Wise, RMFazey, ISmith, SPark, SEEakin, HCArcher, Emma RMCampbell, B2014-04-102014-04-102014-01Wise, R.M, Fazey, I, Smith, S, Park, S.E, Eakin, H.C, Archer, E.R.M. and Campbell, B. 2013. Reconceptualising adaptation to climate change as part of pathways of change and response. Global Environmental Change, pp 1-120959-3780http://ac.els-cdn.com/S095937801300232X/1-s2.0-S095937801300232X-main.pdf?_tid=e369f8cc-c092-11e3-8774-00000aacb35f&acdnat=1397122466_347ed779b9432c6e2c420b532e87d464http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7322Copyright: 2014 Elsevier. This is the pre/post print. The definitive version is published in Global Environmental Change, pp 0959-3780The need to adapt to climate change is now widely recognised as evidence of its impacts on social and natural systems grows and greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated. Yet efforts to adapt to climate change, as reported in the literature over the last decade and in selected case studies, have not led to substantial rates of implementation of adaptation actions despite substantial investments in adaptation science. Moreover, implemented actions have been mostly incremental and focused on proximate causes; there are far fewer reports of more systemic or transformative actions. We found that the nature and effectiveness of responses was strongly influenced by framing. Recent decision-oriented approaches that aim to overcome this situation are framed within a ‘‘pathways’’ metaphor to emphasise the need for robust decision making within adaptive processes in the face of uncertainty and inter-temporal complexity. However, to date, such ‘‘adaptation pathways’’ approaches have mostly focused on contexts with clearly identified decision-makers and unambiguous goals; as a result, they generally assume prevailing governance regimes are conducive for adaptation and hence constrain responses to proximate causes of vulnerability. In this paper, we explore a broader conceptualisation of ‘‘adaptation pathways’’ that draws on ‘pathways thinking’ in the sustainable development domain to consider the implications of path dependency, interactions between adaptation plans, vested interests and global change, and situations where values, interests, or institutions constrain societal responses to change. This reconceptualisation of adaptation pathways aims to inform decision makers about integrating incremental actions on proximate causes with the transformative aspects of societal change. Case studies illustrate what this might entail. The paper ends with a call for further exploration of theory, methods and procedures to operationalise this broader conceptualisation of adaptation.enClimate changesGreenhouse gas emissionsAdaptation scienceAdaptation pathwaysPathways thinkingGlobal changeArticleWise, R., Fazey, I., Smith, S., Park, S., Eakin, H., Archer, E. R., & Campbell, B. (2014). Reconceptualising adaptation to climate change as part of pathways of change and response. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7322Wise, RM, I Fazey, S Smith, SE Park, HC Eakin, Emma RM Archer, and B Campbell "Reconceptualising adaptation to climate change as part of pathways of change and response." (2014) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7322Wise R, Fazey I, Smith S, Park S, Eakin H, Archer ER, et al. Reconceptualising adaptation to climate change as part of pathways of change and response. 2014; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7322.TY - Article AU - Wise, RM AU - Fazey, I AU - Smith, S AU - Park, SE AU - Eakin, HC AU - Archer, Emma RM AU - Campbell, B AB - The need to adapt to climate change is now widely recognised as evidence of its impacts on social and natural systems grows and greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated. Yet efforts to adapt to climate change, as reported in the literature over the last decade and in selected case studies, have not led to substantial rates of implementation of adaptation actions despite substantial investments in adaptation science. Moreover, implemented actions have been mostly incremental and focused on proximate causes; there are far fewer reports of more systemic or transformative actions. We found that the nature and effectiveness of responses was strongly influenced by framing. Recent decision-oriented approaches that aim to overcome this situation are framed within a ‘‘pathways’’ metaphor to emphasise the need for robust decision making within adaptive processes in the face of uncertainty and inter-temporal complexity. However, to date, such ‘‘adaptation pathways’’ approaches have mostly focused on contexts with clearly identified decision-makers and unambiguous goals; as a result, they generally assume prevailing governance regimes are conducive for adaptation and hence constrain responses to proximate causes of vulnerability. In this paper, we explore a broader conceptualisation of ‘‘adaptation pathways’’ that draws on ‘pathways thinking’ in the sustainable development domain to consider the implications of path dependency, interactions between adaptation plans, vested interests and global change, and situations where values, interests, or institutions constrain societal responses to change. This reconceptualisation of adaptation pathways aims to inform decision makers about integrating incremental actions on proximate causes with the transformative aspects of societal change. Case studies illustrate what this might entail. The paper ends with a call for further exploration of theory, methods and procedures to operationalise this broader conceptualisation of adaptation. DA - 2014-01 DB - ResearchSpace DP - CSIR KW - Climate changes KW - Greenhouse gas emissions KW - Adaptation science KW - Adaptation pathways KW - Pathways thinking KW - Global change LK - https://researchspace.csir.co.za PY - 2014 SM - 0959-3780 T1 - Reconceptualising adaptation to climate change as part of pathways of change and response TI - Reconceptualising adaptation to climate change as part of pathways of change and response UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7322 ER -