Understanding power and different worldviews for achieving more just and sustainable coastal adaptation outcomes
credit: Fabiola Espinoza
In this special issue of Eco Magazine -Rising Seas 2021, I unravel these questions by highlighting the role of power dynamics and worldviews in the governance of climate change adaptation. It is common that adaptation goals and priorities are set up and decided upon by people in positions of power, either intentionally, due to political decisions, or inadvertently, due to poorly designed and executed interventions. In doing so, the intended beneficiaries are often left out. For example, the construction of infrastructure as a flood protection strategy has proven to be effective in reducing the vulnerability of SIS to sea level rise, but is frequently implemented by those who have the power to do so, with a particular vision and interest in mind. This affects access to key resources and livelihoods, typically impacting groups who already tend to be marginalized. In this sense, if scientists and policy-makers truly want to reframe adaptation interventions, we must understand how these interventions are interconnected with the wider processes of political and social dynamics. Not only must we must understand ‘who decides what’, but also how values, interests and desired goals are weighted in decision making, and how this can affect the success of adaptation interventions. As the latest IPPC report highlights, with ocean warming, sea level rise and other changes to marine and coastal ecosystems expected to continue in the coming years, coastal adaptation as a policy response to climate change must be prioritized, now more than ever. While this is an indisputable challenge for policy makers and coastal communities, by considering how power and different values, beliefs and worldviews influence the design and institutional interventions of adaptation, we can use this opportunity to rethink current approaches and push for fairer and more equitable pathways.
To read the full article “More than Fixed Solutions: Power and Different Worldviews in Framing Coastal Adaptation Actions” in EcoMagazine-Rising Seas 2021 click here.
Text by Fabiola Espinoza
Share this post
Other News
Can small mangrove forests be monitored from space?
The decline of mangrove forests worldwide is concerning because these ecosystems offer crucial benefits for both nature and people. They boost biodiversity, shield coastlines, store carbon, and support local fisheries. In the Caribbean, mangroves have suffered in the past twenty years from coastal development, population growth, and climate change. This
Cladocora caespitosa: a temperate coral growing in a climate change hotspot
Adaptation has become the centre of Small Island States’ (SIS) political response to cope with the impacts of climate change. Efforts to mainstream coastal adaptation policy among different sectors and improved access to international funds to meet adaptation costs have led to an increase in the number of adaptation projects. For
La Ville de Nice a participé au meeting MaCoBioS sur la défense des écosystèmes côtiers marins
On 17 and 18 May, Nice took part in the annual meeting of MaCoBioS, a European programme for the protection of marine coastal ecosystems, organised by the Institut Océanographique Paul Ricard (IOPR) on the island of Les Embiez.
Working with practitioners to better understand marine and coastal Nature-based Solutions
People have long benefitted from marine and coastal ecosystems. But despite this many marine and coastal ecosystems are degrading or disappearing from many places around the world. Nature-based Solutions (NBS) aim to provide societal and ecological benefits by recognising the vital role of nature to help address societal challenges, including
