Framing adaptive capacity through a history–futures lens: Lessons from the South East Queensland Climate Adaptation Research Initiative

Bussey, Marcus; Carter, R.W.; Keys, Noni; Carter, Jennifer; Mangoyana, Robert; Matthews, Julie; Nash, Denzil; Oliver, Jeannette; Richards, Russell; Roiko, Anne; Sanò, Marcello; Thomsen, Dana C.; Weber, Estelle; Smith, Tim

doi:10.1016/j.futures.2011.12.002

Cited by 36 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…These understandings can provide general lessons that can be applied to current contexts (Bussey et al 2012;Bundy et al 2015;Fazey et al 2015) Concluding thoughts…”

Section: Impactsresponsesmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Adaptive capacity is latent potential until it is applied in response to a change. Adaptive capacity is determined by access to assets (human, social, physical, financial and natural), capacity to organize, leadership, learning and knowledge, imaginative resources and capacity to self-organize Cinner et al 2009;Bussey et al 2012;Bennett et al 2014a). In this view of vulnerability, the relationship between the three components of vulnerability might be simplified to an equation: V = E ?…”

Section: Vulnerability To Multiple Exposures: Key Concepts and Concepmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Communities and change in the anthropocene: understanding social-ecological vulnerability and planning adaptations to multiple interacting exposures

et al. 2015

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The majority of vulnerability and adaptation scholarship, policies and programs focus exclusively on climate change or global environmental change. Yet, individuals, communities and sectors experience a broad array of multi-scalar and multi-temporal, social, political, economic and environmental changes to which they are vulnerable and must adapt. While extensive theoreticaland increasingly empirical-work suggests the need to explore multiple exposures, a clear conceptual framework which would facilitate analysis of vulnerability and adaptation to multiple interacting socioeconomic and biophysical changes is lacking. This review and synthesis paper aims to fill this gap through presenting a conceptual framework for integrating multiple exposures into vulnerability analysis and adaptation planning. To support applications of the framework and facilitate assessments and comparative analyses of community vulnerability, we develop a comprehensive typology of drivers and exposures experienced by coastal communities. Our results reveal essential elements of a pragmatic approach for localscale vulnerability analysis and for planning appropriate adaptations within the context of multiple interacting exposures. We also identify methodologies for characterizing exposures and impacts, exploring interactions and identifying and prioritizing responses. This review focuses on coastal communities; however, we believe the framework, typology and approach will be useful for understanding vulnerability and planning adaptation to multiple exposures in various social-ecological contexts.

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“…These understandings can provide general lessons that can be applied to current contexts (Bussey et al 2012;Bundy et al 2015;Fazey et al 2015) Concluding thoughts…”

Section: Impactsresponsesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Vulnerability To Multiple Exposures: Key Concepts and Concepmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communities and change in the anthropocene: understanding social-ecological vulnerability and planning adaptations to multiple interacting exposures

et al. 2015

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“…Nevertheless, societal adaptation to a range of stressors is a prevalent and defining feature of persistent societies (e.g., Bussey et al 2011). Research in traditional disciplines such as archeology (e.g., Morrison 2006) and interdisciplinary fields such as resilience (e.g., Gunderson and Holling 2002) illustrates that adaptation to changing social-ecological systems, including climatic variables, is not a recent attribute of human societies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptation or Manipulation? Unpacking Climate Change Response Strategies

Thomsen¹,

Smith²,

Keys³

2012

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Adaptation is a key feature of sustainable social-ecological systems. As societies traverse various temporal and spatial scales, they are exposed to differing contexts and precursors for adaptation. A cursory view of the response to these differing contexts and precursors suggests the particular ability of persistent societies to adapt to changing circumstances. Yet a closer examination into the meaning of adaptation and its relationship to concepts of resilience, vulnerability, and sustainability illustrates that, in many cases, societies actually manipulate their social-ecological contexts rather than adapt to them. It could be argued that manipulative behaviors are a subset of a broader suite of adaptive behaviors; however, this paper suggests that manipulative behaviors have fundamentally different intentions and outcomes. Specifically, adaptive behaviors are respectful of the intrinsic integrity of social-ecological systems and change is directed toward internal or self-regulating modification. By way of contrast, manipulative behaviors tend to disregard the integrity of social-ecological systems and focus on external change or manipulating the broader system with the aim of making self-regulation unnecessary. It is argued that adaptive behaviors represent long-term strategies for building resilience, whereas manipulative behaviors represent short-term strategies with uncertain consequences for resilience, vulnerability, and the sustainability of social-ecological systems. Of greatest significance; however, is that manipulative strategies have the potential to avoid authentic experiences of system dynamics, obscure valuable learning opportunities, create adverse path dependencies, and lessen the likelihood of effective adaptation in future contexts.

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“…Historical case studies illustrate how particular adaptations can enhance or erode socio-ecological systems (Nelson 2011;Bussey et al 2012). How the threats and issues relating to adaptation are framed is central to the ability to respond proactively.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Societies highly structured in terms of the number and variety of their components, social roles, and the mechanisms for organising these, are vulnerable to stress (Tainter 1998). They also tend to have a deep commitment to infrastructure that maintains their hierarchies and a resistance to forces that would challenge the dominant order (Diamond 2005;Bussey et al 2012). Furthermore, these systems are highly energy dependent and reluctant to redeploy resources to enhance adaptive capacity (Quezada et al 2012).…”

Section: Socioeconomic Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building adaptive capacity in South East Queensland, Australia

et al. 2013

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The effectiveness of various adaptation options is dependent on the capacity to plan, design and implement them. Understanding the determinants of adaptive capacity is, therefore, crucial for effective responses to climate change. This paper offers an assessment of adaptive capacity across a range of sectors in South East Queensland, Australia. The paper has four parts, including (1) an overview of adaptive capacity, in particular as a learning process; (2) a description of the various methods used to determine adaptive capacity; (3) a synthesis of the determinants of adaptive capacity; and (4) the identification of mechanisms to build adaptive capacity in the region. We conclude that the major issue impacting adaptive capacity is not the availability of physical resources but the dominant social, political and institutional culture of the region.

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Framing adaptive capacity through a history–futures lens: Lessons from the South East Queensland Climate Adaptation Research Initiative

Cited by 36 publications

References 33 publications

Communities and change in the anthropocene: understanding social-ecological vulnerability and planning adaptations to multiple interacting exposures

Communities and change in the anthropocene: understanding social-ecological vulnerability and planning adaptations to multiple interacting exposures

Adaptation or Manipulation? Unpacking Climate Change Response Strategies

Building adaptive capacity in South East Queensland, Australia

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