Identifying constraining and enabling factors to the uptake of medium- and long-term climate information in decision making

We apply a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature to assess constraining and enabling factors to the uptake of medium- to long-term climate information in a wide range of sectoral investment and planning decisions. Common applications of climate information are shown to relate to adaptation of environmental policy and planning, urban planning and infrastructure, as well as flood and coastal management. Analysis of identified literature highlights five categories of enablers to the uptake of medium- to long-term climate information in decision-making, the most of frequent of which relates to greater collaboration and bridging between producers and users of climate information. Five categories of constraints are also identified, the largest comprising of scientific and technical limitations associated with available medium- to long-term climate information

The scientific basis of climate-smart agriculture: A systematic review protocol

Background: ‘Climate-smart agriculture’ (CSA)—agriculture and food systems that sustainably increase food production, improve resilience (or adaptive capacity) of farming systems, and mitigate climate change when possible—has quickly been integrated into the global development agenda. However, the empirical evidence base for CSA has not been assembled, complicating the transition from CSA concept to concrete actions, and contributing to ideological disagreement among development practitioners. Thus, there is an urgent need to evaluate current knowledge on the effectiveness of CSA to achieve its intended benefits and inform discourse on food, agriculture, and climate change. This systematic review intends to establish the scientific evidence base of CSA practices to inform the next steps in development of agricultural programming and policy. We will evaluate the impact of 73 promising farm-level management practices across five categories (agronomy, agroforestry, livestock, postharvest management, and energy systems) to assess their contributions to the three CSA pillars: (1) agronomic and economic productivity, (2) resilience and adaptive capacity, and (3) climate change mitigation in the developing world. The resulting data will be compiled into a searchable Web-based database and analytical engine that can be used to assess the relative effectiveness and strength of evidence for CSA, as well as identify best-fit practices for specific farming and development contexts. This represents the largest meta-analysis of agricultural practices to date. Methods/Design: This protocol sets out the approach for investigating the question: How do farm-level CSA management practices and technologies affect food production and/or farmers’ incomes, resilience/adaptive capacity, and climate change mitigation in farming systems of developing countries? The objective of this ongoing systematic review is to provide a first appraisal of the evidence for CSA practices in order to inform subsequent programming. The review is based on data found in English-language peer-reviewed journals with searches using terms relevant to CSA practices and CSA outcomes. Searches were conducted via Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus. Articles located were screened first by abstract and then full text according to predefined eligibility criteria for inclusion in the review. Data capturing the context of the study (e.g., geographic location, environmental context), management practices, and impacts (e.g., indicators of CSA outcomes) will be compiled from those studies that meet the predetermined criteria. Statistical relationships between practices and impacts will be evaluated via meta-analytical approaches including response ratios and effect sizes. Mechanisms to identify bias and maintain consistency continue to be applied throughout the review process. These analyses will be complemented with an analysis of determinants of/barriers to adoption of promising CSA practices covered in the meta-analysis. Results of the review will be incorporated into a publicly available Web-based database. Data will be publicly available under Creative Commons License in 2016

Prioritizing Climate Change Adaptations in Canadian Arctic Communities

Arctic regions are experiencing the most rapid climate change globally and adaptation has been identified as a priority across scales. Anticipatory planning to adapt to the impacts of climate change usually follows a number of steps: assess current and future vulnerability, identify potential adaptations, prioritize options, implement prioritized options, and monitor and evaluate implementation. While most of these steps are well documented, there has been limited examination of the process of adaptation prioritization in Arctic communities. In this paper, we build upon existing tools and propose a framework for prioritizing adaptation options and guiding decision-making for implementation in Arctic regions. Using four adaptation performance criteria (timescale, equity, sustainability and total costs) to evaluate options through a multi-criteria decision analysis coupled with a network centric approach, our Adaptation Prioritization Framework promotes a participatory approach for adaptation prioritization and planning. We illustrate application of the framework using a hypothetical example from the territory of Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic

Cash crops and climate shocks: flexible livelihoods in Southeast Yunnan, China

The rural landscape of the People's Republic of China has changed dramatically from land collectivization in the 1950s to the decollectivization reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping in 1979. By the mid-1980s each rural household had again become responsible for its own agricultural production, and food security began to improve, even within the most remote areas. To further this agrarian transition, in the late 1990s the central state devised the Western Development Strategy to advance its 'less developed' western regions, within which provincial governments subsidized cash crops. The aim of this thesis is first to examine the importance of cash crops and related subsidies for Han and minority nationality farmer households in Honghe Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, China; second, to assess how extreme weather events affect these farmers' livelihoods and to investigate the coping mechanisms they employ. To answer this aim I draw on a conceptual framework that incorporates key elements from sustainable livelihoods, food security, and vulnerability and resilience to climate variability literatures. Focusing on four townships in Honghe Prefecture, southeast Yunnan, I completed statistical analyses of quantitative data regarding recent extreme weather events in the region and ethnographic fieldwork, including conversational interviews with farmers and semi-structured interviews with local officials completed in summer 2011. I find that state-sponsored cash crops do not always bring higher financial capital rewards and that cash crop farmers have been increasingly exposed to extreme precipitation and temperatures since the year 2000, which constrain their access to livelihood capitals, essential for (re)investing in cash cropping. In turn, farmers cope with and/or adapt to climate shocks according to their initial livelihood decision-making and the specifics of the event, while also being influenced by their location and ethnicity. In sum, I argue that farmers' vulnerability is rooted in social, temporal and spatial variables, many of which are not being considered by state officials.Le paysage rural de la République Populaire de Chine s'est considérablement transformé depuis la collectivisation dans les années 50 jusqu'aux réformes de dé-collectivisation instauré par Deng Xiaoping en 1979. Au milieu des années 80, chaque ménage rural est redevenu responsable de sa propre production agricole et la sécurité alimentaire semble s'être améliorée, même dans les régions les plus reculées. Pour intensifier la transition agraire et le développement rural, l'état a commencé à la fin des années 90 à subventionner les cultures commerciales au niveau provincial, à travers sa « Stratégie de développement de l'ouest du pays ». L'objectif de ce mémoire est premièrement d'examiner l'importance des cultures commerciales subventionnées par l'état pour les agriculteurs, particulièrement issus des minorités ethniques (Yi, Hmong, Yao, et Zhuang) et de la majorité Han dans la Préfecture de Honghe, Yunnan; et deuxièmement d'évaluer les effets des phénomènes climatiques extrêmes sur leurs moyens d'existence et d'étudier les mécanismes de survie auxquels ils ont recours. Pour remplir cet objectif, j'utilise un cadre théorique incorporant les éléments clés des littératures sur les moyens d'existence durables, la sécurité alimentaire, ainsi que la vulnérabilité et la résilience à la variabilité du climat. Mes méthodes comprennent une analyse statistique des données quantitatives des récents phénomènes climatiques extrêmes dans la région et un travail ethnographique dans quatre cantons de la Préfecture de Honghe, notamment des entrevues non structurées avec les agriculteurs et semi-structurées avec les cadres locaux au cours de l'été 2011. Je constate que les cultures commerciales subventionnées par l'état ne s'accompagnent pas toujours d'une amélioration du capital financier des agriculteurs et que ces cultures sont de plus en plus exposées à de fortes précipitations et d'extrêmes températures, qui réduisent l'accès aux capitaux de subsistance, nécessaire au réinvestissement dans les cultures commerciales. Par conséquent, les agriculteurs développent des stratégies de survie et/ou d'adaptation selon leurs moyens d'existence choisis et le type de phénomènes climatiques, mais sont également affectés par leur emplacement et leur ethnicité. En somme, je remarque que l'accès des agriculteurs aux ressources est essentiellement fonction de trois variables : sociale, temporelle et spatiale ; celles-ci souvent ignorées par les cadres gouvernementaux

Prioritizing Climate Change Adaptations in Canadian Arctic Communities

Arctic regions are experiencing the most rapid climate change globally and adaptation has been identified as a priority across scales. Anticipatory planning to adapt to the impacts of climate change usually follows a number of steps: assess current and future vulnerability, identify potential adaptations, prioritize options, implement prioritized options, and monitor and evaluate implementation. While most of these steps are well documented, there has been limited examination of the process of adaptation prioritization in Arctic communities. In this paper, we build upon existing tools and propose a framework for prioritizing adaptation options and guiding decision-making for implementation in Arctic regions. Using four adaptation performance criteria (timescale, equity, sustainability and total costs) to evaluate options through a multi-criteria decision analysis coupled with a network centric approach, our Adaptation Prioritization Framework promotes a participatory approach for adaptation prioritization and planning. We illustrate application of the framework using a hypothetical example from the territory of Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic.929

Constraining and enabling factors to using long-term climate information in decision-making

We carry out a structured review of the peer-reviewed literature to assess the factors that constrain and enable the uptake of long-term climate information in a wide range of sectoral investment and planning decisions. Common applications of long-term climate information are shown to relate to urban planning and infrastructure, as well as flood and coastal management. Analysis of the identified literature highlights five categories of constraints: disconnection between users and producers of climate information, limitations of climate information, financial and technical constraints, political economy and institutional constraints and finally psycho-social constraints. Five categories of enablers to the uptake of long-term climate information in decision-making are also identified: collaboration and bridge work, increased accessibility of climate information, improvement in the underlying science, institutional reform and windows of opportunity for building trust. Policy relevance Our review suggests that stand-alone interventions aimed at promoting the uptake of climate information into decision-making are unlikely to succeed without genuine and sustained relationships between producers and users. We also highlight that not every decision requires consideration of long-term climate information for successful outcomes to be achieved. This is particularly the case in the context of developing countries, where the immediacy of development challenges means that decision makers often prioritize short-term interventions. Care should therefore be taken to ensure that information is targeted towards investments and planning decisions that are relevant to longer-term timescales