IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i2p356-d197033.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Characteristics of Transformational Adaptation in Climate-Land-Society Interactions

Author

Listed:
  • Koko Warner

    (United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, Platz der Vereinte Nationen 1, 53113 Bonn, Germany)

  • Zinta Zommers

    (Mercycorps, 45 SW Ankney St., Portland, OR 97204, USA)

  • Anita Wreford

    (Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit, Lincoln University, Ellesmere Jct Rd, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand)

  • Margot Hurlbert

    (Faculty of Arts, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Pkwy, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada)

  • David Viner

    (Mott MacDonald, 22 Station Rd, Cambridge CB1 2JD, UK)

  • Jill Scantlan

    (Mercycorps, 45 SW Ankney St., Portland, OR 97204, USA)

  • Kenna Halsey

    (EcoMetrix Solutions Group, Polebridge, MO 59928, USA)

  • Kevin Halsey

    (EcoMetrix Solutions Group, Polebridge, MO 59928, USA)

  • Chet Tamang

    (Mercycorps, 45 SW Ankney St., Portland, OR 97204, USA)

Abstract

Countries across the world aspire towards climate resilient sustainable development. The interacting processes of climate change, land change, and unprecedented social and technological change pose significant obstacles to these aspirations. The pace, intensity, and scale of these sizeable risks and vulnerabilities affect the central issues in sustainable development: how and where people live and work, access to essential resources and ecosystem services needed to sustain people in given locations, and the social and economic means to improve human wellbeing in the face of disruptions. This paper addresses the question: What are the characteristics of transformational adaptation and development in the context of profound changes in land and climate? To explore this question, this paper contains four case studies: managing storm water runoff related to the conversion of rural land to urban land in Indonesia; using a basket of interventions to manage social impacts of flooding in Nepal; combining a national glacier protection law with water rights management in Argentina; and community-based relocation in response to permafrost thaw and coastal erosion in Alaska. These case studies contribute to understanding characteristics of adaptation which is commensurate to sizeable risks and vulnerabilities to society in changing climate and land systems. Transformational adaptation is often perceived as a major large-scale intervention. In practice, the case studies in this article reveal that transformational adaptation is more likely to involve a bundle of adaptation interventions that are aimed at flexibly adjusting to change rather than reinforcing the status quo in ways of doing things. As a global mosaic, transformational change at a grand scale will occur through an inestimable number of smaller steps to adjust the central elements of human systems proportionate to the changes in climate and land systems. Understanding the characteristics of transformational adaptation will be essential to design and implement adaptation that keeps society in step with reconfiguring climate and land systems as they depart from current states.

Suggested Citation

  • Koko Warner & Zinta Zommers & Anita Wreford & Margot Hurlbert & David Viner & Jill Scantlan & Kenna Halsey & Kevin Halsey & Chet Tamang, 2019. "Characteristics of Transformational Adaptation in Climate-Land-Society Interactions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-22, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:356-:d:197033
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/2/356/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/2/356/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Davies & Christophe Béné & Alexander Arnall & Thomas Tanner & Andrew Newsham & Cristina Coirolo, 2013. "Promoting Resilient Livelihoods through Adaptive Social Protection: Lessons from 124 programmes in South Asia," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 31(1), pages 27-58, January.
    2. Thomas F. Thornton & Claudia Comberti, 2017. "Synergies and trade-offs between adaptation, mitigation and development," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 5-18, January.
    3. Susan Cutter, 2016. "The landscape of disaster resilience indicators in the USA," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 80(2), pages 741-758, January.
    4. Amy Molotoks & Matthias Kuhnert & Terence P. Dawson & Pete Smith, 2017. "Global Hotspots of Conflict Risk between Food Security and Biodiversity Conservation," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-15, October.
    5. Hurlbert, Margot & Mussetta, Paula, 2016. "Creating resilient water governance for irrigated producers in Mendoza, Argentina," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 83-94.
    6. Thomas Tanner & David Lewis & David Wrathall & Robin Bronen & Nick Cradock-Henry & Saleemul Huq & Chris Lawless & Raphael Nawrotzki & Vivek Prasad & Md. Ashiqur Rahman & Ryan Alaniz & Katherine King &, 2015. "Livelihood resilience in the face of climate change," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 23-26, January.
    7. Andrew J. Challinor & W. Neil Adger & Tim G. Benton, 2017. "Climate risks across borders and scales," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 7(9), pages 621-623, September.
    8. Kirstin Dow & Frans Berkhout & Benjamin L. Preston & Richard J. T. Klein & Guy Midgley & M. Rebecca Shaw, 2013. "Limits to adaptation," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(4), pages 305-307, April.
    9. Raza, Wameq A. & Van de Poel, Ellen & Van Ourti, Tom, 2018. "Impact and spill-over effects of an asset transfer program on child undernutrition: Evidence from a randomized control trial in Bangladesh," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 105-120.
    10. Carolyn Kousky, 2014. "Managing shoreline retreat: a US perspective," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 9-20, May.
    11. Margot Hurlbert, 2015. "Learning, participation, and adaptation: exploring agri-environmental programmes," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(1), pages 113-134, January.
    12. Berry Gersonius & Richard Ashley & Assela Pathirana & Chris Zevenbergen, 2013. "Climate change uncertainty: building flexibility into water and flood risk infrastructure," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 116(2), pages 411-423, January.
    13. Scott R. Loarie & Philip B. Duffy & Healy Hamilton & Gregory P. Asner & Christopher B. Field & David D. Ackerly, 2009. "The velocity of climate change," Nature, Nature, vol. 462(7276), pages 1052-1055, December.
    14. Jonathan Lashley & Koko Warner, 2015. "Evidence of demand for microinsurance for coping and adaptation to weather extremes in the Caribbean," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 133(1), pages 101-112, November.
    15. Gorddard, Russell & Colloff, Matthew J. & Wise, Russell M. & Ware, Dan & Dunlop, Michael, 2016. "Values, rules and knowledge: Adaptation as change in the decision context," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 60-69.
    16. Catrien J.A.M. Termeer & Art Dewulf & G. Robbert Biesbroek, 2017. "Transformational change: governance interventions for climate change adaptation from a continuous change perspective," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(4), pages 558-576, April.
    17. Leslie Lipper & Philip Thornton & Bruce M. Campbell & Tobias Baedeker & Ademola Braimoh & Martin Bwalya & Patrick Caron & Andrea Cattaneo & Dennis Garrity & Kevin Henry & Ryan Hottle & Louise Jackson , 2014. "Climate-smart agriculture for food security," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(12), pages 1068-1072, December.
    18. Benjamin L. Preston & Kirstin Dow & Frans Berkhout, 2013. "The Climate Adaptation Frontier," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-25, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Walter Leal Filho & Franziska Wolf & Stefano Moncada & Amanda Lange Salvia & Abdul-Lateef Babatunde Balogun & Constantina Skanavis & Aristea Kounani & Patrick D. Nunn, 2022. "Transformative adaptation as a sustainable response to climate change: insights from large-scale case studies," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 1-26, March.
    2. Hadi Sarvari & Mansooreh Rakhshanifar & Jolanta Tamošaitienė & Daniel W.M. Chan & Michael Beer, 2019. "A Risk Based Approach to Evaluating the Impacts of Zayanderood Drought on Sustainable Development Indicators of Riverside Urban in Isfahan-Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-20, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Petra Tschakert & Jon Barnett & Neville Ellis & Carmen Lawrence & Nancy Tuana & Mark New & Carmen Elrick‐Barr & Ram Pandit & David Pannell, 2017. "Climate change and loss, as if people mattered: values, places, and experiences," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(5), September.
    2. Felkner, John S. & Lee, Hyun & Shaikh, Sabina & Kolata, Alan & Binford, Michael, 2022. "The interrelated impacts of credit access, market access and forest proximity on livelihood strategies in Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    3. Lecegui, Antonio & Olaizola, Ana María & López-i-Gelats, Feliu & Varela, Elsa, 2022. "Implementing the livelihood resilience framework: An indicator-based model for assessing mountain pastoral farming systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    4. Katrina Brown & Larissa A. Naylor & Tara Quinn, 2017. "Making Space for Proactive Adaptation of Rapidly Changing Coasts: A Windows of Opportunity Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-17, August.
    5. Hare Krisna Kundo & Martin Brueckner & Rochelle Spencer & John Davis, 2021. "Mainstreaming climate adaptation into social protection: The issues yet to be addressed," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(6), pages 953-974, August.
    6. Carr, Edward R., 2019. "Properties and projects: Reconciling resilience and transformation for adaptation and development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 70-84.
    7. Dale Rothman & Patricia Romero-Lankao & Vanessa Schweizer & Beth Bee, 2014. "Challenges to adaptation: a fundamental concept for the shared socio-economic pathways and beyond," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 122(3), pages 495-507, February.
    8. Cheikh Mbow, 2020. "Use It Sustainably or Lose It! The Land Stakes in SDGs for Sub-Saharan Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-19, February.
    9. Chad Stephen Boda & Anne Jerneck, 2019. "Enabling local adaptation to climate change: towards collective action in Flagler Beach, Florida, USA," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 631-649, December.
    10. Janna D. Tenzing, 2020. "Integrating social protection and climate change adaptation: A review," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(2), March.
    11. Chad S. Boda & Turaj Faran & Murray Scown & Kelly Dorkenoo & Brian C. Chaffin & Maryam Nastar & Emily Boyd, 2021. "Loss and damage from climate change and implicit assumptions of sustainable development," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 1-18, January.
    12. Ana Maria Loboguerrero & Bruce M. Campbell & Peter J. M. Cooper & James W. Hansen & Todd Rosenstock & Eva Wollenberg, 2019. "Food and Earth Systems: Priorities for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation for Agriculture and Food Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-26, March.
    13. Ravi Bhavnani & Nina Schlager & Karsten Donnay & Mirko Reul & Laura Schenker & Maxime Stauffer & Tirtha Patel, 2023. "Household behavior and vulnerability to acute malnutrition in Kenya," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.
    14. Heather McMillen & Lindsay K. Campbell & Erika S. Svendsen & Renae Reynolds, 2016. "Recognizing Stewardship Practices as Indicators of Social Resilience: In Living Memorials and in a Community Garden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-26, August.
    15. Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie & Maruf Yakubu Ahmed & Phebe Asantewaa Owusu, 2022. "Global adaptation readiness and income mitigate sectoral climate change vulnerabilities," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-17, December.
    16. Haixing Liu & Yuntao Wang & Chi Zhang & Albert S. Chen & Guangtao Fu, 2018. "Assessing real options in urban surface water flood risk management under climate change," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 94(1), pages 1-18, October.
    17. Kim, Amy M. & Li, Huanan, 2020. "Incorporating the impacts of climate change in transportation infrastructure decision models," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 271-287.
    18. Mouhamadou Bamba Sylla & Nellie Elguindi & Filippo Giorgi & Dominik Wisser, 2016. "Projected robust shift of climate zones over West Africa in response to anthropogenic climate change for the late 21st century," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 241-253, January.
    19. Jeetendra Prakash Aryal & Cathy R. Farnworth & Ritika Khurana & Srabashi Ray & Tek B. Sapkota & Dil Bahadur Rahut, 2020. "Does women’s participation in agricultural technology adoption decisions affect the adoption of climate‐smart agriculture? Insights from Indo‐Gangetic Plains of India," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 973-990, August.
    20. Islam, Zeenatul & Sabiha, Noor E & Salim, Ruhul, 2022. "Integrated environment-smart agricultural practices: A strategy towards climate-resilient agriculture," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 59-72.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:356-:d:197033. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.