Climate change policy, conflict and transformative governance

Climate change is the behemoth of our age. It defies description, is too large to comprehend, and what we do understand about it is often terrifying. This is for many, a good reason to stop thinking about it or, like Scarlett O’Hara, decide to “think about it tomorrow”. Thinking about the role of conflict in climate change policy is an even more challenging exercise, but one that this paper tries to address. Briefly I propose that climate change governance could productively utilise conflict as a transformative agent for decision making, rather than try and avoid it, or ‘solve it’ by embedding conflict resolution mechanisms within those governance frameworks.There are many points at which governance and climate change intersect, there are multiple entry and exit points, and policies need embedding from local to international levels to work. At the heart of the problem however is conflict: between states and territories, between cultures, between the ideas of rights and responsibility and between the environment and economics. But as with Scarlett O’Hara, our society is fundamentally incapable of dealing with conflict. We seek answers based on win-win solutions, and ways of engaging with each other that are diplomatic, and politically correct.Conflict as such, is feared as the blunt stone that will bludgeon and ruin negotiations and damage already fragile egos, societies and potential environmental outcomes. When societies cannot or will not change, or when the changes required necessitate unacceptable cultural compromise, disjuncture between them can develop into forums of conflict. Conflicts arising are partly explained by the fact that worldviews, perceptions of the problem, and ideas about solutions differ.I argue for the transformative potential of conflict to facilitate adaptive governance and policy around climate change and climate change adaptation.Key Points:Climate change governance could productively utilise conflict as a transformative agent for decision making, rather than try and avoid it, or ‘solve it’ by embedding conflict resolution mechanisms within governance frameworks.Climate governance frameworks should enable the conflict to become the conflict resolution process itself. This means identifying likely conflicts up front and then using them as the basis on which decisions about the most appropriate policies and planning are made, ensuring that such decisions are cognisant of and provide forums for effective ways around conflict in implementation.This process might take longer to negotiate, but will mean less likelihood of climate related policies stalling in implementation due to intractable conflict.One way of operationalising this model is to employ a three-dimensional local adaptive conflict governance framework comprising: (i) adaptive management (which includes anticipatory adaptation/foresight), (ii) communications, and (iii) reflexive practice

Local governance for local governments: A framework for addressing climate change

Climate science has established that climate change and associated global warming will impact the world. Already the global temperature has risen by between 0.2 and 0.6 degrees centigrade since the late 19th century, and in Australia, average temperatures have increased by 0.8 degrees centigrade (Pillora 2010). Furthermore, the last IPCC report concluded for the first time not only that climate change was real but reported a 90% certainty that it was also human induced (IPCC 2007). Moreover, Australia is predicted by 2030 to experience the following: (i) a further 1ºC of warming; (ii) up to 20% more months of drought; (iii) up to 25% increase in days of very high or extreme fire danger; (iv) increases in storm surges and severe weather events; and (v) a rise in mean sea level, with the anticipated range of sea level rise to be between 18 to 76 cm by 2100 (Pillora 2010: 4; IPCC 2007)

The Arabana people, water and developing cultural indicators for country

Water is of paramount importance to the Arabana people who live in the Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre region. Assessing the ongoing condition of aquatic ecosystems is an important part of management. Development of indicator frameworks that can incorporate both scientific and cultural values can ensure Indigenous involvement in management, but also facilitate ways in which local and traditional knowledge can be acknowledged as being of value. This project aimed to identify and document the values and indicators for water systems held by the Arabana people with the view to developing ideas about how future assessments across the whole region may: (i) engage with and then, (ii) build a template for cultural indicators across the whole region. This project was implemented using Indigenist and participant methodologies. Arabana people were employed as co-researchers. Three field trips and meetings were held to identify Arabana values for, and indicators about, water in their country. Results indicate that Arabana people value water in multiple ways including for survival, culture and identity. Interestingly, Arabana people also valued water variability and its absence: historical, dry or degraded water sites were noted as significant. Arabana people used a number of indicators or ‘signs’ to assess the ongoing condition of a site. This included flora, fauna, soil, knowledge, history, use, and pressure indicators. In many ways, the cultural indicators used by Arabana people have complementarity with scientific indicators and thus have potential to be built on and then implemented in conjunction with other indicator suites. A cultural indicator schemata is presented as is a co-engagement model for use in wider assessments with other Indigenous groups. However, this research concludes that it is not possible to develop a generic template for integration of all indicators across the region and questions whether or not this is really necessary. Ultimately, what is required is funding and investment into each Indigenous group across the Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre region to support each group to develop their own specific schemata (based potentially on the one we suggest here), and then allocation of funds to train and employ Indigenous people to implement them. The knowledge set built over time in this manner, especially if grounded in the principles of co-existence rather than integration, will also facilitate the conditions for effective and adaptive management. It will be a true complement to scientific indicators and knowledge, while respecting and incorporating Indigenous people aspirations in the region.Nursey-Bray. Melissa, Arabana Aboriginal Corporation, Primary Industries and Regions (SA), SARD

Gendered perception and vulnerability to climate change in urban slum communities in Accra, Ghana

Published online: 5 July 2018Climate change is known to have differential impacts in the Global South, with gender and poverty being determining factors. In Ghana, both these factors come into play as women living in slums bear the brunt of the impacts. In spite of this, the majority of research in gender and climate change adaptation has focused on rural communities to the detriment of their poor urban counterparts. Using a critical feminist intersectional approach, this study investigates how the interplay between gender, socio economic, institutional and place-based factors shapes vulnerability to climate change in three slums in urban Accra, Ghana. The results demonstrate that while climate change poses serious environmental hazards to all residents of slums, their perceptions and knowledge regarding the causes and impacts of these hazards are differentiated by gender, age, educational status and place-based variables, with women generally showing a lower level of awareness about climate change than their male counterparts. The results indicate further that irrespective of age, educational attainment and where people live, women were found to be overall more vulnerable, despite experiencing similar levels of exposure as the men, by virtue of their limited access to productive resources, poor conditions of housing, low participation in adaptation decision-making, as well as the heavy domestic responsibilities placed on them. We conclude that it is imperative for adaptation policy makers to formulate and implement appropriate adaptive measures in a gender-sensitive and context-specific manner to respond to the different vulnerabilities faced by different categories of social groups and communities in cities of the Global South.Mensah Owusu, Melissa Nursey-Bray, Diane Rud

Overcoming barriers to climate change adaptation policy implementation: insights from Ethiopia

This paper discusses Ethiopia’s planned climate adaptation interventions and the barriers that impede implementation of adaptation policies at the local level by using the case study of Raya Azebo district. Data was collected through reviews of policy documents, focus group discussions with farmers and interviews with relevant government actors. Results indicate that climate change is addressed in various policy documents but there is limited progress in implementation of these policies. The study identified various barriers to climate adaptation policy implementation which included a lack of financial resources, poor coordination among institutional actors and local actors’ low technical capacities for addressing climate change. The study contributes to the literature of climate change policy planning and implementation in low-income and lower-middle-income countries and suggests measures to overcome the existing barriers to climate change adaptation policiesRahwa Kidane, Thomas Wanner and Melissa Nursey-Bra

Old Ways for New Days

This Open Access book provides a critical reflection into how indigenous cultures are attempting to adapt to climate change. Through detailed first-hand accounts, the book describes the unique challenges facing indigenous peoples in the context of climate change adaptation, governance, communication strategies, and institutional pressures. The book shows how current climate change terminologies and communication strategies often perpetuate the marginalisation of indigenous peoples and suggests that new approaches that prioritise Indigenous voices, agency and survival are required. The book first introduces readers to Indigenous peoples and their struggles related to climate change, describing the impacts of climate change on their everyday lives and the adaptation strategies currently undertaken to address them. These strategies are then detailed through case studies which focus on how Indigenous knowledge and practices have been used to respond to and cope with climate change in a variety of environments, including urban settings. The book discusses specific governance challenges facing Indigenous peoples, and presents new methods for engagement that will bridge existing communication gaps to ensure Indigenous peoples are central to the implementation of climate change adaptation measures. This book is intended for an audience of Indigenous peoples, adaptation practitioners, academics, students, policy makers and government workers. ; Documents for the first time how some of the world's oldest living indigenous cultures are attempting to adapt to climate change Summarizes key issues facing indigenous peoples in the context of adaptation to climate change impacts Offers critical reflection on specific governance challenges faced by indigenous people

Old Ways for New Days

This Open Access book provides a critical reflection into how indigenous cultures are attempting to adapt to climate change. Through detailed first-hand accounts, the book describes the unique challenges facing indigenous peoples in the context of climate change adaptation, governance, communication strategies, and institutional pressures. The book shows how current climate change terminologies and communication strategies often perpetuate the marginalisation of indigenous peoples and suggests that new approaches that prioritise Indigenous voices, agency and survival are required. The book first introduces readers to Indigenous peoples and their struggles related to climate change, describing the impacts of climate change on their everyday lives and the adaptation strategies currently undertaken to address them. These strategies are then detailed through case studies which focus on how Indigenous knowledge and practices have been used to respond to and cope with climate change in a variety of environments, including urban settings. The book discusses specific governance challenges facing Indigenous peoples, and presents new methods for engagement that will bridge existing communication gaps to ensure Indigenous peoples are central to the implementation of climate change adaptation measures. This book is intended for an audience of Indigenous peoples, adaptation practitioners, academics, students, policy makers and government workers. ; Documents for the first time how some of the world's oldest living indigenous cultures are attempting to adapt to climate change Summarizes key issues facing indigenous peoples in the context of adaptation to climate change impacts Offers critical reflection on specific governance challenges faced by indigenous people