Elements Of Adaptive Capacity Research Articles

Assessment of household-level adaptation strategy to flood in East Coast Malaysia

The increase of flood-related event has affected not only property damage but also casualties among the community that lives in a flood-prone area. Increasing risk of exposure to the flood-related event will consequently affect the livelihoods of a community. Therefore, the adaptive capacity of a community is vital for farmers to be resilient in any disaster or risk-related situation. Thus, this study will determine a household-level adaptation strategy to flood on the east coast of Malaysia by using the assessment of the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI). 100 paddy farmers living in Kota Bharu Kelantan were chosen as the respondents and the analysis of this study focuses on the adaptive capacity of the respondents. Indicators such as sociodemographic profile, livelihood strategies, and social network is used to assess farmers’ vulnerability and their adaptation capacity. Overall finding of the study shows that the paddy farmers’ household is in less vulnerable to flood events (0.36813). The result shows that social network (0.5275) is the least indicator to have higher adaptive capacity compared to indicators like livelihood strategies (0.3883) and sociodemographic profile (0.3485). The element of adaptive capacity is crucial to increase household resilience as well as to sustain the need of a household and decrease their vulnerability to a natural disaster such as flood. Therefore, assistance from the government and non-government agencies is needed to assist and support this community to promote well-being and quality of life.

Fishermen’s perceptions of constraints on adaptive capacity in the California market squid and California spiny lobster fisheries

Planning for resiliency in the face of unprecedented environmental change requires understanding the factors that constrain fishermen’s capacity to adapt. Scholars have highlighted numerous factors that may facilitate or constrain fishermen’s adaptive capacity, but ultimately fishermen act based on their own perceptions of their ability to respond and adapt to change within their broader social, environmental, and governance context. Subjective assessments of adaptive capacity are limited, yet critical, given that in the face of stressors, people’s actions are facilitated or constrained by their subjective perceptions of their capacity to take action. Using fishermen interviews and feedback sessions, we explored fishermen’s perceptions of constraints on their ability to adapt to change in two fisheries in the California Current System: California spiny lobster and California market squid. Our comparative assessment revealed important similarities and differences with regard to the likelihood that fishermen would perceive a given factor as a constraint, as well as the extent to which different domains of adaptive capacity, including diversity and flexibility in livelihood options, knowledge, and access to physical and financial capital, influence fishermen’s perceptions of constraints. Constraints relating to fishery governance, including permit access, fishery regulations, and broader concerns with fishery management were the most commonly perceived constraints in both fisheries. Individual-level constraints including mobility and knowledge of other fisheries and fishing locations were less frequently cited and significantly more likely to be perceived as constraints by spiny lobster fishermen than market squid fishermen. Our results highlight the importance of considering interactions between factors constraining different elements of adaptive capacity given that the broader governance context of fisheries can inhibit individual-level adaptive strategies. Overcoming barriers to adaptation necessitates planned and participatory governance processes that strengthen fishermen’s individual agency and ability to take meaningful action in the face of change.

Adaptive capacity in different multi-level governance models: a comparative analysis of Swedish water and large carnivore management

How do different multi-level governance models influence the adaptive capacity of environmental management? This paper examines the connection between different types of governance models, distinguished by diverse institutional features, and elements of adaptive capacity. The task is undertaken through a comparative study of two differently organized management systems within the same national context: Swedish water and large carnivore management. The systems’ governance models are defined through an institutional analysis of polycentric features, logics of design and knowledge arrangements. Assessments of adaptive capacity are based on survey data describing the involved actors' perceptions of the knowledge base, use of an experimental approach and the presence of learning. The empirical results suggest that institutional features influence some, but not all, elements of adaptive capacity. The results lend support to the idea that polycentric governance models, based on an ecological rationale, sustain participation in knowledge mobilization, support the use of an experimental approach and promote learning to a larger extent than more centralized and hierarchical governance models do; while there is no connection between governance model and the perceived reliability of knowledge base. The study contributes to environmental governance research, policy and practice by evaluating the adaptive capacity of current water and wildlife management systems in Sweden and by increasing our knowledge about how different governance models influence the adaptive capacity in environmental management.

Assessing climate change vulnerability and local adaptation strategies in adjacent communities of the Kribi-Campo coastal ecosystems, South Cameroon

This study assesses vulnerability to climate change and local adaption strategies in the Kribi-Campo coastal area. Variables of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity are described and assessed based on the community's perception and biophysical evidence. Historical changes in rainfall and temperature variables, mangrove cover and occurrence of extreme climatic events are taken as indicators of exposure. Losses of property and income structure are used as indicators of sensitivity. Human, natural, social, financial and physical assets are used as elements of adaptive capacity. Focus group discussions were held with key informants in 12 settlements, and a survey was conducted with 150 household representatives (14 Bagyeli pygmies and 136 Bantou) to gather perceptions on climate change and adaptation strategies. Results show evidence of increased -vulnerability due to decreasing rainfall and irregular rainfall patterns, increasing occurrences of extreme climatic events and increased levels of coastal erosion. These have resulted in several effects, most significantly in the decline of agricultural production, reported by 57% of respondents, and damages to housing reported by 30% of respondents. Adaptive capacities are low. >60% of respondents do not use any adaptation strategy. All sectors considered, the identified responses to climate related phenomena include early harvesting of crop, farm abandonment, change of productive activity, change of farm location, house reinforcement. The study concludes that households living here are susceptible to the possible impacts of climate change. Income diversification, mangrove afforestation and climate education should be considered as priorities for adaptation in this area.

Inuit Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Subsistence Hunting and Adaptation to Climate Change in the Canadian Arctic

This paper examines the role of Inuit traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in adaptation to climate change in the Canadian Arctic. It focuses on Inuit relationships with the Arctic environment, including hunting knowledge and land skills, and examines their roles in adaptation to biophysical changes that affect subsistence hunting. In several instances, TEK underpins competency in subsistence and adaptations to changing conditions, which includes flexibility with regard to seasonal cycles of hunting and resource use, hazard avoidance through detailed knowledge of the environment and understanding of ecosystem processes, and emergency preparedness, e.g., knowing what supplies to take when traveling and how to respond in emergency situations. Despite the documented importance of TEK in adaptation and in maintaining a level of competency in subsistence, the relationships between TEK and adaptation to climate change are not well defined in the scholarly literature. This paper aims to conceptualize the relationships between TEK and adaptation to climate change by drawing on case study research with Inuit in the Canadian Arctic. TEK is considered an element of adaptive capacity (or resilience) that is expressed as adaptation if TEK is drawn upon to adapt to changing conditions. This capacity depends on the development, accumulation, and transmission of TEK within and among generations.

Can Payments for Ecosystem Services Contribute to Adaptation to Climate Change? Insights from a Watershed in Kenya

Climate change presents new challenges for the management of social-ecological systems and the ecosystem services they provide. Although the instrument of payments for ecosystem services (PES) has emerged as a promising tool to safeguard or enhance the provision of ecosystem services (ES), little attention has been paid to the potential role of PES in climate change adaptation. As an external stressor climate change has an impact on the social-ecological system in which PES takes place, including the various actors taking part in the PES scheme. Following a short description of the conceptual link between PES and adaptation to climate change, we provide practical insights into the relationship between PES and adaptation to climate change by presenting results from a case study of a rural watershed in Kenya. Drawing upon the results of a participatory vulnerability assessment among potential ecosystem service providers in Sasumua watershed north of Nairobi, we show that PES can play a role in enhancing adaptation to climate change by influencing certain elements of adaptive capacity and incentivizing adaptation measures. In addition, trade-offs and synergies between proposed measures under PES and adaptation to climate change are identified. Results show that although it may not be possible to establish PES schemes based on water utilities as the sole source of financing, embedding PES in a wider adaptation framework creates an opportunity for the development of watershed PES schemes in Africa and ensures their sustainability. We conclude that there is a need to embed PES in a wider institutional framework and that extra financial resources are needed to foster greater integration between PES and adaptation to climate change. This can be achieved through scaling up PES by bringing in other buyers and additional ecosystem services. PES can achieve important coadaptation benefits, but for more effective adaptation outcomes it needs to be combined with vulnerability assessments and climate scenarios to ensure that these are realized and potential trade-offs between PES measures and adaptation measures minimized.

Hurricanes and wildfires: generic characteristics of community adaptive capacity

This paper explores the question: to what extent is human community adaptive capacity generic versus hazard-specific? To what extent does having adaptive capacity for one type of disturbance indicate that communities also have adaptive capacity for other types of disturbance that they currently or may someday face? We did in-depth case studies in two Lee County, Florida communities to explore the extent to which residents have adaptive capacity for both hurricanes and wildfires. Although wildfire risk has significantly less salience than hurricane risk for participants, our results suggest that case study communities have built generic elements of adaptive capacity that are generalizable to address both disturbances: (1) interactional and organizational capacities; (2) professional knowledge and extra-local networks; and (3) local knowledge, resources, and skills. We conclude by offering examples of what an ‘all-hazard’ community might look like based on the development of generic adaptive capacity.

Farmer health and adaptive capacity in the face of climate change and variability. Part 1: Health as a contributor to adaptive capacity and as an outcome from pressures coping with climate related adversities.

This paper examines the role farmers’ health plays as an element of adaptive capacity. The study examines which of twenty aspects of adaptation may be related to overall health outcomes, controlling for demographic and on-farm-factors in health problems. The analysis is based on 3,993 farmers’ responses to a national survey of climate risk and adaptation. Hierarchical linear regression modelling was used examine the extent to which, in a multivariate analysis, the use of adaptive practices was predictively associated with self-assessed health, taking into account the farmer’s rating of whether their health was a barrier to undertaking farm work. We present two models, one excluding pre-existing health (model 1) and one including pre-existing health (model 2). The first model accounted for 21% of the variance. In this model better health was most strongly predicted by an absence of on-farm risk, greater financial viability, greater debt pressures, younger age and a desire to continue farming. Social capital (trust and reciprocity) was moderately associated with health as was the intention to adopt more sustainable practices. The second model (including the farmers’ health as a barrier to undertaking farm work) accounted for 43% of the variance. Better health outcomes were most strongly explained, in order of magnitude, by the absence of pre-existing health problems, greater access to social support, greater financial viability, greater debt pressures, a desire to continue farming and the condition of on-farm resources. Model 2 was a more parsimonious model (only nine predictors, compared with 15 in model 1), and explained twice as much variance in health outcomes. These results suggest that (i) pre-existing health problems are a very important factor to consider when designing adaptation programs and policies and (ii) these problems may mediate or modify the relationship between adaptation and health.

Climate Impacts on Northern Canada: Introduction

There is significant evidence that northern Canada's climate has already undergone substantial change. These changes have meant significant impacts for physical, natural and human systems in Canada's North. Climate models suggest that such trends will continue into the future, and therefore shifts in Arctic systems are expected for some time to come. This introductory paper is the first in a series published in two issues of Ambio presenting work conducted for northern chapters of two recent Canadian national climate science assessment initiatives, From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007 and Human Health in a Changing Climate: A Canadian Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacity. Collectively, these assessments involved the work of 24 scientists with expertise in a variety of disciplines and regions in the Canadian North. These assessment processes adopted aspects of a vulnerability approach to climate assessment, primarily through a review of existing and projected exposures and elements of adaptive capacity based on existing literature. In so doing, they have contributed towards a more comprehensive understanding of climate impacts and adaptations across the northern regions of the country. This paper provides an overview and introduction to the series of papers contained in the two issues of Ambio.