Climate Change Adaptation Strategies of Local Governments in Japan

Author(s):  
Kenshi Baba ◽  
Masahiro Matsuura ◽  
Taiko Kudo ◽  
Shigeru Watanabe ◽  
Shun Kawakubo ◽  
...  

The latest climate change adaptation strategies adopted by local governments in Japan are discussed. A nationwide survey demonstrates several significant findings. While some prefectures and major cities have already begun to prepare adaptation strategies, most municipalities have yet to consider such strategies. This gap must be considered when studying the climate adaptation strategies of local governments in Japan, as municipal governments are crucial to the implementation of climate adaptation strategies due to high diversity in climate impacts and geographical conditions among municipalities within each prefecture in Japan. Key challenges for local governments in preparing adaptation strategies are the lack of expert knowledge and experience in the field of climate change adaptation, and compartmentalization of government bureaus. To address these issues, an interview study of six model prefectures in the SI-CAT (Social Implementation Program on Climate Change Adaptation Technology) project by the MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) was conducted in order to understand the details of challenges raised by adaptation among local governments in Japan. The survey results reveal that local government officials lack information regarding impact projections and tools for evaluating policy options, even though some of them recognize some of the impacts of climate change on rice crop, vegetable, and fruit production. In addition, different bureaus, such as agriculture, public health, and disaster prevention, focus on different outcomes of climate change due to their different missions. As this is the inherent nature of bureaucratic organizations, a new approach for encouraging collaboration among them is needed. The fact that most of the local governments in Japan have not yet assessed the local impacts of climate change, an effort that would lay the groundwork for preparing adaptation strategies, suggests the importance of cyclical co-design that facilitates the relationship between climatic technology such as climate models and impact assessment and local governments’ needs so that the technology developments clarify the needs of local government, while those needs in turn nurture the seeds of technology.

Author(s):  
Godwell Nhamo ◽  
Adelaide O. Agyepong

The challenges associated with climate change in local governments are growing daily. One such challenge is water security, an aspect that draws us to the subject matter of climate change adaptation. This article discusses findings about institutional complexities surrounding Day Zero, a concept associated with water taps running dry because of drought conditions as aggravated by climate change in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. The thrust on institutional complexities is deliberate, as this affects how crisis situations like Day Zero were handled. The data were generated mainly from the actor–actant–network theory, events study as well as document and discourse analysis methods. The actor–actant–network theory is used widely to trace how actors (humans) and actants (non-human phenomena) interact in space and time through their networks, following narratives like Day Zero, and act on climate-related matters. The analysis applied elements of grounded theory, resulting in categories and themes emerging for discussion. The article found that narratives surrounding Day Zero were embedded in both political and administrative dilemmas and red tape. Despite these challenges, the article concludes that Day Zero remains one of the landmark learning points for climate change adaptation and water security in Cape Town, South Africa, and in other cities across the world. The article recommends that Day Zero experiences continue to be embraced positively and documented further to enhance local government climate adaptation for water security currently and into the future as well.


Global Jurist ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Saab

AbstractThis paper seeks to examine the concept of climate justice and how it is employed by different actors and for different ends. This will be done through an exploration of invocations of climate justice in discussions about a proposed adaptation strategy, namely ‘climate-ready seeds’. The impacts of climate change are often perceived as a form of injustice, because the most vulnerable regions and people suffer disproportionately while having contributed least to causing climate change. Adaptation strategies intended to alleviate this suffering can be viewed as a pursuit of climate justice. At the same time, some argue that certain adaptation strategies cause more injustice than they alleviate. Climate justice movements thus also aim to correct the injustices caused by adaptation strategies. Critics of climate-ready seeds contend that this proposed adaptation strategy is a profitable business for seed corporations, but does not benefit poor farmers. Even though different actors use the concept of climate justice for different purposes, they often invoke similar notions of ‘rights’. I argue in this paper that reliance on rights in all accounts of climate justice in discourses about climate-ready seeds plays a hand in obscuring the distinct aims and ends contained in the idea of climate justice.


2021 ◽  
pp. 129-147
Author(s):  
Cathy Burns ◽  
Stephen Flood ◽  
Barry O’Dwyer

AbstractThis study outlines the adaptation planning journey undertaken by Derry City and Strabane District Council (DCSDC) in Northern Ireland and reflects how the prevailing policy context and level of organisational adaptive capacity create the conditions for mainstreaming climate adaptation into planning and development. This chapter explores the potential of local government in Northern Ireland to integrate local authority policy drivers such as disaster risk reduction (DRR), emergency planning, risk and assurance, and community resilience. The ability to communicate risks and solutions was identified as an important consideration when undertaking adaptation planning, particularly when discussing the adaptation planning process and securing input or support from colleagues. Moreover, a significant amount of engagement was required with local government agencies to increase understanding of the relevance of climate change and DRR. Embedding DRR and climate change adaptation (CCA) within local authority policy and planning can enable a greater understanding of specific risks to local governments and act as a catalyst for further action.


Author(s):  
Edmund B. Mabhuye ◽  
Pius Z. Yanda

Abstract The impacts of climate change and variability have manifested themselves throughout the world, but considerable temporal and spatial variations exist across various places and countries. Given the variation in vulnerability, this study was undertaken in pastoral landscapes in northern Tanzania to assess the impacts of climate change, adaptation strategies and their implications to communities' livelihoods and ecosystem integrity. It examined: (i) climate trends and associated impacts on communities' livelihood options; (ii) climate change coping and adaptation strategies adopted by selected communities to reduce the severity of climate change impacts; and (iii) the challenges associated with climate change adaptation strategies in the pastoral landscape. Primary data were collected using household surveys, interviews with key informants, focus group discussions, direct field observation using transect walks and institutional analysis. Secondary data were obtained through documentary review and theme-content analysis. Results indicate that there are slight increases in temperature and wind speed as well as decreasing trends and erratic patterns of rainfall which cause drought and extended dry spells. Fluctuation in temperature and rainfall patterns affects livestock keeping through recurrent drought that has negative implications on pasture and water availability. Communities are responding to the changes through traditional response mechanisms and have embraced a few new adaptation strategies against these climate extremes, particularly drought. Generally, strategies for adaptation are likely to be successful in the near future, subject to review and harmonization of policies, institutional and legal frameworks to harness existing opportunities for management of natural resources for sustainable development and build the long-term balance between ecosystem integrity and human needs.


Author(s):  
Haruna Ibrahim Opaluwa ◽  
Gbenga OPeyemi ◽  
Momoh John Eleojo

The study examined factors influencing the choice of climate change adaptation strategies among rural farming households in Lokoja Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria. A total of 115 rural farmers constitute the sample size for this study. Descriptive and relevant inferential statistics such as multivariate probit model were used. The perceived effects of climate change in the study area were erosion/flooding, increase in rainfall, scarce of resources, increase in temperature, and increase in pest and disease infestation. The major adaptation strategies adopted by the  farmers in the study area were change in planting date (72.17%), change in harvesting date (67.83%), construction of drainage around homes/farms  (67.83%), income diversification (64.35%), and planting cover crops (58.26%). The result of the factors influencing choice of adaptation showed that gender, age, years of farming experience, access to credit, and training on climate change were the factors that influenced the choice of adaptation strategies in the study area. The major constraints to adoption of adaptation strategies in the study area were identified. The study concluded that selected socio-economic characteristics influenced the choice of rural farmers` adaptation strategies utilized in the study area. Government policies should be sensitive to support of trainings on climate change, education, credit access, farm size and household size


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