A systematic review of observed climate change adaptation in developed nations

Ford, James D.; Berrang‐Ford, Lea; Paterson, Jaclyn

doi:10.1007/s10584-011-0045-5

Cited by 381 publications

(239 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Adaptation research in developed nations has largely prioritised broader socio-spatial scales, positioning government and institutional stakeholders (not households) as key adaptive actors. A systematic review of climate change adaptation research in developed nations found few articles documenting household-scale adaptation (Ford et al 2011). Those studies that did focus on households mostly considered direct climatic stimuli and impacts, such as heatwaves (Wolf et al 2010;Saman et al 2013), flooding and sea-level rise (Harvatt et al 2011;Barnett et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-thinking climate change adaptation and capacities at the household scale

2015

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-thinking climate change adaptation and capacities at the household scale

2015

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“…Furthermore, the mandate of local government is expanding, due to the shifting of responsibility from higher levels of authority to lower levels of authority, particularly from state and provincial authorities (Ivey et al 2004). Such constraints to action may explain why the apparent interest in adaptation and adaptation planning hasn't necessarily translated into the implementation of actions to reduce vulnerability (Repetto 2008;Ford et al 2011;Berrang-Ford et al 2011;Preston et al 2011).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adapting to climate change through local municipal planning: barriers and challenges

Measham

Preston

Smith

et al. 2011

Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change

607

481

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Municipal planning represents a key avenue for local adaptation, but is subject to recognised constraints. To date, these constraints have focused on simplistic factors such as limited resources and lack of information. In this paper we argue that this focus has obscured a wider set of constraints which need to be acknowledged and addressed if adaptation is likely to advance through municipal planning. Although these recognised constraints are relevant, we argue that what underpins these issues are more fundamental challenges affecting local, placed-based planning by drawing on the related field of community-based environmental planning (CBEP). In considering a wider set of constraints to practical attempts towards adaptation, the paper considers planning based on a case study of three municipalities in Sydney, Australia in 2008. The results demonstrate that climate adaptation was widely accepted as an important issue for planning conducted by local governments. However, it was yet to be embedded in planning practice which retained a strong mitigation bias in relation to climate change. In considering the case study, we draw attention to factors thus far under-acknowledged in the climate adaptation literature. These include leadership, institutional context and competing planning agendas. These factors can serve as constraints or enabling mechanisms for achieving climate adaptation depending upon how they are exploited in any given situation. The paper concludes that, through Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change (2011) 16:889-909

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“…The research methodology uses a systematic literature review, which involves reviewing documents according to clearly formulated criteria, using systematic and explicit methods to select and critically appraise relevant information (Lesnikowski et al 2011;Berrang-Ford et al 2011;Ford et al 2010). This approach, common in health sciences, has recently been applied to climate change studies to assess current knowledge about climate change impacts and adaptation measures and relies on peer-reviewed literature and national adaptation planning documents focused on water (Plummer et al 2012), human health (Lesnikowski et al 2011(Lesnikowski et al , 2013, the Arctic regions of Canada (Ford and Pearce 2010), within climate change hotspot regions (see articles in this special edition), and in general, regarding the governance of adaptation (Biesbroek et al 2014).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of key initiatives and approaches to adaptation planning at the national level in semi-arid areas

et al. 2015

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Semi-arid areas are found in a large number of countries and regions of Africa and South and Central Asia. They display high vulnerability to climate change with considerable adaptation needs. In this paper, we review country-level and multi-country projects supported by international agencies. We examine the priorities and goals presented in national adaptation planning documents and in sectorial planning documents. Through this analysis, we seek to compare adaptation needs with current trends in national, regional and global projects and collaborations. Our results suggest that initiatives supported by international agencies play a considerable role in achieving national adaptation priorities, especially in areas such as agriculture and water management. However, compared with specific adaptation options such as drought-resistant species and irrigation (which tend to be the scope of the projects), the analyzed documents tend to see challenges in agriculture more in the contexts of food security, livestock and rural development. They emphasize the strong connection between rural livelihoods and sustainable land and ecosystem management. Priorities listed in the national documents but not captured in current initiatives include human health, pastoralism, security and migration. Our results also show high levels of mainstreaming adaptation into sectorial planning documents, especially those on poverty reduction; however, compared with the focus on the project level, they here emphasize adaptations focused on institutional development and governance. Finally, the outcomes indicate that global, regional and national initiatives are distributed unequally and that countries in Central and West Africa and Central Asia currently exhibit low participation, especially in national projects.

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A systematic review of observed climate change adaptation in developed nations

Cited by 381 publications

References 16 publications

Re-thinking climate change adaptation and capacities at the household scale

Re-thinking climate change adaptation and capacities at the household scale

Adapting to climate change through local municipal planning: barriers and challenges

Review of key initiatives and approaches to adaptation planning at the national level in semi-arid areas

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