scholarly journals Mapping evidence of human adaptation to climate change

Author(s):  
Lea Berrang-Ford ◽  
A.R. Siders ◽  
Alexandra Lesnikowski ◽  
Alexandra Paige Fischer ◽  
Max Callaghan ◽  
...  

Abstract We present the first systematic, global stocktake of the academic literature on human adaptation. We screen 48,316 documents and identify 1,682 articles that present empirical research documenting human efforts to reduce risk from climate change and associated hazards. Coding and synthesizing this literature highlights that the overall extent of adaptation across global regions and sectors is low. Adaptations are largely local and incremental rather than transformative. Behavioural adjustments by individuals and households are more prevalent than any other type of response, largely motivated by drought and precipitation variability. Local governments and civil society are engaging in risk reduction across all sectors and regions, particularly in response to flooding. Urban technological and infrastructural adaptations to flood risk are prevalent in Europe, while shifts in farming practices dominate reporting from Africa and Asia. Despite increasing evidence of adaptation responses, evidence that these responses are reducing risks (observed and projected) remains limited.

Author(s):  
Lea Berrang-Ford ◽  
A. R. Siders ◽  
Alexandra Lesnikowski ◽  
Alexandra Paige Fischer ◽  
Max W. Callaghan ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Lesnikowski ◽  
Lea Berrang-Ford ◽  
A.R. Siders ◽  
Neal Haddaway ◽  
Robbert Biesbroek ◽  
...  

Abstract Context: It is now widely accepted that the climate is changing, and that societal response will need to be rapid and comprehensive to prevent the most severe impacts. A key milestone in global climate governance is to assess progress on adaptation. To-date, however, there has been negligible robust, systematic synthesis of progress on adaptation or adaptation-relevant responses globally. Aim: The purpose of this review protocol is to outline the methods used by the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI) to systematically review human adaptation responses to climate-related changes that have been documented globally since 2013 in the scientific literature. The broad question underpinning this review is: Are we adapting to climate change? More specifically, we ask ‘what is the evidence relating to human adaptation-related responses that can (or are) directly reducing risk, exposure, and/or vulnerability to climate change?’ Methods: We review scientific literature 2013-2019 to identify documents empirically reporting on observed adaptation-related responses to climate change in human systems that can directly reduce risk. We exclude non-empirical (theoretical & conceptual) literature and adaptation in natural systems that occurs without human intervention. Included documents were coded across a set of questions focused on: Who is responding? What responses are documented? What is the extent of the adaptation-related response? What is the evidence that adaptation-related responses reduce risk, exposure and/or vulnerability? Once articles are coded, we conduct a quality appraisal of the coding and develop ‘evidence packages’ for regions and sectors. We supplement this systematic mapping with an expert elicitation exercise, undertaken to assess bias and validity of insights from included/coded literature vis a vis perceptions of real-world adaptation for global regions and sectors, with associated confidence assessments. Related protocols: This protocol represents Part 3 of a 5-part series outlining the phases of this initiative. Part 3 outlines the methods used to extract data on adaptation from documents (coding), as well as procedures for data quality assurance. See Figure 1.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jale Tosun ◽  
Lucas Leopold

A growing number of cities in different world regions are forming transnational networks in order to mitigate and adapt to climate change. In this study, we are interested in the nexus between climate change and urban water management. How do transnational city networks for climate action perceive urban water management? What kind of activities do they adopt for improving urban water management? How effective are these in practice? This study maps 17 transnational city networks that primarily work on climate governance, assesses whether they formally embrace urban water management as a field of activity, and analyzes the extent to which they influence local climate action regarding water-related issues. Our descriptive analysis reveals that the great majority of transnational city networks has embraced goals related to urban water management, mostly framed from the perspective of adaptation to climate change. However, our in-depth analysis of two frontrunner cities in Germany shows that membership in ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) has only limited influence on the initiation and implementation of water-related policy measures.


2022 ◽  
Vol 114 ◽  
pp. 105949
Author(s):  
Kristýna Křištofová ◽  
Michal Lehnert ◽  
Stanislav Martinát ◽  
Vladimír Tokar ◽  
Zdeněk Opravil

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huicheul Jung ◽  
Jaeuk Kim ◽  
Insang Yu ◽  
Sung-Hun Lee

<p>It is mandatory to establish a detailed implementation plan on measures for adaptation to climate change of local governments, based on the Article 48 of the Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth and Article 38 of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act of South Korea. However, it is difficult for local governments to establish such detailed implementation plan due to high budget spending, lack of experts in climate change field and the shift in cyclical positions of government officials. The Korea Adaptation Center for Climate Change(KACCC) has developed a system for supporting local governments to overcome the difficulties. The system provides integrated data regarding climate change adaptation, such as general information, current status and prospect of climate change, climate change impact analysis, vulnerability and risk assessment to climate change using VESTAP (Vulnerability Assessment Tool to Build Climate Change Adaptation Plan) for each region. Based on the integrated information regarding adaptation to climate change, local governments conduct a survey targeting general public, civil servants, experts, etc. using the questionnaire on adaptive awareness provided by the system. Each local government can analyze the information and inventory of adaptation measures and diagnose the policies to establish detailed implementation plans for each sector. By establishing the system, it is expected to support government officials’s task through standardization and automation of detailed implementation plans and reduce budget and time required for data collection and analysis. It is possible to improve the quality and maintain the consistency of plans by local governments. The system also supports decision making by rapid and reasonable adaptation measures leading to establishing highly effective and managed implementation plans for local governments.</p><p>※ This work was supported by Korea Environment Industry & Technology Institute(KEITI) through Climate Change Correspondence Program, funded by Korea Ministry of Environment(MOE)(2018001310004).</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tristan Pearce ◽  
Evelyn Rodríguez ◽  
David Fawcett ◽  
James Ford

We develop and apply a systematic literature review methodology to identify and characterize the ways in which the peer-reviewed literature depicts how climate change adaptation is occurring in Australia. We reviewed the peer-reviewed, English-language literature between January 2005 and January 2018 for examples of documented human adaptation initiatives in Australia. Our results challenge previous assumptions that adaptation actions are not happening in Australia and describes adaptation processes that are underway. For the most part, actions can be described as preliminary or groundwork, with a particular focus on documenting stakeholder perspectives on climate change and attitudes towards adaptation, and modelling or scenario planning in the coastal zone, agriculture, and health sectors. Where concrete adaptations are reported, they are usually in the agricultural sector and are most common in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia’s food basket. The findings of the review advance our understanding of adaptation to climate change as a process and the need to consider different stages in the process when tracking adaptation.


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