scholarly journals The role of information infrastructure for climate change adaptation in the socio-ecological system of the Central Himalaya: availability, utility, and gaps

Author(s):  
Praveen Kumar ◽  
Rajiv Pandey ◽  
Christine Fürst ◽  
P. K. Joshi

AbstractThe present study intends to understand and disclose the role of information infrastructure in climate change adaptation and its underlying barriers in the communities of socio-ecological system (SES) in the Central Himalaya. The study makes use of primary data in its research methodology which comprises the use of questionnaires, oral interviews, and review of relevant literature. The data were collected using a questionnaire-based survey from 85 households in 11 villages. The study results show that road accessibility and irrigation facilities remarkably influence the educational, professional, and economic conditions of the communities. The research reveals how the flow of information through television, newspapers, village elders, and mobile phones influences perceptions of climate change in a different order. Information infrastructure availability is higher with the communities having access to the road network and irrigation facilities. The study concludes that in SES a good information infrastructure is highly relevant for reducing the current and future vulnerability of SESs to climate change. The study also provides recommendations for the dissemination of information on climate adaptation that suit the needs and demands of the Himalayan SESs and thus could help to close existing information gaps and barriers.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 10708
Author(s):  
Nate Kauffman ◽  
Kristina Hill

The scale and scope of climate change has triggered widespread acknowledgement of the need to adapt to it. Out of recent work attempting to understand, define, and contribute to the family of concepts related to adaptation efforts, considerable contributions and research have emerged. Yet, the field of climate adaptation constantly grapples with complex ideas whose relational interplay is not always clear. Similarly, understanding how applied climate change adaptation efforts unfold through planning processes that are embedded in broader institutional settings can be difficult to apprehend. We present a review of important theory, themes, and terms evident in the literature of spatial planning and climate change adaptation to integrate them and synthesize a conceptual framework illustrating their dynamic interplay. This leads to consideration of how institutions, urban governance, and the practice of planning are involved, and evolving, in shaping climate adaptation efforts. While examining the practice of adaptation planning is useful in framing how core climate change concepts are related, the role of institutional processes in shaping and defining these concepts—and adaptation planning itself—remains complex. Our framework presents a useful tool for approaching and improving an understanding of the interactive relationships of central climate change adaptation concepts, with implications for future work focused on change within the domains of planning and institutions addressing challenges in the climate change era.


Author(s):  
Torbjørn Selseng ◽  
Marit Klemetsen ◽  
Tone Rusdal

AbstractIn recent decades, there has been a surge in the scholarship on climate change adaptation (CCA) terminology and diverging interpretations of the term has emerged. Given the crucial role of local governments in building society-wide adaptive capacity, understanding how municipalities understand and interpret CCA, is important. In this study, we analyse twelve large-scale questionnaires from 2007 to 2020 distributed to all Norwegian municipalities. Using a combination of directed and conventional content analysis of the questions and answers, we summarise and map the progress of adaptation work over the 14 years and assess the consistency and the scope of the surveys in light of the current research on climate adaptation. We find diverging views on what adaptation entails, both from the researchers, in the phrasing of questions, and from the respondents. The empirical evidence suggests an overall imbalanced interpretation of CCA, both in terms of the risks and consequences we may face, the climate that needs adapting to, as well as adequate adaptation strategies. We go on to discuss the implications of these findings, highlighting the need for a shared and well-communicated framework for local CCA and a closer monitoring of the actual efforts of the municipalities. If instead left unchecked, this confusion might lead to unsustainable maladaptation at the local government level throughout Norway and beyond.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Pardoe ◽  
Katharine Vincent ◽  
Declan Conway ◽  
Emma Archer ◽  
Andrew J. Dougill ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this paper, we use an inductive approach and longitudinal analysis to explore political influences on the emergence and evolution of climate change adaptation policy and planning at national level, as well as the institutions within which it is embedded, for three countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia). Data collection involved quantitative and qualitative methods applied over a 6-year period from 2012 to 2017. This included a survey of 103 government staff (20 in Malawi, 29 in Tanzania and 54 in Zambia) and 242 interviews (106 in Malawi, 86 in Tanzania and 50 in Zambia) with a wide range of stakeholders, many of whom were interviewed multiple times over the study period, together with content analysis of relevant policy and programme documents. Whilst the climate adaptation agenda emerged in all three countries around 2007–2009, associated with multilateral funding initiatives, the rate and nature of progress has varied—until roughly 2015 when, for different reasons, momentum slowed. We find differences between the countries in terms of specifics of how they operated, but roles of two factors in common emerge in the evolution of the climate change adaptation agendas: national leadership and allied political priorities, and the role of additional funding provided by donors. These influences lead to changes in the policy and institutional frameworks for addressing climate change, as well as in the emphasis placed on climate change adaptation. By examining the different ways through which ideas, power and resources converge and by learning from the specific configurations in the country examples, we identify opportunities to address existing barriers to action and thus present implications that enable more effective adaptation planning in other countries. We show that more socially just and inclusive national climate adaptation planning requires a critical approach to understanding these configurations of power and politics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-117
Author(s):  
A. Henri-Ukoha

The study examined the viability of climate adaptation strategies of cassava-based farmers in Southern Nigeria. A total of 300 cassava-based farmers were randomly selected. Primary data were obtained through administration of questionnaire, interview schedule and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics which involved the use of percentages, mean and frequency distributions as well as OLS multiple regression model. The specific objectives include: to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, identify the climate change adaptation practices employed, ascertain the viability of the climate change adaptation practices and to determine the factors influencing the use of climate change adaptation strategies by the cassava-based farmers in the study area. Results show that majority of the cassava-based farmers were females, married, had a mean age of 46 years, 19 years farming experience, household size of 8 persons, and mean farm size of 1.23 hectares. Results further showed that the cassava farmers adopted various of adaptation strategies such as mixed cropping 24.3%, crop rotation 16.3%, change in planting date 36.6%, use of improved varieties 63.2%, minimum tillage 37%, early and late planting 35.3% and 13.5% respectively. These practices facilitated the adaptation to climate change by the farmers. However, farming experience, farm size, education, access to extension  services, credits and farm income influenced the viability of the climatic adaptation strategies of the cassava-based farmers in the area. Farmers are advised to take good advantage of seminars, workshops, symposiums, and conferences on climate change and its implications on agricultural production. Keywords: Assessment; Viability; Adaptation, Climate Change, Strategies, Cassava-based Farmers


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Vandenbergh ◽  
Bruce M. Johnson

This Article examines the role of private environmental governance (PEG) in climate change adaptation. PEG occurs when private organizations perform traditionally governmental functions such as providing public goods and reducing negative externalities. PEG initiatives that target climate change mitigation have expanded rapidly in the last decade and have been the subject of research in multiple fields, but PEG initiatives that target climate change adaptation have received less attention. As a first step, the Article develops a definition of private governance regarding climate adaption, identifies several types of PEG adaptation initiatives, and briefly identifies research gaps.


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