Communicating climate change for adaptation in rural communities: a Pacific study

McNaught, Rebecca; Warrick, Olivia; Cooper, Andrew

doi:10.1007/s10113-014-0592-1

Cited by 54 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This situation has led to calls for greater community involvement in the development of adaptation strategies as well as the incorporation of traditional knowledge from communities in these strategies to increase the likelihood of their uptake (Mercer et al 2007, McNaught et al 2014. This approach works best in those communities that retain a comprehensive body of traditional knowledge and less so in those where traditions have been eroded by the forces of globalization, particularly by the spread of nonindigenous languages that may create communication barriers between children and their elders, the usual custodians of traditional knowledge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Value of traditional oral narratives in building climate-change resilience: insights from rural communities in Fiji

Janif¹,

Nunn²,

Geraghty³

et al. 2016

E&S

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. In the interests of improving engagement with Pacific Island communities to enable development of effective and sustainable adaptation strategies to climate change, we looked at how traditional oral narratives in rural/peripheral Fiji communities might be used to inform such strategies. Interviews were undertaken and observations made in 27 communities; because the custodians of traditional knowledge were targeted, most interviewees were 70-79 years old.The view that oral traditions, particularly those referring to environmental history and the observations/precursors of environmental change, were endangered was widespread and regretted. Interviewees' personal experiences of extreme events (natural disasters) were commonplace but no narratives of historical (unwitnessed by interviewees) events were found. In contrast, experiences of previous village relocations attributable (mainly) to environmental change were recorded in five communities while awareness of environmentally driven migration was more common. Questions about climate change elicited views dominated by religious/fatalist beliefs but included some more pragmatic ones; the confusion of climate change with climate variability, which is part of traditional knowledge, was widespread.The erosion of traditional environmental knowledge in the survey communities over recent decades has been severe and is likely to continue apace, which will reduce community self-sufficiency and resilience. Ways of conserving such knowledge and incorporating it into adaptation planning for Pacific Island communities in rural/peripheral locations should be explored.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Value of traditional oral narratives in building climate-change resilience: insights from rural communities in Fiji

Janif¹,

Nunn²,

Geraghty³

et al. 2016

E&S

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In order to enhance adaptive behavior and improve coping capacity, a holistic communicative approach needs to relate 1) to perceptions and future expectations of change, and 2) to the perceived efficiency of adaptive strategies (Grothmann & Patt, 2005;Moser, 2014;Beyerl et al, 2016). Integrated into local customs, communicative approaches should not only raise awareness about climate change per se but also focus on various types of effective and feasible coping strategies, training of necessary skills, assistance in obtaining essential items and materials, and support for selfefficacy (Moser, 2014;McNaught et al, 2014;Scott-Parker et al, 2016;Rudiak-Gould, 2014;Nunn, 2009;van Aalst, 2008;Mercer, 2010;Gero et al, 2011;Mercer et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) The focus on adaptation has resulted in a thorough investigation of needs, practices and barriers to adaptation in the context of historical developments, currently observed changes, and projected future challenges (Nunn, 2009;Grasso et al, 2014;Kuruppu & Willie, 2015;Betzold, 2015). Traditional practices of adaptation and modern technological opportunities, as well as questions of governance and communication have been examined in order to assess the abilities of the island communities to cope with impacts of rising sea levels or extreme weather events including storms, flooding, and drought (Kelman & West 2009;McMillen, 2014;Campbell, 2009;Lefale, 2010;Fakhruddin et al, 2015;Nunn 2009;Lata & Nunn, 2012;McNaught et al;. In light of the disruptive nature of climate-related environmental change, the benefit of integrating climate change adaptation and disaster risk management has been acknowledged, and community-based coping strategies are increasingly seen as advantageous and promising approaches (van Aalst, et al, 2008;Mercer, 2010;Gero et al, 2011;Pacific Community et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Spiritual beliefs are among the few exceptions that have been discussed in this context as potentially hindering adaptive action Lata & Nunn, 2009;Kuruppu & Liverman, 2011;Kuruppu, 2009;Mortreux & Barnett, 2009;Lazrus, 2015;Rudiak-Gould, 2012. Apart from that, specific perceptions of self-efficacy and expectations that islanders have of other actors have hardly been studied and were scarcely considered in the design of communication approaches (McNaught et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, expectations of aid and support are likely to shape people's perceptions of the need for personal protective action, understandings of responsibilities, and consequent behaviour (Barnett, 2008;Nunn, 2009;Barnett & Campbell, 2010;Kuruppu & Willie, 2015;McCubbin et al, 2015). So far, it has been described that donor organizations and adaptation finance have generated dependence on knowledge and funding that contributed to undermining adaptive capacity (Nunn, 2013;McNaught et al, 2014). Yet, despite the fact that adaptation can require modest technical and financial assistance to be effective (Limalevu et al, 2010), empirical data and systematic surveys on local residents' perceptions and expectations of donors and aid are underrepresented in the literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Comparing perceived effects of climate-related environmental change and adaptation strategies for the Pacific small island states of Tuvalu, Samoa, and Tonga

Beyerl¹,

Mieg²,

Weber³

2018

ISJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT:Inhabitants of Pacific small island states are facing multiple socio-ecological pressures, with climate change being one of the most prominent. Nevertheless, the agency of local stakeholders in decisions on how to adapt to climate-related environmental change has been largely underappreciated in the climate change sciences as well as in policy decisions. We, therefore, conducted a survey study in Tuvalu, Samoa, and Tonga, asking specifically how residents perceive their situation regarding climate-related challenges, what adaptation strategies they have devised and implemented, and what they expect of governmental and nongovernmental organisations in these efforts. In contrast to the common perception that Pacific small island states are primarily threatened by rising sea levels, residents' perceptions indicate that drought, cyclones and other flood-related problems pose a far more imminent danger. Our results suggest that further research on those perceived environmental changes is advisable to provide reliable data for scientific models and policy decisions.

show abstract

Community‐based adaptation research in the Canadian Arctic

Ford

Stephenson

Willox

et al. 2015

WIREs Climate Change

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Community‐based adaptation (CBA) has emerged over the last decade as an approach to empowering communities to plan for and cope with the impacts of climate change. While such approaches have been widely advocated, few have critically examined the tensions and challenges that CBA brings. Responding to this gap, this article critically examines the use of CBA approaches with Inuit communities in Canada. We suggest that CBA holds significant promise to make adaptation research more democratic and responsive to local needs, providing a basis for developing locally appropriate adaptations based on local/indigenous and Western knowledge. Yet, we argue that CBA is not a panacea, and its common portrayal as such obscures its limitations, nuances, and challenges. Indeed, if uncritically adopted, CBA can potentially lead to maladaptation, may be inappropriate in some instances, can legitimize outside intervention and control, and may further marginalize communities. We identify responsibilities for researchers engaging in CBA work to manage these challenges, emphasizing the centrality of how knowledge is generated, the need for project flexibility and openness to change, and the importance of ensuring partnerships between researchers and communities are transparent. Researchers also need to be realistic about what CBA can achieve, and should not assume that research has a positive role to play in community adaptation just because it utilizes participatory approaches. WIREs Clim Change 2016, 7:175–191. doi: 10.1002/wcc.376For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

show abstract

Communicating climate change for adaptation in rural communities: a Pacific study

Cited by 54 publications

References 28 publications

Value of traditional oral narratives in building climate-change resilience: insights from rural communities in Fiji

Value of traditional oral narratives in building climate-change resilience: insights from rural communities in Fiji

Comparing perceived effects of climate-related environmental change and adaptation strategies for the Pacific small island states of Tuvalu, Samoa, and Tonga

Community‐based adaptation research in the Canadian Arctic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About