Tools for adaptive governance for complex social-ecological systems: A review of role-playing-games as serious games at the community-policy interface

The management of natural resources—from forests to fisheries to freshwater—is becoming increasingly complex and requires new tools and processes for engaging with individuals, communities, and decision-makers. Policy makers and practitioners have begun using serious games (SGs) (those used for purposes other than entertainment) to overcome some of the complex challenges of governing resources in social-ecological systems. This paper uses a systematic literature review methodology to assess role-playing SGs for natural resource management. Fifty-two articles from the role-playing game (RPG) subset of SGs are identified, synthesised and analysed using a multi-criteria evaluation framework. First, we explore three theoretical and conceptual elements of games: principles of RPGs, functions of games, and (practical) game characteristics. We evaluate game elements, including game design, adherence to reality and the degree to which games integrate elements of participatory—and action research. These dimensions of RPGs are then analysed and discussed. Particular attention is paid to the value and application of RPGs to address complex problems with interacting environmental, social, cultural and economic challenges, and the extent to which they can inform adaptive governance solutions. Results show that RPGs can be a valuable tool at different levels; however, we also identify important gaps in the current state of knowledge, in particular, related to bridging community—and higher-level decision-making scales through RPGs

Adaptation knowledge for New Zealand’s primary industries: Known, not known and needed

Climate sensitive primary industries including pastoral farming, high-value horticulture and viticulture are central to Aotearoa-New Zealand’s economy. While advances have been made in understanding the impacts and implications of climate change critical knowledge gaps remain, particularly for adaptation. This study develops and applies a novel methodology to identify and characterise adaptation knowledge for primary industries. The basis for the review is ten years’ of research and action under the Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change (SLMACC) program, supplemented with a systematic review of the published literature. Reports (n = 32) and literature (n = 22) are reviewed and assessed using the Adaptation Knowledge Cycle to characterise analytical and empirical foci. The detailed assessment of knowledge for Impacts, Implications, Decisions or Actions enables a robust and rigorous assessment of existing knowledge, identifies critical research gaps and emerging needs. Results show research to date has focused almost exclusively on understanding the impact of climate variability and extremes on land management. There are significant empirical (e.g. location and sector) and methodological (e.g. integrated assessments, scenarios, and vulnerability assessment) gaps, for at risk regions and sectors, and limited understanding of the decisions and actions necessary to enable successful adaptation. To inform future adaptation planning, additional work is required to better understand the implications, decision-making processes and obstacles to action. More detailed understanding of location-, season-, time- and sector-specific responses to climate change is also necessary. Findings advance our understanding of adaptation knowledge and reflect on diversity of information necessary to enable and sustain resilient rural futures and provide a conceptual and methodological basis for similar assessments elsewhere

Australasia

Observed changes and impacts Ongoing climate trends have exacerbated many extreme events (very high confidence). The Australian trends include further warming and sea level rise sea level rise (SLR), with more hot days and heatwaves, less snow, more rainfall in the north, less April–October rainfall in the southwest and southeast and more extreme fire weather days in the south and east. The New Zealand trends include further warming and sea level rise (SLR), more hot days and heatwaves, less snow, more rainfall in the south, less rainfall in the north and more extreme fire weather in the east. There have been fewer tropical cyclones and cold days in the region. Extreme events include Australia’s hottest and driest year in 2019 with a record-breaking number of days over 39°C, New Zealand’s hottest year in 2016, three widespread marine heatwaves during 2016–2020, Category 4 Cyclone Debbie in 2017, seven major hailstorms over eastern Australia and two over New Zealand from 2014–2020, three major floods in eastern Australia and three over New Zealand during 2019–2021 and major fires in southern and eastern Australia during 2019–2020

Vulnerability and resilience in New Zealand’s wine industry: A case study from Marlborough

Purpose: This paper sets out a framework for resilience assessment in the wine industry. The application of the framework is illustrated through case-study analysis of impacts of recentearthquakes on the wine industry in Marlborough, New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach: A case-study analysis of Marlborough region, on New Zealand’s South Island, based on semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, document analysis (media and industry situation reports, insurance assessments), and informed by academic literature on socioecological and disaster resilience. Findings: Resilience analysis provides conceptual and methodological tools for assessing the capacity of socio-ecological systems to recover from shocks and stresses. Resilience thinking provides a useful conceptual and theoretical basis for assessing the capacity of the wine industry to absorb shocks, and prepare for future uncertainty. Practical implications: Resilience assessment can help identify winery operation components that influence system-critical sensitivities to seismic risks. This type of analysis can help the industry identify system vulnerabilities and risks, and develop and support specific adaptation or resilience building strategies

Towards a heuristic for assessing adaptation knowledge: Impacts, implications, decisions and actions

Climate change poses a significant challenge to primary industries and adaptation will be required to reduce detrimental impacts and realise opportunities. Despite the breadth of information to support adaptation planning however, knowledge is fragmented, obscuring information needs, hampering strategic planning and constraining decision-making capacities. In this letter, we present and apply the Adaptation Knowledge Cycle (AKC), a heuristic for rapidly evaluating and systematising adaptation research by analytical foci: Impacts, Implications, Decisions or Actions. We demonstrate its application through an assessment of ten years' climate change adaptation research for New Zealand's primary industries. The letter draws on the results of systematic review, empirical analysis, workshops, interviews, narrative analyses and pathways planning to synthesise information and identify knowledge gaps. Results show the heuristic's simplicity is valuable for cross- and transdisciplinary communication on adaptation in New Zealand's primary industries. Results also provide insight into what we know and need to know with respect to undertaking adaptation planning. With the development of tools and processes to inform decision making under conditions of uncertainty - such as adaptation pathways - it is increasingly important to efficiently and accurately determine knowledge needs. The combination of systematic data collection techniques, and heuristics such as the AKC may provide researchers and stakeholders with an efficient, robust tool to review and synthesise existing knowledge, and identify emerging research priorities. Results can in turn support the design of targeted research and inform adaptation strategies for policy and practice

Transformations for resilient rural futures: The case of Kaikōura, Aotearoa-New Zealand

On 14 November 2016, a magnitude (Mw) 7.8 earthquake struck the small coastal settlement of Kaikōura, Aotearoa-New Zealand. With an economy based on tourism, agriculture, and fishing, Kaikōura was immediately faced with significant logistical, economic, and social challenges caused by damage to critical infrastructure and lifelines, essential to its main industries. Massive landslips cut offroad and rail access, stranding hundreds of tourists, and halting the collection, processing and distribution of agricultural products. At the coast, the seabed rose two metres, limiting harbour-access to high tide, with implications for whale watching tours and commercial fisheries. Throughout the region there was significant damage to homes, businesses, and farmland, leaving owners and residents facing an uncertain future. This paper uses qualitative case study analysis to explore post-quake transformations in a rural context. The aim is to gain insight into the distinctive dynamics of disaster response mechanisms, focusing on two initiatives that have emerged in direct response to the disaster. The first examines the ways in which agriculture, food harvesting, production and distribution are being reimagined with the potential to enhance regional food security. The second examines the rescaling of power in decision-making processes following the disaster, specifically examining the ways in which rural actors are leveraging networks to meet their needs and the consequences of that repositioning on rural (and national) governance arrangements. In these and other ways, the local economy is being revitalised, and regional resilience enhanced through diversification, capitalising not on the disaster but the region's natural, social, and cultural capital. Drawing on insights and experience of local stakeholders, policy- and decision-makers, and community representatives we highlight the diverse ways in which these endeavours are an attempt to create something new, revealing also the barriers which needed to be overcome to reshape local livelihoods. Results reveal that the process of transformation as part of rural recovery must be grounded in the lived reality of local residents and their understanding of place, incorporating and building on regional social, environmental, and economic characteristics. In this, the need to respond rapidly to realise opportunities must be balanced with the community-centric approach, with greater recognition given to the contested nature of the decisions to be made. Insights from the case examples can inform preparedness and recovery planning elsewhere, and provide a rich, real-time example of the ways in which disasters can create opportunities for reimagining resilient futures

Social–ecological inventory in a postdisaster context: The 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, Aotearoa-New Zealand

Natural hazards continue to have adverse effects on communities and households worldwide, accelerating research on proactively identifying and enhancing characteristics associated with resilience. Although resilience is often characterized as a return to normal, recent studies of postdisaster recovery have highlighted the ways in which new opportunities can emerge following disruption, challenging the status quo. Conversely, recovery and reconstruction may serve to reinforce preexisting social, institutional, and development pathways. Our understanding of these dynamics is limited however by the small number of practice examples, particularly for rural communities in developed nations. This study uses a social–ecological inventory to document the drivers, pathways, and mechanisms of resilience following a large-magnitude earthquake in Kaikōura, a coastal community in Aotearoa New Zealand. As part of the planning and implementation phase of a multiyear project, we used the tool as the basis for indepth and contextually sensitive analysis of rural resilience. Moreover, the deliberate application of social–ecological inventory was the first step in the research team reengaging with the community following the event. The inventory process provided an opportunity for research partners to share their stories and experiences and develop a shared understanding of changes that had taken place in the community. Results provide empirical insight into reactions to disruptive change associated with disasters. The inventory also informed the design of targeted research collaborations, established a platform for longer-term community engagement, and provides a baseline for assessing longitudinal changes in key resilience-related characteristics and community capacities. Findings suggest the utility of social–ecological inventory goes beyond natural resource management, and that it may be appropriate in a range of contexts where institutional, social, and economic restructuring have developed out of necessity in response to felt or anticipated external stressors

Agrifood tourism, rural resilience, and recovery in a postdisaster context: Insights and evidence from Kaikōura-Hurunui, New Zealand

On November 14, 2016 an earthquake struck the rural districts of Kaikōura and Hurunui on New Zealand’s South Island. The region—characterized by small dispersed communities, a local economy based on tourism and agriculture, and limited transportation connections—was severely impacted. Following the quake, road and rail networks essential to maintaining steady flows of goods, visitors, and services were extensively damaged, leaving agrifood producers with significant logistical challenges, resulting in reduced productivity and problematic market access. Regional tourism destinations also suffered with changes to the number, characteristics, and travel patterns of visitors. As the region recovers, there is renewed interest in the development and promotion of agrifood tourism and trails as a pathway for enhancing rural resilience, and a growing awareness of the importance of local networks. Drawing on empirical evidence and insights from a range of affected stakeholders, including food producers, tourism operators, and local government, we explore the significance of emerging agrifood tourism initiatives for fostering diversity, enhancing connectivity, and building resilience in the context of rural recovery. We highlight the motivation to diversify distribution channels for agrifood producers, and strengthen the region’s tourism place identity. Enhancing product offerings and establishing better links between different destinations within the region are seen as essential. While such trends are common in rural regions globally, we suggest that stakeholders’ shared experience with the earthquake and its aftermath has opened up new opportunities for regeneration and reimagination, and has influenced current agrifood tourism trajectories. In particular, additional funding for tourism recovery marketing and product development after the earthquake, and an emphasis on greater connectivity between the residents and communities through strengthening rural networks and building social capital within and between regions, is enabling more resilient and sustainable futures

Toward an understanding of industry cluster development among New World wineries: A comparative study of the Okanagan Valley, Canada and the Waipara region, New Zealand

There is growing consensus that clusters are beneficial for regional economic prosperity. Furthermore the maturity of an industry cluster and its regional competitive advantage is often critical to the prosperity and long-term success of rural businesses. Clusters enable operational scale, enhance resilience to unexpected events or threats, and deliver innovation opportunities particularly for small and mid-size businesses on the basis of their synergies. The wine industry – and other agricultural activities that create value beyond primary production – appears to be drawn to the cluster model on the basis of shared land base, physical infrastructure, and often perishable nature of their goods that need to be processed quickly. While clusters are a function of the unity of firms and institutions, no specific activities have yet been identified that can be readily duplicated to achieve effective cluster behaviours. An understanding of the dynamics between stakeholders, and ways to encourage and/or discourage competition and cooperation, can deliver valuable insights to new and embryonic clusters, while enabling existing clusters to navigate novel risks and emerging challenges. While Michael Porter’s cluster model has enabled researchers to identify and map clusters (Porter, 1990; Porter, 2003), it provides limited insight into the factors influencing cluster development. As a result, the catalysts for cluster maturity remain undefined. Drawing on comparative case study analysis, this paper proposes a model of cluster development. Two wine regions – the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (BC), Canada and Waipara, Canterbury, New Zealand – provide the basis for this study. Both regions have been studied previously using Porter’s (1990, 2003) diamond framework, allowing a structured comparison across the determinants of the clusters (Dana & Winstone, 2008; Dana, Granata, Lascha, & Carnaby, 2013; Cartier, 2014; Cartier, 2017; Lembke & Cartier, in press). The wine clusters in these regions are examined to assess strategic alignment, and determine the balance of strategic activities that nurture cooperation and competition. Gap analysis and comparison within and between each wine region seeks to identify some of the building blocks for cluster maturity. Future research directions with the potential to refine our understanding of cluster development and lifecycles are also identified

Post-quake planning – tourism and surfing in Kaikōura

Drive through Kaikōura and the contribution of the sea, sea creatures and seafood to the character of the town is apparent, from the name itself (meaning crayfish meal), to the crayfish pot design of the District Council headquarters, the marine mammal viewing activities promoted to tourists, and the imagery and naming of many of the hospitality establishments in the township