The evolution of empirical adaptation research in the global South from 2010 to 2020

Abstract

This paper applies a scoping review approach to inductively assess the evolution of empirical adaptation research in the global South over the period 2010 to 2020 using, as indicators of the literature, three leading adaptation journals covering different scales of analysis: Global Environmental Change, Regional Environmental Change and Climate and Development. The review confirms that previous calls for an increase in empirical adaptation research have been heeded. Research covers both policy and practice, and also different scales, with a particular focus on agricultural and rural settings. There is significant and growing interest in the determinants of adaptation and adaptive capacity (including the role of barriers and enablers), and a small but growing interest in the role of gender. The overall increase in total publications does not show even geographical or sectoral coverage. Large swathes of sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East/North Africa remain severely under-researched; and the overwhelming majority of papers focus on rural and agricultural issues rather than cities. This analysis offers tangible evidence to highlight where geographical and thematic gaps exist in our research on adaptation in the global South.

Funding flows for climate change research on Africa: where do they come from and where do they go?

“…Climate-change-impact studies and adaptation studies each received almost 40% (USD 240 million) of the funding for research on climate-related issues in Africa while mitigation research received substantially less, at 17% (USD 105 million) (Figure 6). Although recent research points to important knowledge gaps on adaptation in specific sectors in Africa, such as cities (Vincent & Cundill, 2021), our results indicate that a high portion of research funds do go towards adaptation-focused research projects. One possible explanation for this pattern of greater funding for adaptation-related research in Africa is that many least developed countries express stronger demand for finance supporting adaptation rather than mitigation (Zhang & Pan, 2016).…”

“…Yet other countries with similar challenges, like Algeria (0.82% -USD 4.8 mill), have received less attention and research on North African countries is generally most underfunded compared to the climate vulnerability of those countries. The lack of funding for research on North African countries is reflected in a dearth of climate knowledge for the region (Niang et al, 2014;Vincent & Cundill, 2021). Among the North African countries, the largest amount of research funding has been focused on Tunisia (1.76% -USD 10.5 mill) despite it being the smallest of these states both in terms of population and surface area.…”

Equity in climate scholarship: a manifesto for action

“…But it also means considering whose knowledge your work draws on. While more studies on climate change in the Global South are being published now than a decade ago (Vincent & Cundill, 2021), this work is not necessarily being written by scholars from the Global South. Furthermore, these scholars are not getting the same attention as scholars from the Global North.…”

Interrogating ‘effectiveness’ in climate change adaptation: 11 guiding principles for adaptation research and practice

“…Table 2 synthesizes eleven principles of effective adaptation based on these frames, suggesting them not as a longlist of essential targets to meet but as different considerations to reflect on when designing new adaptation interventions and developing metrics to track adaptation progress. These eleven frames of EA are put forth as a contribution to the growing 'adaptation science' literature (Nalau & Verrall, 2021;Preston et al, 2013;Vincent et al, 2021) that is critically examining how heuristics and metrics used to conceptualize and measure adaptation effectiveness have real-word implications on adaptation outcomes (e.g. Eriksen et al, 2021).…”