Local Institutions, Collective Action, and Divergent Adaptation: Case from Agro-Pastoral Niger

Abstract

AbstractAdaptation is a highly contextual process, framed by institutions. When one group’s adaptation to climate hazards reduces another’s adaptive capacity, this is called divergent adaptation. The nuances of divergent adaptation are revealed in how institutions influence divergent adaptation outcomes, either to exacerbate conflict or to bring about greater peace and cooperation. By examining the sometimes conflicting adaptations of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in Niger, this chapter describes the process of divergent adaptation through an institutional analysis from multiple scales. At the national scale, climate change adaptation policies and perspectives are entrenched in sedentarization politics vis-à-vis pastoral livelihoods. At the local scale, pastoralists take a defensive position as an adaptation pathway, to ensure secure passage with their livestock to water and pasture. However, in localities where local institutional actors have enhanced collective action arenas in which pastoral and agro-pastoral groups are represented, conflict dynamics are abated. Climate adaptation is not without conflict; however, local and sub-national institutions are critical to providing opportunities for collective action, cooperation, and peace in the context of divergent adaptation. Based on these findings, it is recommended that conflict and adaptation management and planning be integrated at multiple scales.