Disconnect between science and end-users as a barrier to climate change adaptation

Kiem, Anthony S.; Austin, Emma

doi:10.3354/cr01181

Cited by 40 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Archer 2003;Kiem and Austin 2013;Kirchhoff 2013;Tang and Dessai 2012). Research suggests that the interaction at this boundary between knowledge and action can be more effective if an iterative approach is employed, which focuses on the production of usable climate science (Lemos and Morehouse 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adaptation planning and the use of climate change projections in local government in England and Germany

et al. 2016

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Planning for adaptation to climate change is often regarded to be a local imperative and considered to be more effective if grounded on a solid evidence base and recognisant of relevant climate projections. Research has already documented some of the challenges of making climate information usable in decision-making but has not yet sufficiently reflected on the role of the wider institutional and regulatory context. This article examines the impact of the external institutional context on the use and usability of climate projections in local government through an analysis of 44 planning and climate change (adaptation) documents and 54 semi-structured interviews with planners in England and Germany conducted between July 2013 and May 2014. We show that there is little demand for climate projections in local adaptation planning in either country due to existing policy, legal and regulatory frameworks. Local government in England has not only experienced a decline in use of climate projections, but also the waning of the climate change adaptation agenda more widely, amidst changes in the planning and regulatory framework and severe budget cuts. In Germany, spatial planning makes substantial use of past and present climate data, but the strictly regulated nature of planning prevents the use of climate projections, due to their inherent uncertainties. Findings from the two countries highlight that if we are to better understand the usability of climate projections, we need to be more aware of the institutional context within which planning decisions are made. Otherwise we run the risk of continuing to provide tools and information that are of limited use within their intended context.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kiem and Austin 2013;Tang and Dessai 2012), it was Lemos et al (2012) who provided a conceptual model on the 'climate information usability gap'. Their model clearly distinguishes between useful information (as provided by producers of climate information) and usable information (as required by users of climate information).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptation planning and the use of climate change projections in local government in England and Germany

et al. 2016

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“…In recent years, within the climate adaptation community, there has been an increasing perception of the limited usefulness of many assessments of effect, vulnerability and adaptive capacity for informing choices between adaptation options [41,42], even of the disconnect between end-user needs and the existing science outcomes [43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. As a result, the number of successful CC adaptation strategies implemented is small, despite good recommendations from scientists [17,31].…”

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confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2015

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Abstract:The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NX region) of Northwestern China is threatened by increased meteorological drought induced by climate change (CC) and constraints on water supply from the Yellow River. Thus, the NX region is representative of attempts to adapt to CC and variability in China's arid regions. Field visits, a questionnaire and in situ inspections were conducted in 2012-2014 to understand people's perception and awareness of drought and its impact, particularly with respect to adaptation strategies. We mainly focused on drought adaptation actions and planning implemented at the government level under the double pressures of drought and allocation. We described a suitable adaptation pathway for socio-economic sustainable development and discussed existing adaptation barriers. Construction of modern efficient water-saving agriculture lies at the core of drought adaptation, with socio-economic sustainable development being the ultimate goal. To achieve this, policies and institutional, engineering, technological, structural and social initiatives and measures-classified into macro adaptation strategies and specific coping measures-are implemented. Adaptation often encounters obstacles, e.g., policy issues from household contract responsibility systems, funding difficulties of low-income farmers, traditional behavioral habits and low education and literacy levels among farmers. The adaptation pathway involves the construction of modern efficient OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 15030 water-saving agriculture. Agricultural water savings are then transferred to developed industries, which back-feed socio-economic sustainable development in the NX region.

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“…For such a challenge, conventional scientific approaches based upon a reductionist paradigm have been found to be of limited utility to decision makers because they only address a small fraction of the problem rather than issues as a whole [2][3][4]. Instead, policy makers request a more holistic appraisal of the evidence so that they can make strategic decisions on priorities for action across a wide range of actual or potential consequences [5,6]. Decision-making requirements are therefore characterised by the quality, relevance and timeliness of evidence available, rather than just by its quantity [7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For climate change adaptation planning, the information gap between scientific outputs and the requirements of decision-makers has been identified as a major barrier [6]. For policy making, requirements are generally expressed as a need for more systematic and synthetic assessment procedures that summarise evidence in the context of both policy priorities and key knowledge gaps [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Risk Assessment to Inform Adaptation Priorities for the Natural Environment: Observations from the First UK Climate Change Risk Assessment

Brown

2015

Climate

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Risk assessment can potentially provide an objective framework to synthesise and prioritise climate change risks to inform adaptation policy. However, there are significant challenges in the application of comparative risk assessment procedures to climate change, particularly for the natural environment. These challenges are evaluated with particular reference to the first statutory Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) and evidence review procedures used to guide policy for the UK government. More progress was achieved on risk identification, screening and prioritisation compared to risk quantification. This was due to the inherent complexity and interdependence of ecological risks and their interaction with socio-economic drivers as well as a climate change. Robust strategies to manage risk were identified as those that coordinate organisational resources to enhance ecosystem resilience, and to accommodate inevitable change, rather than to meet specific species or habitats targets. The assessment also highlighted subjective and contextual components of risk appraisal including ethical issues regarding the level of human intervention in the natural environment and the proposed outcomes of any intervention. This suggests that goals for risk assessment need to be more clearly explicated and assumptions on tolerable risk declared as a primer for further dialogue on expectations for managed outcomes. Ecosystem-based adaptation may mean that traditional habitats and species conservation goals and existing regulatory frameworks no longer provide the best guide for long-term risk management thereby challenging the viability of some existing practices.

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Disconnect between science and end-users as a barrier to climate change adaptation

Cited by 40 publications

References 32 publications

Adaptation planning and the use of climate change projections in local government in England and Germany

Adaptation planning and the use of climate change projections in local government in England and Germany

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

Comparative Risk Assessment to Inform Adaptation Priorities for the Natural Environment: Observations from the First UK Climate Change Risk Assessment

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