|
Title
|
|
|
|
Exploring the mismatch between development cooperation's climate adaptation tools and climate change management in local communities in the global south
| |
|
Author
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Abstract
|
|
|
|
| Man-made climate change is a super wicked problem of the twenty first century caused by historical emissions of excessive greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by Northern countries. However, current and future emissions will emanate from developing countries and emerging economies in the South. As such, Southern countries are increasingly engaged in mitigation and adaptation efforts as required by international agreements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Adaptation is necessary for human and natural systems to adjust to the changes that are already occurring as a result of climate change. Most Southern countries lack the requisite technical knowhow and financial capacity to “successfully” adapt to climate change including taking full advantage of the opportunities it offers. As a result, the development cooperation sector has stepped in to assist Southern countries to adapt to climate change in various ways including working with communities on localised adaptation action plans. Development cooperation practitioners implement climate adaptation tools, a form of decision support tool, with local communities to aid climate change adaptation. These climate adaptation tools use participation methods that puts emphasis on outcomes ignoring the process followed to foster climate change adaptation in local communities. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to articulate and improve upon the processes and outcomes of participation when implementing climate adaptation tools with local communities embedded in a Southern rural context. The thesis uses a combination of integrated and systematic literature reviews to delineate grey and scientific literature that reports best practice of improving the quality of participation processes and associated outcomes. Empirical part of the thesis reports on a comparison of focus group discussions with school learners that took part in an environmental education course against those that did not partake. Major findings reveal that information provision tools that provide users with local climate information should be created rather than solely relying on national and regional climate information. In addition, indigenous knowledge of climate change should also inform climate change management interventions especially due to limited tools that provisions the user with localised climate data. Development cooperation practitioners and scientists talk at lay people instead of having a two-way conservation between these two groups when developing climate adaptation action plans. The patronisation of lay people in local communities is engendered by climate adaptation tools carrying Western worldviews that do not acknowledge indigenous knowledge systems. Desktop and empirical exercises in this thesis found that a livelihoods approach is a common and effective way of engaging local communities in climate adaptation efforts. However, there is an urgency to assess the sustainability of development-oriented ii climate adaptation tools because socio-economic interventions might lead to mal-adaptation that causes vulnerability in the long-term. Climate adaptation tools should explicitly state their objectives at the beginning of any climate adaptation intervention to aid stakeholder identification and management of expectations. Environmental education affects the perception of long-term risks such as climate change. |
| |
|
Language
|
|
|
|
English
| |
|
Publication
|
|
|
|
Antwerp
:
University of Antwerp, Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development
,
2019
| |
|
Volume/pages
|
|
|
|
183 p.
| |
|
Note
|
|
|
|
:
Verbruggen, Aviel [Supervisor]
:
Hugé, Jean [Supervisor]
| |
|
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
|
|
|
|
| |
|