Climate Adaptation Futures (Palutikof/Climate Adaptation Futures) || Climate change adaptation pathways

Climate Adaptation Futures, First Edition. Edited by Jean Palutikof, Sarah L. Boulter, Andrew J. Ash, Mark Stafford Smith, Martin Parry, Marie Waschka and Daniela Guitart. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

23.1 Introduction

Adaptation to climate variability and change has emerged as an important research focus, as scenarios for this century suggest that projected climate change will pose a serious challenge to social and economic development in both devel-oped and developing countries. Despite the growing number of studies relating to climate change adaptation and the recognition of the importance of bottom-up approaches, there is still a need to better understand the key charac-teristics of adaptation at the local level, in particular the factors constraining as well as promoting individual, household and community adaptation. This is necessary to ‘scale up’ good practice and to determine the extent to which lessons can be transferred into different cultural, social and environmental contexts.

This chapter introduces three case studies of adaptation to climate variability and change pre-sented at the 2010 Climate Adaptation Futures Conference held on the Gold Coast, Australia.

The case studies are from different contexts: rural household adaptation to drought in South Africa; a vulnerability assessment of the absolute home-less in Canada; and community-based adaptation in the Pacific Islands. They were chosen with the intention of illuminating how similar barriers and opportunities exist despite different contexts, with the aim of providing insights into successful adaptation. Each case study focuses on the follow-ing three issues: (1) key findings for climate change adaptation; (2) barriers and/or challenges to adap-tation; and (3) insights into successful adaptation.

23.2 Case Study 1: Adaptation to drought in northern Limpopo Province, South Africa

This case study is based on empirical research in three rural communities in northern Limpopo Province, South Africa (Vincent 2007; Crick 2008). The aim was to investigate the key ways in which rural households have responded to droughts, with a view to better understanding

23 Climate change adaptation pathways: insights from case studies

in South Africa, Canada and the Pacific Islands

F L O R E N C E C R I C K 1, J O H A N N A WA N D E L 2, N I C M A C L E L L A N 3 A N D K AT H A R I N E V I N C E N T 4

1 Urban Research Program, Griffith University, Australia2 Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Canada

3 Independent Consultant, Australia4 Kulima Integrated Development Solutions, South Africa

Climate change adaptation pathways 243

the process of adaptation at household and community level. The research involved mul-tiple social science methods – combining struc-tured questionnaires and livelihood surveys conducted with over a third of households in each village, semi-structured interviews, oral his-tories, focus groups and participatory and rapid rural appraisal – to facilitate in-depth analysis and give insights into the processes of adaptation taking place in each of the three villages.

Until the abolition of apartheid in 1994, the case study communities were situated in the former Venda homeland. The apartheid era left a legacy of inequalities in income levels and access to services, and high poverty levels in these areas (Cousins 1999). Relative to other provinces, Limpopo has a particularly large proportion of subsistence farmers (over 50% compared to a national average of just under 20%), and its GDP per capita in the 2000 Household Economic Survey was less than half of the national average (Pauw 2005).

In terms of its climate, the case study area is classified as semi-arid, but it has a history of inter-annual variability, with regular droughts (including in 2002–4, 1994, 1990, 1987, 1982–3) and floods (including in 2000, 1958 and 1956). It has experienced particularly frequent droughts since the 1980s and is showing evidence of a slight drying trend, an increasingly unpredictable and shorter rainy season, a longer and more intense dry season and an occasional risk of intense rainfall (Thomas et al. 2007).

23.2.1 Key findings

Against this backdrop of variability, it is not sur-prising that residents of the three case study com-munities have adopted a wide range of coping and adaptation strategies in response to drought. The distinction we use here between coping and adaptation is that the former refers to strategies of short-term duration employed to maintain livelihoods, whereas the latter refers to longer-term strategies which act to reduce vulnerability to future hazard exposure (Vincent 2007).

Coping strategies are employed sequentially, depending on the duration of the drought (Ellis

2000). Early on in the drought, coping strategies employed in all three communities include gath-ering wild fruits to substitute for production, bor-rowing food or money and putting livestock out to roam further afield where pasture still exists. If a drought continues for more than one season, additional coping strategies might include seeking government assistance (in the form of drought relief) and temporary migration, particularly by young male members of the household.

All three case study communities also showed evidence of adaptation strategies, or longer-term livelihood adjustments that reduce future vulner-ability in the face of exposure to drought. With regard to farming techniques, adaptations included switching to short-cycle crop varieties that stand a greater chance of reaching maturity in seasons of increasingly erratic rainfall distribu-tion, and the use of irrigation. Diversifying liveli-hoods beyond farming was also evident, including the setting up of microenterprises and longer-term migration to urban areas.

A very important adaptation observed in all three communities was reliance on the increasing array of social grants that have been made avail-able post 1994. Although means tested, the vast majority of (age-appropriate) residents of all three communities were eligible for child support grants and old age pensions, and the predictable monthly income not only cushioned recipients from climate-related natural resource fluctua-tions, but also provided the inputs to enable participation in non-agricultural livelihoods (for more information on ‘adaptive social protection’, see Davies et al. 2008). Indeed one of the key long-term adaptation strategies to drought and climate variability that appeared successful across all villages was a combination of both investment in and intensification of agricultural resources (e.g. purchase of land, irrigation and use of fertilis-ers) and economic diversification at the household level, as also observed in Mexico (Eakin 2005).

23.2.2 Key challenges/barriers to adaptation

The investigation of adaptation processes in the three communities has revealed a number of

244 florence crick, johanna wandel, nic maclellan et al.

generic barriers, operating at several scales, that households face when trying to adapt to drought. These obstacles related to financial, human and social capital, and depend on the social structures (including gender) which determine access to finan-cial capital and knowledge (Goulden et al. 2009).

A lack of asset ownership and in particular insufficient liquid financial capital were key constraints facing the majority of households interviewed in the three villages. The ownership of key assets is critical because it influences a household’s ability and willingness to invest in and thus strengthen their agricultural activities and their ability to diversify successfully. The lack of financial capital is a particular impedi-ment to longer term adaptations, and results in households merely coping or ‘moving in place’ (cf. Little et al. 2006) instead of ‘getting ahead’ and thus being able to adapt to changing climatic conditions.

Although the assets held by a household are important, arguably more critical is their ability to mobilise and use their assets in a productive way, which depends on their human and social capital. Our research found that the greater the level of education, particularly among household heads, the greater the awareness of opportunities for adapting to climate variability and change. Also important was the extent to which house-holds were connected in social networks through which knowledge flows. Human and social capital influenced a household’s ability to effec-tively use its assets and resources, take advantage of employment opportunities, and thus be in a position to adapt to changing climatic conditions.

Access to financial, human and social capital is partly dependent on and determined by the social structures in society. Although South Africa enshrines the right to gender equality in its constitution, the society is still patriarchal. The nature of gender relations means that there is a legacy of girls having poorer access to education, which in turn inhibits their ability to build finan-cial capital. This situation serves to reinforce the situation of inequality and means that women are typically less able to adapt to climate variability and change. In one of the case study

communities, de jure female-headed households (typically caused by either death or divorce) were the most vulnerable in the face of changing climatic conditions due to having fewer assets, a poorer education and poor access to formal employment opportunities, although their average age was also greater, which likely played a role (Vincent et al. 2010).

While social structures determine the level of access to the resources necessary to adapt to drought and climate variability at the local level, there are also broader factors at play. This is discussed further in the next section.

23.2.3 Insights into successful adaptation

While household characteristics and strategies play a key role within the process of adaptation – as explained in earlier sections – they tend to be based on opportunistic circumstances and thus it is difficult to recommend them as specific strategies for improving adaptation. Further, household responses are mediated by local cir-cumstances, and framed within the wider con-text of rural and economic change (Campbell 1999). In rural South Africa, recent political change has also played a role for all three commu-nities, since their access to resources and political governance is now much better than it was prior to 1994. The research found that the following key conditions within communities facilitated successful household adaptation to climate variability and drought in particular: formal insti-tutions, collective action and key individuals/agents. The presence of these conditions in one of our case study communities helped break down the resource access constraints that the majority of households interviewed faced by establishing linking ties with formal institutions and orga-nisations at the local, regional and national scales. For example, the agricultural and live-stock cooperatives in this village had established links with the extension officer, local traditional chiefs, agricultural officers at the district and province levels, the South African Veterinary Association, and the Agricultural Research Council in Pretoria.


These links provided households with access to new knowledge as well as agricultural and financial resources and thus facilitated and supported their adaptation strategies. As sug-gested by Bebbington (1997), involvement in organisations and networks can help households access and negotiate with non-local actors and institutions that can have significant impacts on their farming livelihoods. In addition, key indi-viduals or agents (e.g. village extension officer, village headman) were found to play a key role in creating and maintaining networks of engage-ment and forming linking ties that enable house-holds to access services that they would otherwise not be able to access, and in encouraging collective action and the formation of village groups (Crick 2008). These key individuals have the human and social capital required to initiate and facilitate the successful establishment of these village groups. The importance of key agents in connecting a community with higher-level organisations and in transferring knowledge from these organisations to the community has also been identified in other contexts (e.g. Gadgil et al. 2003).

Regional and national level policies have the potential to play a positive role in the process of adaptation. For example, the Limpopo Province Department of Agriculture has been promoting several approaches and programmes for poverty alleviation and infrastructure development and to encourage communities to mobilise and self-organise to improve their access to services and institutions. One of our case study communities had access to and benefitted from these pro-grammes. In addition, the national Department of Agriculture provides drought and flood assistance to affected households. Nevertheless, not all communities and households have the knowledge about and thus access to these pro-grammes and assistance services and therefore are not benefitting from them. Further, national policies need to be in line with local needs and reality to avoid inadvertently undermining the promising range of local bottom-up adaptation processes and strategies (Vincent et al. in press). At the end of 2011 South Africa launched its

National Climate Change Response Strategy White Paper, which does recognise the need to consider local realities (Department of Environmental Affairs 2011). In the next stage of implementation of the policy, ensuring that this happens will be critical.

23.3 Case Study 2: Vulnerability assessment of the absolute homeless in Canada

This case study is based on an empirical vulnera-bility assessment of an extremely vulnerable group, the absolute homeless, to climate-related conditions in a rich nation with a well-developed social welfare system. The empirical findings are used as the basis for identifying future challenges to maintaining what is, at present, a community with low vulnerability through high adaptive capacity.

The Kitchener Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in the Region of Waterloo, Canada, cur-rently has a population of just over 450 000 and includes the contiguous cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. The region currently exhibits one of Canada’s fastest growth rates, and population projections place the Region’s population at 729 000 by 2031.

The City of Kitchener is representative of the old central Canadian manufacturing heartland, with a legacy of declining industrial activity since the late 20th Century. The CMA is ranked Canada’s fifth most expensive, and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) identifies 11.6% of the households in the City of Kitchener as being in core housing need (spending 30% or more of their gross income on housing), and half of these spend more than 50% on shelter (Pomeroy 2007). A growing population at risk of economic homelessness exists.

The Region of Waterloo reported that 2783 unique individuals accessed emergency overnight shelters in 2008. Estimates indicate that 65 individuals using services fall into the category of persistent or absolute homeless, that is, those primarily living outdoors (Region of Waterloo 2009). The Region of Waterloo is home to a series


of emergency shelters designed to meet the short-term needs of the homeless, which fall under the Emergency Shelter Guidelines, which include access, health, sanitary and personal safety standards, and five church-based volun-teer-operated emergency shelter sites which operate in winter. There are multiple drop-in cen-tres and community meal programmes operated by a mix of publicly and privately funded agencies and volunteer groups.

Vulnerability of the homeless population was assessed by documenting exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity with respect to climate change. The sample included 48 absolute homeless indi-viduals, recruited using snowball sampling, with initial contacts through local social service pro-viders. Semi-structured interviews took place over a three-month period in summer 2009.

The summary provided here focuses on key findings with respect to adaptation and adaptive strategies, and identifies challenges and barriers to further adaptation in the future.

23.3.1 Key findings

Researchers documented all problematic weather conditions regardless of expected change under climate change scenarios. The most common problematic conditions cited by respondents related to winter, with respondents specifically citing extremely cold temperature as a main dif-ficulty. Coping strategies for extreme cold pri-marily involved getting out of the elements. Emergency shelters were well used. Some indi-viduals stayed with friends at times, others used stairwells in apartment buildings, unlocked house-moving trucks which contained blankets, vacant storage units and even the garage of a private home. Commonly cited locations for escaping cold conditions during the day were day drop-in centres and public or semi-public spaces such libraries and shopping malls. When funds were available, coffee shops and inexpensive restaurants were used. Some respondents volun-teered at community organisations in order to be inside. However, there were few locations that were available for more than several hours at a

time, and respondents spent considerable time outside walking and panhandling (begging). Some reported using cardboard for insulation while sitting, and appropriate clothing was frequently cited as an important part in coping during the winter.

Variability of winter temperatures emerged as an issue, both in terms of day-to-day variation and temperature differentials caused by entering and exiting heated spaces. Finally, snow posed particular problems. After heavy snowfalls, it can take some time for sidewalks to be cleared, and in Kitchener, sidewalks are commonly salted, resulting in icy slush. Respondents noted diffi-culty accessing appropriately sized, warm, water-proof footwear, and reported a high incidence of foot problems.

A similar set of issues emerged for the warm seasons. Issues surrounding rain and associated dampness were problematic. During the warmer months, people are much more likely to sleep outside. Those sleeping on concrete ledges under bridges or completely outside reported problems with dampness due to flooding or dew. Warm season coping strategies relied extensively on informal shelter, including loading docks, bus shelters, bridges and abandoned industrial infra-structure.

One surprising exposure-sensitivity to emerge during the research was summertime cold. The year 2009 had a particularly cool and rainy summer and, though temperatures were in the seasonal range in early May, these were followed by unseasonable cold. Respondents had already disposed of cold weather gear and clothing and could not access new supplies. Thus, even though conditions are less severe during the warm months, the absolute homeless may actually experience higher exposure-sensitivity during these times.

Finally, perhaps given the cool nature of the summer of 2009, only seven respondents cited heat as problematic. Shaded areas are readily accessible during daytime heat, and further cop-ing strategies included deliberately soaking T-shirts to cool off, accessing water in public rest-rooms or from private residences with unat-


tended hoses, and accessing air conditioned public spaces.

During all seasons, there were several strat-egies of last resort available to and used by some of the homeless, including committing a minor crime or self-harm and being taken into custody for the night to get out of the elements. This may serve to constrain future options given that shopping malls and other semi-public spaces in Kitchener commonly ban those who have com-mitted crimes on their premises in the past.

Adaptations and adaptive strategies on the part of the homeless were limited to the coping strategies cited above. Generally, the absolute homeless do not have the resources to plan for – or strategically adapt to – climate change at the level of the individual, and thus management of climate variability is either autonomous/ reactive, or relies on participation in opportunities provi-ded by regional institutions. At the institutional level, strategies focus on both emergency management which ensure that ‘nobody starves, nobody freezes to death’ and, more strategically, on the homelessness-to-housing transition to end persistent homelessness altogether.


Under climate change, we can expect additional challenges with increased precipitation and more hot days during the summer, but also warmer winters. While a potential reduction in extreme cold events will likely decrease exposure of the absolute homeless, the increased climate variability and particularly increased wetness may well bring further challenges, and the well-developed social service system which has resulted in lower than expected weather-related vulnerability may have to adjust to different types of exposure beyond cold-related events. Furthermore, a number of key challenges exist:

● While current social services have been ade-quate in providing for the persistent homeless, this is in part due to the Region’s considerable success in maintaining capacity in the shelter system through successfully helping to house the at-risk population which is dominated by

economic homelessness. Given increases in the at-risk population in a rapidly growing urban area, pressure on these social services may increase.

● It is likely that there are hidden groups of homelessness who are not currently served by social services. In particular, there may well be a hidden population of illegal migrants who do not have access to the Region of Waterloo’s extensive social service system, and cannot access emergency assistance funds.

● Coping strategies often rely on informal net-works, which rely on the goodwill of particular individuals, including informal tolerance on the part of the police and bus drivers. Informal net-works and tolerance can disappear without notice.

● Informal strategies may pose risks to public health. Garages, loading docks, moving trucks, stairwells and the like were not designed for human habitations, and lack sanitary services.

● The absolute homeless exhibit a relatively high incidence of substance abuse and mental illness. Substance abuse in particular poses a barrier as some social services have very low tolerance to use while in the shelter, and these individuals may thus choose not to seek shelter.

● Downtown Kitchener is in a phase of rapid gen-trification, as abandoned industrial infrastructure is actively rehabilitated for residential and business use. Infrastructure for the homeless is concentrated in the downtown core, and anec-dotal evidence from a city planner indicates that there has been an increase in complaints about homeless people to City Hall in recent years.

● Many of the more formalised social services rely on public donations and the third sector, making them sensitive to declines in volun-teerism.


Under current and past conditions, existing formal and informal programmes have been adequate to ensure the basic needs of the homeless population in Kitchener CMA. The Region of Waterloo, under its Affordable Housing Strategy, has added over 1000 units (out of a total of 9778 units in the


Region of Waterloo) since 2001 (Pomeroy 2007). The Department of Social Services’ Extreme Cold Weather Protocol ensures that shelter capacity limits do not apply during times when the ambient temperature or the wind chill factor is below −15 °C. There is good coordination among the Regional Municipality’s departments, resulting in a very responsive system.

However, despite seemingly low vulnerability of the absolute homeless to climate-related conditions, the challenges above highlight the need for long-term, sustainable solutions to homelessness. The absolute homeless at the individual level are already in a situation of ‘adaptation deficit’ – that is, insufficiently well adapted to past and current climatic variability. If this group is to move beyond coping strategies into successful adaptation to climate variability and change, this can only be achieved by ending homelessness. As of 2010, more than 90% of the Region’s interim goals to reduce the existing inci-dence of persistent homelessness and length of time a person is homeless and prevent at-risk populations from becoming homeless have been or are being met (HHSSMC 2010).

23.4 Case Study 3: Community based adaptation in the Pacific Islands

Small island developing states (SIDS) in the Pacific face particular challenges adapting to climate change, due to their relative smallness, remoteness and the archipelagic character of many island countries and territories. The vulnerability of island biodiversity and marine ecosystems is matched by adverse effects of climate change on food security, water supply, public health and rural livelihoods.

Although Pacific island countries are engaged in renewable energy programmes which con-tribute to mitigation efforts, there is limited opportunity for extensive emissions cuts given the small size of their transport and energy sec-tors. Even as they continue to lobby for urgent global action on emissions reduction, Pacific leaders are calling for donors to focus more

resources on adaptation to climate change. The assembled leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum, meeting in Niue in 2008, stressed: ‘The priority of Pacific SIDS is securing sustainable financing for immediate and effective implementation of concrete adaptation programmes on the ground’ (Pacific Islands Forum 2008, 5). Through regional programmes such as Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC), government agencies and community organisations are responding with initiatives that utilise community vulnera-bility assessment and ‘bottom-up’ climate adaptation at village level.

Recent research has highlighted both suc-cesses and challenges for community-level adaptation initiatives in the Pacific. This case study draws on research investigating the obsta-cles for SIDS in accessing adaptation funding (Maclellan 2011a) and a 2010 scoping study and interviews in three Pacific island countries (Kiribati, Tuvalu and Fiji) investigating children and climate change and the ways that young peo-ple can be engaged in adaptation initiatives from a rights-based approach (Urbano et al. 2010).

23.4.1 Key findings

A key finding of the research is that more resources – financial, institutional and informa-tional – need to be allocated to community-level initiatives, rather than national programmes and institutional strengthening. Donors and national governments also need more effective mecha-nisms to engage with a wider range of people in local communities, to set priorities for adaptation in rural areas and outer islands.

There is a growing body of research on chil-dren and climate change (Bartlett 2008; UNICEF 2008), but limited studies on children in the Pacific islands. However, the need for consulta-tion and action with different groups and age levels in a Pacific community was highlighted during a 2010 workshop with children in the Polynesian nation of Tuvalu (Urbano et al. 2010). The European Union and Australia have funded the provision of water tanks to the main island of Funafuti. But a young boy complained that he did


not like the tanks. Why were children opposed to this practical initiative to assist with water secu-rity? Their parents were chopping down trees to create space for the tanks next to the house, and they could no longer play in trees in their front yard, which had been removed to keep leaves out of the new guttering. This anecdote highlights a fundamental point: people on the receiving end of adaptation projects have different perspectives on the value of those projects. Unless all members of the community are engaged – from those in authority to the women and the young who are rarely consulted by visiting consultants – then adaptation initiatives are more likely to founder.

In response, there has been an increasing focus in recent years on community-based adaptation (CBA), as a method which emphasises Indigenous knowledge, resources and institutions, together with the engagement and empowerment of the most vulnerable groups in the community. The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and non-government orga-nisations have produced training manuals and case studies to promote CBA methodology (Nakalevu 2006).

As shown by a recent programme in six vil-lages across Fiji, well managed CBA projects can develop ‘a renewed focus on community adaptive management of natural resources, increased awareness of climate change, and an increase in the community’s access to resources from external organisations’ (Dumaru 2010; Limalevu 2010).

Young people can play a crucial role in adaptation initiatives. Living at the intersection of home, school and community, and drawing on information from all those sources, they are often more climate aware than their elders. Pacific youth advocates wear T-shirts saying ‘Where will you be in 2050?’, but in spite of the importance of intergenerational activity, government adaptation initiatives often fail to prioritise youth participation.

Another key issue is the potential for integrating western and customary scientific knowledge into adaptation responses. Given limited funding, this approach has practical appli-cations, as shown by the use of mangroves, reeds

and other ‘soft’ technologies to protect riverine or coastal environments in place of expensive seawalls. Agencies such as the Red Cross are pro-moting the integration of traditional knowledge into disaster preparedness in the Pacific islands (Red Cross 2010).

Other researchers have advocated greater use of local knowledge to determine weather and climatic changes in the absence of long-term data recording. Meteorologist Pene Lefale, who has documented the close correlation between Samoan methods of weather and climate observa-tions and those of western meteorologists (Lefale 2010), suggests that more resources could be allo-cated to a systematic approach, recording and documenting the knowledge and awareness of local people.

Although there are difficulties integrating local knowledge and the broader science of global climatic patterns, this effort has many practical applications in developing countries, especially as culture, land tenure, family relationships and access to resources all determine a community’s capacity to adapt (Barnett and Campbell 2010).


Recent studies in the Pacific have highlighted a number of barriers to adaptation, including: limited access to funding; problems of donor coordination; limited community awareness of the science of climate change; and the lack of gender analysis in many adaptation programmes.

These national-level constraints need to be addressed to meet the Pacific Islands Forum call for ‘immediate and effective implementation of concrete adaptation programs on the ground’. As donors allocate ‘fast start’ climate financing in 2010–2012, much of the adaptation funding is channelled through international, regional and national level institutions, which can lack the flexibility to operate at the local level.

Pacific governments acknowledge many con-straints – institutional, human and financial – to promoting action on climate change, including limited coordination of government ministries and policy and the absence of systematic


information on best-practice adaptation mea-sures (Barnett 2008). The link between adaptation and REDD initiatives also raises complex issues of governance and the rights of indigenous land and resource owners (Fry 2008; Dix 2011).

Even though they are especially vulnerable, SIDS have particular problems in accessing adap-tation funding. Research on funding mechanisms (McGoldrick 2007; Maclellan 2011a) has shown that there are many obstacles for Pacific govern-ments and communities to access climate financing, and then to translate this finance into community-level programmes. A repeated con-cern raised by interviewees is that significant amounts of resources are funding climate change consultancies and mainstreaming activities without much community engagement.

Pacific governments have welcomed pledges of support from donor partners but have raised concerns about the complexity, delay and effec-tiveness of funding mechanisms and the failure to fully deliver on pledges. Although access to cli-mate funding is a problem across the developing world, a core issue for SIDS is their limited capacity to deal with a complex array of multi-lateral and bilateral climate initiatives and the varying timelines, administrative and reporting requirements of partnering agencies. While donors highlight the weak institutional capacity of small island states, Pacific governments in turn stress the need for better donor coordination, through regional roundtables and databases, increased transparency and improved inter-agency networking (Maclellan 2011a).

Many Pacific interviewees acknowledged that they lacked the financial resources and technical capacity to research the causal connection bet-ween climate change and existing trends in public health, agricultural production or maritime conservation. This highlights the importance of ongoing research on adaptation, to move beyond anecdote to evidence, and to establish baselines for future study, programming and action.

While research on the links between climate change and poverty is becoming more preva-lent, there is a need for greater focus on the specific impacts and adaptive capacities of dif-

ferent vulnerable or excluded groups. For example, there are relatively few initiatives that disaggregate the differing impacts of cli-mate change on men and women, despite a 2008 regional workshop on the gendered dimen-sions of Pacific disaster risk management and adaptation (Anderson et al. 2008). In addition, regional strategies such as the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change (PIFACC), national adaptation programmes of action (NAPAs), and policy documents from Australia, the European Union and multilateral agencies such as the World Bank make no explicit reference to the adverse effects of cli-mate change on children and rarely reference the unique vulnerabilities of children under five. This is a crucial gap, even though NGOs have a range of initiatives to encourage youth participation as well as child protection and development (Webb 2008).


Fijian researcher Patrina Dumaru has stressed that successful adaptation initiatives in the Pacific islands ‘prioritise the use of local insti-tutions and the communities’ participation in the process of assessing climate risks as well as in planning, implementing, and monitoring adaptation measures’ (Dumaru 2010).

A crucial task is to create mechanisms to allow communication and decision-making bet-ween donors, governments, NGOs and affected communities. Community engagement is a key principle and adaptation programmes must be consistent with the values, needs and rights of affected communities.

A distinctive feature of the CBA approach is an emphasis on raising community awareness and incorporating future climate risks in plan-ning. Participatory research by the Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (PACE-SD) suggests that successful CBA pro-grammes have a core monitoring, learning and educational component, beyond practical outcomes on water and food security or environmental management.


As adaptation takes place at local level and under local conditions, using local cultural knowledge is crucial as communities prepare to adapt to the effects of climate change (Maclellan 2011b). The integration of disaster preparedness and adaptation is a growing feature of Pacific programming, and delegates gathered in Samoa in May 2011 for a conference on ‘Lessons for Future Action-Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction’.

Best practice for community development (such as gender analysis, do-no-harm and the involvement of civil society organisations) should be the status quo in designing adaptation pro-jects. Programmes should also include accessible funding mechanisms for women, youth and community based-organisations (Schalatek 2009).

At village level, CBA initiatives should value the expertise of local researchers and facilitators who understand vernacular languages and cultural norms. The Solomon Islands’ successful bid in April 2011 for funding from the Kyoto Protocol Adaptation Fund – the first in the Pacific Islands – has also highlighted the benefits of utilising local programme designers rather than outside consultants (Maclellan 2011a).

23.5 Conclusion

The three case studies presented in this chapter have highlighted key challenges and barriers for adapting to climate variability and change, as well as provided insights into some of the condi-tions conducive to successful adaptation. Despite the different contexts, several common themes have emerged with regards to pathways for cli-mate change adaptation. First, while individuals and households are able to develop multiple coping strategies, the case studies highlighted the importance of institutions and policies beyond the local scale for longer-term adaptation as they enable individuals and households to transcend the limitations of acting in isolation. Second, access to human and social capital, in particular cross-scale bridging and linking networks, emerged as a key way of adapting. Cross-scale

networks linking the local to the national level are not only critical to facilitating household and community level adaptation (e.g. by providing greater access to resources) but also to enabling improved communication and more effective decision-making on climate change adaptation. All three case studies highlight the need for greater integration of findings and strategies emerging from community-based adaptation work into climate change adaptation policies developed at the regional and national levels. Third, the case studies have highlighted the need to unpack the concept of ‘community’ to recog-nise the different vulnerable and/or excluded sub-groups within communities and their differences in access to resources, knowledge, networks and opportunities. Finally, based on these case studies we argue that successful adaptation to climate change is about adapting to multiple stressors and, in particular in these case studies, the management of a dominant stress, such as access to resources (including human capital, social net-works, housing and financial resources). When planning for adaptation to climate change it is vital to recognise the difference in access to resources that households and communities experience: those experiencing poverty are often already in an adaptation deficit and thus have an even worse prognosis when it comes to further climate change. National policies need to recog-nise this adaptation deficit and the heterogeneity of the abilities of households and communities to adapt to climate change.

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Climate Adaptation Futures (Palutikof/Climate Adaptation Futures) || Climate change adaptation pathways