Title:

Livelihoods, Institutions, and Climate Change I: Adaptation in Non-Agricultural Landscapes

Description:

Among the many uncertainties associated with climate change, there is broad agreement on two general facts. One, adaptation to climate change is highly local and success in adaptation to climate change will be influenced by institutional factors, especially institutions and governance arrangements. Two, external support - from national governments, international donors, and non-government organizations among others - will be necessary to reduce vulnerability, reduce adaptation deficits and prevent maladaptation, and ease the impact of climate variability and change on the vulnerable. Not only are institutions central to the accomplishment of these goals, they are also the key means for channeling external support to facilitate adaptation. Articulation among institutions of different classes - public, civic, and market – are necessary to ensure that different forms of support reach the populations that most need them.

Papers in this session explore the role of institutions – local, provincial, and national – in facilitating adaptive responses to climate change in non-agricultural human-environment systems, ranging from gateway cities in sub-arctic landscapes of North America to dispersed indigenous communities in extensive savannas of East Africa. Investigating the relationship between formal and informal institutions, and the interplay between policy interventions and community-level outcomes, the papers throw light on the factors that contribute to building adaptive capacity to respond effectively to climate change.

Anticipated Attendance:

n/a

Organizers:

Chairs:

Participants:

Sponsorships:

Cultural and Political Ecology Specialty Group
Human Dimensions of Global Change Specialty Group
Developing Areas Specialty Group
Indigenous Peoples Specialty Group