Vulnerability Assessment Uptake for Adaptation Success
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Vulnerability Assessment Uptake for Adaptation Success
- 1. VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT UPTAKE FOR ADAPTATION SUCCESS Keynote for ARCC Expert’s Meeting 2014 HEATHER MCGRAY, MOUSHUMI CHAUDHURY, AYESHA DINSHAW Image © Flickr/CGIAR Climate WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE
- 2. ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE Difficult to Define Pictures: © Thomas Leuthard © M. Defreese/CIMMYT © Nigel Finn © T. Samson/CIMMYT
- 3. DEFINING ADAPTATION SUCCESS: MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS MATTER • The intention of the adaptation intervention • The result of the adaptation intervention • The potential for transformation in the adaptation intervention
- 4. VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT IN THE ADAPTATION PROCESS Source: ICLEI Europe
- 5. A WORKING DEFINITION OF UPTAKE Use or an application of findings from a scientific study, such as vulnerability assessments, to inform decision making.
- 6. CHARACTERISTICS OF AN UPTAKE-READY VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT Salience Legitimacy Credibility • Credibility: The perceived technical quality and adequacy of the presented evidence and claims. Findings perceived as having high technical quality are likely to be more compelling to a decision maker. • Salience: The perceived relevance of the technical information provided. • Legitimacy: Demonstrates that the process of collecting scientific information involves participation of various stakeholders in an unbiased manner. Adopted from: Cash DW, Clark WC, Alcock F, Dickson NM, Eckley N, Guston D, Jager J, Mitchell R (2003) Knowledge systems for sustainable development. Proceeding of the National Academy of Science USA 100(14):8086–8091.
- 7. BUILDING CREDIBILITY Picture: Participatory planning processes Photo: Pieter Terpstra • Use appropriate, high quality data and information and recognized analysis procedures • Communicate uncertainties to better explain the range of possible vulnerabilities • Allow stakeholders to debate over various sources of data and information to assess whether it presents unbiased views and incorporates multiple perspectives
- 8. DEVELOPING SALIENCE Picture: Meeting with town planners in Kerala Photo: sathiallforpartnerships.org • Gather and share input from decision makers about their information needs and intended uses of the CC VA findings • Structure CC VA findings to directly address critical, expressed needs • Release information from the CC VA in a timely manner aligned with policy, planning and procurement schedules
- 9. SOURCES OF LEGITIMACY Picture: Stakeholder participation, Kenya Photo: Moushumi Chaudhury • Ensure that stakeholders representative of different sectors of society are involved throughout the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment process • Assess power dynamics to ensure that various stakeholder groups have equal voice
- 10. FACTORS THAT ENABLE UPTAKE • Knowledge brokers • Champions • Communication • Context
- 11. A FRAMEWORK FOR UPTAKE Salience Legitimacy Credibility Champions Knowledge brokers Communication UPTAKE by decision makers
- 12. FROM ASSESSMENT TO SUCCESS Salience Legitimacy Credibility Champions Knowledge brokers Communication UPTAKE by decision makers SUCCESSIMPLEMENTATION
- 13. Thank you! For questions, please contact: Moushumi Chaudhury: Mchaudhury@wri.org; Ayesha Dinshaw: Adinshaw@wri.org; or Heather McGray: Hmcgray@wri.org
Editor's Notes
- Adaptation defies a single, well-bound definition for many reasons: Adaptation is highly contextual due to location-specific climate impacts and various socio-economic, political, cultural, and environmental factors at play within a given community or decision-making process. Moreover, there are different costs and results time frames for the diverse forms of adaptation interventions that exist. Some adaptation projects are discrete but in other cases adaptation is mainstreamed into development projects. Sometimes adaptation is autonomous rather than planned. All these factors necessitate a broad and flexible definition of adaptation, which can be tailored to the situation at hand.
- The intention of the intervention:Addressing drivers of vulnerabilityBuilding response capacityManaging climate riskConfronting climate changeThe result of the intervention:OutputsOutcomesImpactsTested impactsThe POTENTIAL role of transformation on successful adaptation: (more Qs than As)Often portrayed as distinct from incremental change but sometimes distinction is unclear*Have IPCC definition** but need criteria to operationalize transformational adaptation: scale, time, # of people, vulnerability profile of people…?Winners and losers; potential for negative transformation*Transformational change can result of from reaching a tipping point and crossing a threshold.However, there is often there a long, slow and incremental build-up to such sudden transformations. In this way, the onset of the transformation itself is rapid but the “intermediary class” of adaptation interventions coined by Kates et al. (2012) are necessary to build up enough momentum for rapid transformation. Kates et al. (2012) suggest that some types of adaptations may constitute an “intermediate class” if they are transformational at some scales but not at others, or if incremental adaptations occur over long enough time scales that their cumulative effect is transformational, or if institutional changes in thinking and capacity improve the likelihood of future transformational change. Examples of “intermediate changes” that are neither clearly incremental or transformativeGood governance advocacy: In many parts of the world, grass-roots efforts to fight corruption and improve governance struggle to make even incremental changes, sometimes appearing nearly futile over the short-term. However, incremental changes made can be documented, and in some cases (such as in Indonesia and many Latin American countries, for instance) eventually have contributed to substantially overhauled government systems. Seawalls: In some cases, the same intervention may be transformational or not, depending on the specifics of the situation. Kates et al. (2012) posit that if a sea wall is built that is similar to others in the area and simply protects existing land use, it is not transformative. However, if the sea wall being built is much larger than those built in the area, and it fundamentally alters coastal land use, it could be considered transformational. ** “Adaptation that changes the fundamental attributes of a system in response to climate and its effects.”Success of a project does not equal adaptation success writ large
- Uptake can lead to formulations or changes in policies, and help design or improve existing programsAsk the audience to provide examples of uptake they have had at the end of this slide
- In the literature these characteristics are not discussed as “weighted” but in practice they could be weighted differently. They are interrelated – e.g. unbiased participation leads to legitimacy which leads to relevance.Suggested by the science-policy literature (Cash DW, Clark WC, Alcock F, Dickson NM, Eckley N, Guston D, Jager J, Mitchell R (2003) Knowledge systems for sustainable development. Proceeding of the National Academy of Science USA 100(14):8086–8091.):Credibility: The perceived technical quality and adequacy of the presented evidence and claims. Findings perceived as having high technical quality are likely to be more compelling to a decision maker. Salience: The perceived relevance of the technical information provided. Legitimacy: Demonstrates that the process of collecting scientific information involves participation of various stakeholders in an unbiased manner.
- Use appropriate, high quality data and information and recognized analysis procedures Communicate uncertainties to better explain the range of possible vulnerabilitiesAllow stakeholders to debate over various sources of data and information to assess whether the data/information presents unbiased views and incorporates multiple perspectives
- Gather and share input from decision makers about their information needs and intended uses of the CC VA findingsStructure CC VA findings to directly address critical, expressed needsRelease information from the CC VA in a timely manner aligned with policy, planning and procurement schedules
- Ensure that stakeholders representative of different sectors of society are involved throughout the CC VA processAssess power dynamics to ensure that various stakeholder groups have equal voice From Trish: it isn't possible to ensure that stakeholders have equal voice however you can ensure that you take into consideration opinions/information representative of society to "balance out" power dynamics. Legitimacy goes beyond ensuring representation and equity it also refers to the study being "grounded" in the reality of people's lives. This is where understanding context from the persepctive of those who are afffected by climate change comes into play.
- Definition of Knowledge brokersKnowledge brokers are people who have the technical skills that allow them to be involved in vulnerability analysis but they also possess the skills to connect scientific findings to decision makers. They bridge scientific information with the world of decision making by making scientific information more accessible and understandable to decision makers. They may also play a role in building trust and cooperation during a stakeholder engagement process. Sources: Hammill A, Harvey B, Echeverria D (2013) Understanding Needs, Meeting Demands: User-oriented analysis of online knowledge broker platforms for climate change and development. Winnipeg: IISD; PROVIA (2013) PROVIA Guidance on Assessing Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation to Climate Change. Consultation document, United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya, Available at http://www.unep.org/proviaExample : In the case of Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment for Madhya Pradesh, the Environmental Planning and Coordination Organization (EPCO) was an important knowledge broker. They not only contributed to designing the VA methodology since they have the technical skills to do so, but they also brought together different stakeholders, such as decision makers from the state departments of water and agriculture to be part of VA workshop hence helping to bridge science with decision making. Working Definition of ChampionsIn the literature, knowledge brokers and champions are inter-changeable. A working definition of champions is that they are people who are not directly involved in scientific work, such as designing or implementing the VAs. They, however, understand the value of VAs and are willing to make a link between VA implementers and decision makers because they have the interest and connections to make the link.Example: In the case of Tortillas on the Roaster, the champion was the Minister of Environment in El Salvador. He was not involved in the VA but understood the value of itsince the VA provided information on how to improve maize production and soil health, which is the type of information he needed. Because the VA was of relevance, he championed the VA by not only promoting it but using it for decision making. CommunicationsEssential for conveying credibility, legitimacy, and salience needed to integrate scientific work into decision making. Being able to disseminate packaged information to a targeted audience in a timely manner is critical in creating an impact. Usually, findings from VAs are communicated at the end of the CVA study. However, communication and information about the problem, solution, and their implication is continuously needed throughout the uptake process to increase awareness and to help engage stakeholders. This can help create greater “buy-in” to the CVA process, which could eventually lead to the VA being used for decision making. Contextual factors Refers to conditions that are beyond the valuation practitioner’s control. These may include the level of dependency of a population on a particular natural resource, threats to resources, economic health of a particular place, and size of the country. Additionally, organizational structure, political feasibility and will, decision protocols and timing of certain opportunities are important contextual factors that can play an important role with regards to if and how science is translated into policy and planning.
- Leif’s point:Will you discuss a little bit about "success" in the short-term? What do we look for with regard to success in the short term? What is it in this context? Maybe a couple leading thoughts that set the tone for the workshop will be valuable. It looks like slide 15 does this but not sure how you are going to use the slide.
- Leif’s point:Will you discuss a little bit about "success" in the short-term? What do we look for with regard to success in the short term? What is it in this context? Maybe a couple leading thoughts that set the tone for the workshop will be valuable. It looks like slide 15 does this but not sure how you are going to use the slide.