Local levers for change: Mainstreaming ecosystem-based adaptation into municipal planning to foster sustainability transitions

Wamsler, Christine; Luederitz, Christopher; Brink, Ebba

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.09.008

Cited by 129 publications

(115 citation statements)

References 89 publications

(110 reference statements)

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“…This could be considered as relatively early, bearing in mind that the concept of ES was not particularly well spread until after the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in 2005 (MEA 2005a) and was not integrated in Swedish national environmental targets until 2012. Development of municipal plans and programs can be a rather slow process; hence, a delay can be expected before new concepts emerge in these documents (Bradshaw and Borchers 2000), especially because there are no clear pathways for how the concept should be integrated in practice (Wamsler et al 2014). The proportion of documents mentioning ES explicitly was at least 50% each year from 2009 and onward, suggesting that the concept made something of a breakthrough in those years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of the ecosystem services concept in planning documents from six municipalities in southwestern Sweden

Nordin¹,

Hanson²,

Olsson³

2017

E&S

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of the ecosystem services concept in planning documents from six municipalities in southwestern Sweden

Nordin¹,

Hanson²,

Olsson³

2017

E&S

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“…The combined use of SNA and nodal governance offers an explanation for how a group of actors can overcome the Block in^effects of existing legislative, regulatory, and organizational practices, which elsewhere appear to be inhibiting municipal areas from achieving EbA or other forms of effective environmentally related governance (e.g., Pasquini et al 2013;Wamsler et al 2014).…”

Section: Assessment Of Governance Nodes and Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, there has been a growing interest in ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), defined as the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change (e.g., Munang et al 2013;Wamsler et al 2014). The importance of EbA in the climate adaptation field is increasingly recognized, given the central role of natural resources and ecosystem services to support livelihoods and economies (Vignola et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the context of EbA, natural resource governance regimes need to integrate climate risks and the inevitable ecological changes they bring into planning and implementation (Stein et al 2013). However, the literature on the governance and mainstreaming of EbA is still in its infancy, though examples are beginning to appear (e.g., Pasquini and Cowling 2015;Wamsler et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nodes and networks in the governance of ecosystem-based adaptation: the case of the Bergrivier municipality, South Africa

2017

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New forms of governance that foster multi-level and collaborative action have been identified as key to climate change adaptation. Ecosystem-based adaptation is emerging as an important type of adaptation response. Despite its recognized promise, it remains a challenging task to conceptualize governance regimes for it because of the involvement of numerous actors across the landscape scale. Both multi-level and collaborative forms of governance are required to involve relevant actors in decision-making and related actions. We explore the applicability of the theory of nodal governance, in conjunction with social network theory, to provide a framework for operationalizing the concepts of multi-level and collaborative governance. We use the Bergrivier municipal area of South Africa as a case study, focusing on organizations (nodes) that have the potential to implement ecosystem-based adaptation. We show that a nodal governance focus on institutional structures, mentalities, technologies, and resources can be highly effective for understanding the factors supporting or constraining ecosystem-based adaptation. A focus on the number and strength of network connections that actors share highlights how the numerous connections between organizations constitute an important opportunity for strengthening ecosystem-based adaptation outcomes in the future. The analysis suggests that in the Bergrivier municipal area, both agricultural best practices and restoration activities are side-lined compared to other activities (e.g., land use planning) despite the importance of the agricultural sector in the Bergrivier area. We argue that a nodal Climatic Change (2017) 144:271-285 DOI 10.1007/s10584-017-2008-y Electronic supplementary

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“…As illustrated by Table 1, the governance arrangements for climate change adaptation vary and often sit outside of the main policy formulation and implementation sphere; adaptation is thus often separate from other sustainability initiatives and from current practice and strategic planning of government bodies [22,25]. This can be problematic as most maladaptive responses at the coast arise from those actions, which are not climate change, flood or storm focused such as coastal development and regeneration [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Space for Proactive Adaptation of Rapidly Changing Coasts: A Windows of Opportunity Approach

2017

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Abstract:Coastlines are very often places where the impacts of global change are felt most keenly, and they are also often sites of high values and intense use for industry, human habitation, nature conservation and recreation. In many countries, coastlines are a key contested territory for planning for climate change, and also locations where development and conservation conflicts play out. As a "test bed" for climate change adaptation, coastal regions provide valuable, but highly diverse experiences and lessons. This paper sets out to explore the lessons of coastal planning and development for the implementation of proactive adaptation, and the possibility to move from adaptation visions to actual adaptation governance and planning. Using qualitative analysis of interviews and workshops, we first examine what the barriers are to proactive adaptation at the coast, and how current policy and practice frames are leading to avoidable lock-ins and other maladaptive decisions that are narrowing our adaptation options. Using examples from UK, we then identify adaptation windows that can be opened, reframed or transformed to set the course for proactive adaptation which links high level top-down legislative requirements with local bottom-up actions. We explore how these windows can be harnessed so that space for proactive adaptation increases and maladaptive decisions are reduced.

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Local levers for change: Mainstreaming ecosystem-based adaptation into municipal planning to foster sustainability transitions

Cited by 129 publications

References 89 publications

Integration of the ecosystem services concept in planning documents from six municipalities in southwestern Sweden

Integration of the ecosystem services concept in planning documents from six municipalities in southwestern Sweden

Nodes and networks in the governance of ecosystem-based adaptation: the case of the Bergrivier municipality, South Africa

Making Space for Proactive Adaptation of Rapidly Changing Coasts: A Windows of Opportunity Approach

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