Successful Adaptation to Climate Change: Linking Science and Policy in a Rapidly Changing World

360 Pages·2013·2.728 MB·English

by  Susanne C. Moser, Maxwell T. Boykoff

Successful Adaptation to
Climate Change
What does successful adaptation look like? This is a question we are frequently asked by
planners, policy-makers, and other professionals charged with the task of developing and
implementing adaptation strategies. While adaptation is increasingly recognized as an
important climate risk management strategy, and on-the-ground adaptation planning
activity is becoming more commonplace, there is no clear guidance as to what success
would look like, what to aim for, and how to judge progress.
This edited volume makes signifi cant progress toward unpacking the question of
successful adaptation, offering both scientifi cally informed and practice-relevant answers
from various sectors and regions of the world. It brings together 18 chapters from leading
experts within the fi eld to present careful analyses of different cases and situations,
questioning throughout commonly avowed truisms and unspoken assumptions that have
pervaded climate adaptation science and practice to date. This book does not offer a single
answer but demonstrates how the question of success, in important ways, is normative and
context-specifi c. It identifi es the various dimensions of success, such as economic, political,
institutional, ecological, and social, explores the tensions between them, and compiles
encouraging evidence that resolutions can be found. The book appraises how climatic and
non-climatic stressors play a role, what role science does and can play in adaptation
decision-making, and how trade-offs and other concerns and priorities shape adaptation
planning and implementation on the ground.
This timely interdisciplinary text sheds light on key issues that arise in on-the-ground
adaptation to climate change. It bridges the gap between science and practical application
of successful adaptation strategies and will be of interest to students, academics, and
practitioners.
Susanne C. Moser is Director of Susanne Moser Research & Consulting and a Social
Science Research Fellow at Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment. She is an
internationally recognized expert on adaptation, vulnerability, and resilience; climate
change communication for social change; and science–policy interactions.
Maxwell T. Boykoff is an Assistant Professor and Fellow in the Cooperative Institute for
Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and Environmental Studies at the University
of Colorado. Max is also a Senior Visiting Research Associate in the Environmental
Change Institute at the University of Oxford.
“This is a great book. It demonstrates clearly that success is contingent on getting
the rules, incentives and attitudes right. The book engages in all the right ways:
with evidence, rigour, refl exivity, and a sense of geography and the lived reality of
climate change.”
Neil Adger, University of Exeter, UK
“City leaders are searching for solutions to the massive economic, infrastructure,
and health challenges arising from climate change. What they need are solutions
that strengthen their communities’ resilience – their ability to recover and bounce
back from extreme weather. Susanne C. Moser and Maxwell T. Boykoff offer a
critical resource with the contribution of Successful Adaptation to Climate
Change.”
Michael Schmitz, Executive Director, ICLEI–Local Governments for
Sustainability USA
Successful Adaptation
to Climate Change
Linking science and policy in a
rapidly changing world
Edited by
Susanne C. Moser and
Maxwell T. Boykoff
First published 2013
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2013 selection and editorial matter: Susanne C. Moser, Maxwell T.
Boykoff; individual chapters: the contributors
The right of the editors to be identifi ed as the authors of the editorial
material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Successful adaptation in climate change / [edited by] Susanne C. Moser,
Maxwell T. Boykoff.
pages cm
Includes index.
1. Climatic changes–Effect of human beings on. 2. Climatic
changes–Social aspects. 3. Human ecology. I. Moser, Susanne
C. II. Boykoff, Maxwell T.
QC903.S88 2013
363.738ʹ744–dc23 2012044487
ISBN: 978-0-415-52499-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-52500-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-59388-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Refi neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
Contents
List of fi gures viii
List of tables ix
Notes on contributors x
List of acronyms xviii
Preface xxi
1 Climate change and adaptation success: the scope of
the challenge 1
SUSANNE C. MOSER AND MAXWELL T. BOYKOFF
PART I
Changing goals, trade-offs, and synergies 35
2 Reducing the risk of maladaptation in response to
sea-level rise and urban water scarcity 37
JON BARNETT, SAFFRON O’NEILL, STEVE WALLER, AND SARAH ROGERS
3 Biodiversity conservation for a climate-altered future 50
BRUCE A. STEIN AND M. REBECCA SHAW
4 Climate adaptation, moral reparation, and the baseline
problem 67
BENJAMIN HALE, ADAM PÉROU HERMANS, AND ALEXANDER LEE
5 REDD+ and social justice: adaptation by way of mitigation? 81
HEIKE SCHROEDER AND CHUKWUMERIJE OKEREKE
vi Contents
PART II
Institutional arrangements, interplay, and alignment 95
6 Institutions as key element to successful climate adaptation
processes: results from the San Francisco Bay Area 97
JULIA A. EKSTROM AND SUSANNE C. MOSER
7 Rapid transformation of the US electric power system:
prospects and impediments 114
ROGER E. KASPERSON AND BONNIE RAM
8 Towards a binding adaptation regime: three levers and
two instruments 132
MIZAN R. KHAN AND J. TIMMONS ROBERTS
PART III
Science–practice interactions, decision support, and
supporting norms 149
9 Waters, seas, and wine: science for successful
climate adaptation 151
BENJAMIN L. PRESTON, LAUREN RICKARDS, SURAJE DESSAI, AND
RYAN MEYER
10 Promoting adaptation success in natural resource
management through decision support: lessons from
the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions 170
LISA DILLING AND REBECCA ROMSDAHL
11 Climate risk management: laying the groundwork for
successful adaptation 186
ANTHONY PATT
12 Building climate resilience: lessons of early warning in Africa 201
EMILY BOYD AND ROSALIND J. CORNFORTH
13 Engaging science and managing scientifi c uncertainty
in urban climate adaptation planning 220
JOANN CARMIN AND DAVID DODMAN
Contents vii
PART IV
Effective communication and engagement 235
14 Media coverage of discourse on adaptation: competing
visions of “success” in the Indian context 237
MAXWELL T. BOYKOFF, ADITYA GHOSH, AND KANMANI VENKATESWARAN
15 Risk communication and adaptation in settlements on
the coast and in deltas of the Mekong Region 253
LOUIS LEBEL, BACH TAN SINH, NGO CONG CHINH, SAKARADHORN
BOONTAVEEYUWAT, AND HAM KIMKONG
16 Climate change visioning: effective processes for
advancing the policy and practice of local adaptation 270
SARAH L. M. BURCH, STEPHEN R. J. SHEPPARD, ELLEN POND,
AND OLAF SCHROTH
PART V
Motivations, identities, refl exivity, and personal change 287
17 Navigating the political and emotional terrain of adaptation:
community engagement when climate change comes home 289
SUSANNE C. MOSER
18 The courage to change: adaptation from the inside-out 306
KAREN O’BRIEN
Index 320
Figures
1.1 Challenges in defi ning and achieving adaptation success 10
3.1 From tactical to strategic adaptation 54
3.2 Climate-smart conservation cycle 59
4.1 Three modes of ecosystem change 71
6.1 Ideal-type stages of the adaptation decision-making process 98
6.2 Map of San Francisco Bay showing the location of the fi ve
case studies 99
6.3 Frequency of different types of barriers encountered 103
6.4 Most common strategies used to overcome adaptation barriers 106
7.1 Four phases in transitions 124
9.1 Annual number of peer-reviewed publications with the
topical words “climate” and “adaptation” 152
9.2 The “adaptation action cycle” 160
11.1 The four pillars of climate risk management 196
12.1 RANET as an illustration of an early warning system that is
decentralized locally but globally connected 206
14.1 World newspaper coverage of climate change or global
warming, 2004–2012 239
14.2 World newspaper coverage of climate change, global
warming, and adaptation, 2004–2012 240
14.3 Indian newspaper coverage of climate change or global
warming, 2000–2012 244
14.4 Primary and secondary frames in Indian English-speaking
national newspapers, 2004–2009 247
16.1 Major trends in greenhouse gases, land use, and other
variables in each of the four “World” scenarios 275
16.2 The potential spread of forest fi re in Kimberley,
British Columbia 281
Tables
1.1 The failure-to-success continuum 14
3.1 Change continuum and strategic responses 56
7.1 US electricity generation by fuel (2011) 117
10.1 Decision-making context for Great Plains respondents 173
10.2 Decision-making context for Rocky Mountain respondents 174
10.3 Responses to the question: “What sources do you typically
consult to obtain the data and information you need for
your work?” 175
10.4 Responses to: “Rate the usefulness of the following types
of information (whether or not you currently use them)
for determining the risks to public lands/natural resources
from climate change” 175
10.5 Perceived hurdles by survey respondents 176
12.1 Disconnect between climate science and decision-makers 213
14.1 Common frames in world newspaper coverage of climate
change or global warming, 2004–2009 246