Supporting Dialogue and Analysis on Trade-Offs in Climate Adaptation Research With the Maladaptation Game

Background. Serious games are gaining increasing prominence in environmental communication research, but their potential to form an integrated part of participatory research approaches is still strikingly understudied. This is particularly the case for applications of interactive digital formats in research on environmental challenges of high complexity, such as climate adaptation, which is a specifically suitable case as it involves complex interaction between climate systems and society, but where the response also involves trade-offs with potentially negative - maladaptive - outcomes. Intervention. This article presents the Maladaptation Game, which was designed to facilitate dialogue about potential negative outcomes of agricultural climate adaptation. Methods. We conducted test sessions with agricultural stakeholders in Finland and Sweden, and analysed quantitative and qualitative, audio-recorded and transcribed, material for opportunities and challenges related to dialogues, engagement, interactivity and experienced relevance. Results. The qualitative analysis of recorded dialogues shows that the Maladaptation Game has potential to support dialogue by challenging players to negotiate between options with negative outcomes. The gameplay itself presents opportunities in terms of creating engagement with options that provoke disagreement and debates between players, as well as interactivity, that players reflected upon as quick and easy, while challenges were related to the experienced relevance, in particular the options provided in the game, and its general framing. Conclusions. The results indicate a need for complementary approaches to this type of game but also suggest the importance of moderation when the game design is aimed at creating dialogue around a complex environmental challenge such as agricultural climate adaptation.Peer reviewe

Governance and everyday adaptations? Examining the disconnect between planned and autonomous adaptation through justice outcomes

Much of the current attention in research has focused on planned adaptation, i.e., public policy, but this overlooks the fact that human and societal responses to changes in the climate are ubiquitous. Thus, autonomous adaptation, the so-called everyday adaptation, continues to be largely unaccounted for. This obscures the understanding to what extent autonomous and planned adaptation are synergistic or conflicting, resulting in maladaptive, unjust, and unequal outcomes. We approach adaptation as a commons issue and integrate existing frameworks and concepts to show how planned and autonomous adaptation can be understood together to break down the dichotomy. This integrated approach, combined with a focus on the outcome of actions through the dimensions of climate justice, can support understanding of the actions and institutions that support equality and justice. We draw on examples from recent studies on everyday adaptations by farmers and urban dwellers in light of the framework