scholarly journals Transformational adaptation: agriculture and climate change

2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 240 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Rickards ◽  
S. M. Howden
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Agricultural Knowledge ◽  
Marginal Change ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Key Issues

Climate change presents the need and opportunity for what the Stern report called ‘major, non-marginal change’. Such transformational adaptation is rapidly emerging as a serious topic in agriculture. This paper provides an overview of the topic as it applies to agriculture, focusing on the Australian situation. It does so by first defining transformational adaptation, distinguishing it from other more incremental but overlapping modes of climate change adaptation and positing its emergence in agriculture as a response to both drivers and opportunities. The multiple dimensions of transformational adaptation are highlighted before two types or cases are focussed upon in order to tease out issues and highlight two major examples of transformation in agriculture in the past. Four key issues about climate change adaptation in agriculture particularly pertinent for transformational adaptation are then reviewed: the identification, level, distribution and management of the costs of adaptation; the definition, potential for and need to avoid maladaptation; the capacity demands that this level of adaptation presents; and the role of government in adaptation. Overall, transformational adaptation poses potential great gains but also great risks. It reinforces the realisation that agricultural research can no longer remain insulated from off-farm, non-science or non-agricultural knowledge or processes. Support and guidance of transformational adaptation requires that we understand how Australian agriculture is currently, and could be, positioned within the landscape, rural communities, and broader social, political and cultural environment.

scholarly journals Knowledge politics in participatory climate change adaptation research on agroecology in Malawi

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 238-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Bezner Kerr ◽  
Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong ◽  
Laifolo Dakishoni ◽  
Esther Lupafya ◽  
Lizzie Shumba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Environmental Implications ◽  
Changing Climate ◽  
Agricultural Knowledge ◽  
Sources Of Knowledge

AbstractClimate change is projected to have severe implications for smallholder agriculture in Africa, with increased temperatures, increased drought and flooding occurrence, and increased rainfall variability. Given these projections, there is a need to identify effective strategies to help rural communities adapt to climatic risks. Yet, relatively little research has examined the politics and social dynamics around knowledge and sources of information about climate-change adaptation with smallholder farming communities. This paper uses a political ecology approach to historically situate rural people's experiences with a changing climate. Using the concept of the co-production of knowledge, we examine how Malawian smallholder farmers learn, perceive, share and apply knowledge about a changing climate, and what sources they draw on for agroecological methods in this context. As well, we pay particular attention to agricultural knowledge flows within and between households. We ask two main questions: Whose knowledge counts in relation to climate-change adaptation? What are the political, social and environmental implications of these knowledge dynamics? We draw upon a long-term action research project on climate-change adaptation that involved focus groups, interviews, observations, surveys, and participatory agroecology experiments with 425 farmers. Our findings are consistent with other studies, which found that agricultural knowledge sources were shaped by gender and other social inequalities, with women more reliant on informal networks than men. Farmers initially ranked extension services as important sources of knowledge about farming and climate change. After farmers carried out participatory agroecological research, they ranked their own observation and informal farmer networks as more important sources of knowledge. Contradictory ideas about climate-change adaptation, linked to various positions of power, gaps of knowledge and social inequalities make it challenging for farmers to know how to act despite observing changes in rainfall. Participatory agroecological approaches influenced adaptation strategies used by smallholder farmers in Malawi, but most still maintained the dominant narrative about climate-change causes, which focused on local deforestation by rural communities. Smallholder farmers in Malawi are responsible for <1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet our results show that the farmers often blame their own rural communities for changes in deforestation and rainfall patterns. Researchers need to consider differences knowledge and power between scientists and farmers and the contradictory narratives at work in communities to foster long-term change.

Development as Self-Interest

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Blodgett Bermeo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Adaptation And Mitigation

This chapter introduces the role of development as a self-interested policy pursued by industrialized states in an increasingly connected world. As such, it is differentiated from traditional geopolitical accounts of interactions between industrialized and developing states as well as from assertions that the increased focus on development stems from altruistic motivations. The concept of targeted development—pursuing development abroad when and where it serves the interests of the policymaking states—is introduced and defined. The issue areas covered in the book—foreign aid, trade agreements between industrialized and developing countries, and finance for climate change adaptation and mitigation—are introduced. The preference for bilateral, rather than multilateral, action is discussed.

scholarly journals Farmers’ perceptions and role of institutional arrangements in climate change adaptation: Insights from rainfed Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 100288
Author(s):  
Nasir Mahmood ◽  
Muhammad Arshad ◽  
Yasir Mehmood ◽  
Muhammad Faisal Shahzad ◽  
Harald Kächele
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Institutional Arrangements

scholarly journals Interlinkages between Urbanization and Climate Change: Identifying and Understanding the Challenges and the Prospects

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-300
Author(s):  
Abhinav Alakshendra ◽  
Arjun Kumar ◽  
Simi Mehta
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
Urban Service ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

India is urbanizing at an alarming rate and the impact of climate change is becoming more visible each passing day. The rapid urbanization and climate change have severe direct and indirect consequences, such as increasing poverty, inequality, massive displacement, public health concerns, and challenges of urban governance, among others. This paper identifies some of the most pressing issues faced by urban India in the context of climate change. It also details the interventions undertaken at the local, national, and international levels to counter the effect of the climate change. In addition, it critically evaluates the role of government organizations, especially in terms of undertaking regulatory and planning functions. The paper argues that the implementation of institutional reforms would enable the government to reach out to the private sector to improve urban service delivery. It also provides examples of best practices from India and the world in combating climate change through adaptation and mitigation approaches.Abstrak. India mengalami urbanisasi pada tingkat yang mengkhawatirkan dan dampak perubahan iklim menjadi terlihat setiap hari. Urbanisasi yang cepat dan perubahan iklim memiliki konsekuensi langsung dan tidak langsung yang parah, seperti antara lain meningkatnya kemiskinan, ketimpangan, pengungsian besar-besaran, masalah kesehatan masyarakat, dan tantangan tata kelola kota. Makalah ini mengidentifikasi beberapa masalah paling mendesak yang dihadapi oleh perkotaan India dalam konteks perubahan iklim. Makalah ini juga merinci intervensi yang dilakukan di tingkat lokal, nasional, dan internasional untuk melawan dampak perubahan iklim. Selain itu, secara kritis makalah ini mengevaluasi peran organisasi pemerintah, terutama dalam menjalankan fungsi pengaturan dan perencanaan. Makalah ini berpendapat bahwa pelaksanaan reformasi kelembagaan akan memungkinkan pemerintah menjangkau sektor swasta untuk membantu meningkatkan pelayanan perkotaan. Makalah ini juga memberikan contoh praktik terbaik dari India dan dunia dalam memerangi perubahan iklim melalui pendekatan adaptasi dan mitigasi.Kata kunci. Urbanisasi, perubahan iklim, keterkaitan, tata kelola kota, mitigasi.

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