Successful Community Participation in Climate Change Adaptation Programs: on Whose Terms?

Samaddar, S. K.; Oteng-Ababio, Martin; Dayour, Frederick; Ayaribila, Akudugu; Obeng, Francis; Ziem, Romanus; Yokomatsu, Muneta

doi:10.1007/s00267-020-01421-2

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…However, like many rural development projects, climate change adaptation interventions or programmes in many parts of Northern Ghana have often failed to achieve the intended long-term impact. As shown by Samaddar et al [46] and Gedzi et al [47], the recognition is that community participation and consideration for local culture and worldview of people across communities remain critical to the effective implementation of climate change adaptation programmes or rural development projects in the study area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, these interventions have often failed to achieve the desired impact. As shown by Samaddar et al [46], climate change adaptation programmes in the region often fail or do not achieve the desired impact because of the penchant for these interventions to overlook or disregard the integration of the socio-cultural context, opinions and perspectives of beneficiaries at the local level. Besides issues such as poor financing, lack of capacity and consideration for culture, as well as limited participation as constraints to effective implementation of interventions and action [25,45,47], there is often the tendency for policymakers to assume a top-down approach or dismiss local socio-cultural contexts and perspectives in climate change adaptation policy processes in the area [46,48].…”

Section: Research Problem and Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As shown by Samaddar et al [46], climate change adaptation programmes in the region often fail or do not achieve the desired impact because of the penchant for these interventions to overlook or disregard the integration of the socio-cultural context, opinions and perspectives of beneficiaries at the local level. Besides issues such as poor financing, lack of capacity and consideration for culture, as well as limited participation as constraints to effective implementation of interventions and action [25,45,47], there is often the tendency for policymakers to assume a top-down approach or dismiss local socio-cultural contexts and perspectives in climate change adaptation policy processes in the area [46,48]. Yet, as respectively shown in the cases of climate change adaptation projects in Mozambique [49] and in Samoa (Fasit'otai village) [50], for example, the consideration and inclusion of local culture, traditional institutions and 'effective' participation can enhance resilience and adaptation to climate change at the local level.…”

Section: Research Problem and Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So, in trying to understand the cognitive landscape within which local farmers perceive, interpret and respond to drought and climate shocks, 'cultural schemas' will allow for a focus on shared experiences, understandings and representations of external reality as socially constructed, and influenced by their cultural beliefs. It is envisaged that this will further provide vital points of entry for national climate and agricultural policy processes in considering the worldview and corresponding responses of rural farmers so as to adequately incorporate what fits the context and preference in terms of adaptation [44][45][46].…”

Section: Unpacking Local Perceptions and Understanding Of Climate Change And Variability: Mental And Cognised Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding Climate Change and Drought Perceptions, Impact and Responses in the Rural Savannah, West Africa

Adaawen

2021

Atmosphere

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Rural communities in West Africa have long adopted a variety of coping and adaptation strategies to periods of climate variability and risks. These strategies have mostly been shaped by prevailing indigenous knowledge systems and shared understandings of the underlying causes of climate events. Despite the increasing scientific and policy attention to climate perceptions and integration of indigenous knowledge in climate governance, there is still a lag in going further to probe and consider the socio-cultural and cognitive systems that shape local appreciation of climate change risks and responses. Based largely on qualitative interviews, and complementary household surveys, the paper draws on the concepts of ‘mental’ and ‘cognised’ models to examine drought and climate change risk perceptions and responses in the rural savannah of North-eastern Ghana. Local farmers generally allude to changes in rainfall patterns and prolonged intra-seasonal dry spells. Based on subscriptions to local models of blame in explaining climate risks and impacts, it is also seen that prevailing socio-cultural beliefs and understandings of environmental events tend to inform the responses of farmers in addressing these perceived risks and impacts. The paper advocates for ongoing climate action and policy processes to consider the complexity of different actors and context (socio-cultural, institutional, power structures) in enhancing sustainable adaptation and mitigation measures in vulnerable rural communities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research Problem and Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research Problem and Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Unpacking Local Perceptions and Understanding Of Climate Change And Variability: Mental And Cognised Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Understanding Climate Change and Drought Perceptions, Impact and Responses in the Rural Savannah, West Africa

Adaawen

2021

Atmosphere

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“…There is a growing number of DRR studies that question the treatment of participatory approaches as a panacea (Bajek et al, 2008;Sadiqi et al, 2017;Samaddar et al, 2021). Evidence is available that communities remained vulnerable to risks even after the 'successful' completion of the participatory projects, that external partners' interests were prioritised over communities' needs and that the quality of participatory action was poor (Arslan and Unlu, 2006;Kweit and Kweit, 2004;Samaddar et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introducing Widening Participation Agenda To Participatory Drrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Widening community participation in preparing for climate-related disasters in Japan

Kitagawa¹,

Samaddar

2022

Preprint

Self Cite

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This paper discusses community participation drawing on ongoing disaster recovery and preparedness projects in the communities affected by the Heavy Rain Event of 2018 in western Japan. Participatory approaches have become a mainstream methodology for community-based disaster risk reduction as advocated in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-30. The majority of participation research addresses either ‘success’ factors for participation or the types of participation. The paper proposes a notion of ‘widening participation’ in addressing the challenge of attracting people to participate in preparedness initiatives. Originally widening participation was a higher education policy in the UK aiming to broaden the demographic composition of the student base. Even the recovery and preparedness projects that are publicly recognised as ‘good practices’ struggle to recruit more people for the projects. Borrowing the notion of widening participation, the paper identifies how each project encourages non-participants to get involved in the project activities. The paper applies the EAST framework widely utilised in the policy making of widening participation and further public services. Rather than providing the public with information and guidance, ‘easy’, ‘attractive’, ‘social’ and ‘timely’ behavioural approaches tend to enable participation. Examining these four principles in the four cases of recovery and preparedness projects, the paper suggests that the EAST framework is feasible in strengthening the strategies for widening participation in preparedness action. The paper however recognises a need to address the difference between top-down public policies and bottom-up community projects in the application of the framework.

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A Theoretical Framework for Climate Change Adaptation Participatory Planning in Vulnerable Coastal Zones

Garau

Desogus

Orrù

et al. 2023

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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Successful Community Participation in Climate Change Adaptation Programs: on Whose Terms?

Cited by 20 publications

References 58 publications

Understanding Climate Change and Drought Perceptions, Impact and Responses in the Rural Savannah, West Africa

Understanding Climate Change and Drought Perceptions, Impact and Responses in the Rural Savannah, West Africa

Widening community participation in preparing for climate-related disasters in Japan

A Theoretical Framework for Climate Change Adaptation Participatory Planning in Vulnerable Coastal Zones

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