability, is considered a central tenet for aligning complex social and ecological systems in the face of uncertain futures (Smit et al 2001, Walker et al 2004). Engle (2011) highlights that this concept of adaptive capacity has connotations of being a property that can be harnessed, making the term relevant and attractive to policy makers. It is important to distinguish between potential and actual adaptation (Brooks 2003, as cited in Eisenack and Stecker 2012), we argue the term adaptive capacity should include the skills and resources needed to adapt, along with the access, influence, and capability to harness and combine these system attributes into adaptation processes Without this agency element within definitions, studies risk continuing to miss critical insight into how system capacities can be mobilized for adaptation, and how this can be achieved in different social contexts. This study tested the applicability of this approach for understanding the role adaptive capacity plays in both forms of system change, using institutional work to identify the change dynamics involved
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