From barriers to limits to climate change adaptation: path dependency and the speed of change

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Research on the barriers and limits to climate change adaptation identifies many factors, but describes few processes whereby adaptation is constrained or may indeed fail to avoid catastrophic losses. It often assumes that barriers are by and large distinct from limits to adaptation. We respond to recent calls for comparative studies that are able to further knowledge about the underlying drivers of barriers and limits to adaptation. We compare six cases from across Australia, including those in alpine areas, rivers, reefs, wetlands, small inland communities, and islands, with the aim of identifying common underlying drivers of barriers and limits to adaptation. We find that the path-dependent nature of the institutions that govern natural resources and public goods is a deep driver of barriers and limits to adaptation. Path-dependent institutions are resistant to change. When this resistance causes the changes necessary for adaptation to be slower than changes in climate, then it becomes a limit to adaptation.

Drought Adaptation in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China: Actions, Planning, Pathways and Barriers

“…The IPCC has systematically summarized various barriers to adaptation [90]. Barnett et al compared six cases from across Australia and identified common underlying drivers of barriers and limits to adaptation [91]. Similar with the situations in many countries of the world, the implementation of drought adaptation actions has also not been smooth in the NX region.…”

Building resilient pathways to transformation when “no one is in charge”: insights from Australia's Murray-Darling Basin

“…It will be necessary to trade-off particular functions in some regions, such as certain kinds of land use, to maintain functionality in the basin as a whole. It is already accepted that some MDB wetlands have a greater chance than others of persisting under climate change for a given volume and frequency of flooding, and should therefore be favored to the detriment of other sites (Barnett et al 2015). For example, the persistence of the estuarine Coorong Lagoon at the mouth of the River Murray will require increasing volumes of environmental water at the expense of upstream wetlands and irrigation communities (Fig.…”

Barriers to Transformative Adaptation: Responses to Flood Risk in Ireland

“…Therefore overcoming barriers may require disruptive events to initiate change such that social values that constrain adaptation are transformed in the process (Fresque-Baxter and Armitage, 2012;Klein et al, 2014;Barnett et al, 2015). However, disruptive events which are poorly managed may serve to reinforce prevailing discourses and prevent deep structural changes from occurring (Jeffers, 2013a).…”

“…Barriers can be experienced differently by different actors and can be overcome in principle, and are distinct from adaptation limits (Eisenack et al, 2014) i.e. thresholds beyond which features of a system cannot be maintained even in a modified fashion (Moser and Ekstrom, 2010;Barnett et al, 2015).…”

“…Barriers to (incremental) adaptation arise from multiple and sometimes inter-related aspects and are generally classified into four broad categories outlined in more detail below: i) social and cultural; ii) institutional and governance; iii) resource; and iv) physical or natural barriers (Arnell and Charlton, 2009;Moser and Ekstrom, 2010;Jones and Boyd, 2011;Biesbroek et al, 2013;Klein et al, 2014;Barnett et al, 2015;Lawrence et al, 2015;Juhola, 2016;Keskitalo et al, 2016).…”