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Event extraction is a highly significant information extraction task in natural language processing. Most existing work focuses on flat event extraction, which often fails to effectively address overlapping and nested event extraction, In particular, the role of symmetrical attention between sentences and event types, and the positional relationshi...
The purpose of the study is to determine the level of effectiveness of institutional mechanisms of the population adaptation of the region. The relevance of the study is related to the problems of reflecting the essence of the institutional mechanisms of the population adaptation, which affect their effectiveness in the transition to dynamic develo...
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... Overview of UHI effect and heatwave adaptation measures across three key adaptation approaches (Adapted from[18] p. 299 and[20]).Table 1. Cont. ...
Rising temperatures due to climate change are exacerbating the Urban Heat Island effect (UHI). UHI has serious impacts on ecosystems and human health, causes the deterioration of infrastructure and economic loss, decreases air quality, and increases energy consumption. The problem is heightened in densely populated cities. Temperatures are projected to rise more steeply in Korea than global temperatures. This paper focuses on evaluating UHI adaptation strategies of densely populated Korean cities Seoul, Busan, and Daegu through a policy review. The comparative analysis shows that, in terms of heatwave and UHI policies, Daegu is ahead as the only city with a dedicated heatwave plan. As the hottest city in Korea, it is not surprising that it is leading in heatwave policy and research. The study finds that blue–green infrastructures were the most common strategies for heatwave mitigation in these cities, but transformative adaptation is still largely absent. Despite the severity of the UHI phenomenon, particularly in densely populated Asian cities, the response so far has been limited. While there is evidence of genuine efforts towards UHI mitigation and increasing the quality and quantity of green infrastructure, many policies are too general and do not include specific details or measurable targets. Investment in expensive projects has fallen well short of the need and scale of the problem. The findings show that Korea is in the early stages of policy development for adaptation to the effects of heatwaves and UHI, and much more action is needed in the future.
... Signalling that the current status quo is no longer fit for purpose, Kates et al. (2012) argue that such conditions have the potential to drive transformational adaptation. When existing systems fail to adequately address the consequences of climate change, a fundamental shift in behaviour becomes necessary to disrupt the foundational mechanisms that perpetuate business-as-usual (Kates et al., 2012;Lonsdale et al., 2015). In the broad sense, adaptation occurs via a process of adjustment in response to actual or expected environmental changes (Few et al., 2017). ...
... Comprehensive in scope, transformational adaptations are characterised by systemwide and multi-scale strategies, often spanning multiple sectors and cutting across various socio-ecological systems and jurisdictions (Fedele et al., 2019;Lonsdale et al., 2015). Employing a transformational lens to challenge the status quo of any system ultimately results in restructuring or paradigm-shifting as existing systems, power structures and/or social inequities are addressed at a more holistic level (Fedele et al., 2019;Lonsdale et al., 2015). ...
... Comprehensive in scope, transformational adaptations are characterised by systemwide and multi-scale strategies, often spanning multiple sectors and cutting across various socio-ecological systems and jurisdictions (Fedele et al., 2019;Lonsdale et al., 2015). Employing a transformational lens to challenge the status quo of any system ultimately results in restructuring or paradigm-shifting as existing systems, power structures and/or social inequities are addressed at a more holistic level (Fedele et al., 2019;Lonsdale et al., 2015). Transformational strategies, by design, might aim to introduce new regulatory frameworks and institutional arrangements, alter networks and interaction patterns, shift perceptions and meanings, and/or reshape underlying norms and values (Termeer et al., 2017). ...
This research examines the systemic enablers that perpetuate the wealth-consumption-emissions phenomenon, seeking to develop a financial intervention capable of reorienting these forces toward socio-ecological wellbeing. Grounded in systems thinking, the study employs behavioural psychology and economic modelling to propose a scaled investment levy mechanism that links investment outcomes, both financially and cognitively, with the social and environmental consequences they facilitate. By integrating a doughnut economy framework with operant conditioning principles, the investment levy aims to redirect capital flows toward sustainable market practices while fostering a regenerative and equitable economic system that cultivates socio-ecological accountability.
Through conceptual models, scenario development, and cross-impact balance (CIB) analysis, the research conceptualises the investment levy as a dynamic tool for addressing socio-ecological imbalance and fostering sustainable market behaviour. Findings reveal that the neoliberal economic paradigm, which prioritises wealth accumulation and profit maximisation, is deeply entrenched, perpetuating environmental degradation and social inequity. However, the proposed financial intervention offers a viable pathway to catalyse systemic change by incentivising high-compliance behaviours, funding reparative activities, and cognitively reinforcing the connection between wealth generation and socio-ecological wellbeing.
This study theoretically demonstrates the transformative potential of the investment levy to operationalise doughnut economics and achieve socio-ecological balance, providing actionable insights for policymakers, investors, market operators, and scholars committed to sustainable transformation. While acknowledging critical challenges, including regulatory enforcement, avoidance strategies, and the need for significant stakeholder engagement, the research underscores the importance of embedding financial and cognitive accountability into systemic transformation efforts. By targeting the structural drivers of socio-ecological imbalance, the proposed intervention aspires to facilitate a sustainable and reparative wellbeing economy that prioritises human and planetary wellbeing over wealth goals.
... These skills are not as difficult to implement as they may appear at the first glance. Green Skills in this comprehensive sense seem to be relevant for deliberative ways of problem-solving (Mayer et al. 2021 These examples illustrate that there is a broad variety of transformative Green Skills that enable the learner to proactively contribute to sustainability transitions (Lonsdale, Pringle, and Turner 2015). While adaptive Green Skills only react to the necessities of the labour market in the context of the green economy, these transformative skills enable action competence (Fuchs 2024;de Haan 2002). ...
Green Skills are considered a prerequisite for sustainability transitions. However, existing literature shows heterogenous meanings of Green Skills, which are based on normative assumptions about what is understood as ‘green’ and ‘skill’. Despite the high expectations of Green Skills as a driving force for increasing sustainability of companies and regions, there is a research gap about implementation of Green Skills in vocational education and further training, and their impact on sustainability transitions. This paper is based on a literature review and reveals a fertile field for investigation, creating clarity by systematically analysing the fragmented literature and suggesting a research agenda for economic geography and labour geography.
... TA stands in contrast to incremental adaptation, which aims to address proximate climate impacts within the parameters of existing structures and functions (Lonsdale et al., 2015;Pelling et al., 2015). The growing call for TA is based on documented shortcomings of implementing incremental adaptation within the dominant development paradigm, and thereby the identified need for more radical and systemic ways to deal with the nature, scale and pace of global climate change and associated risks, impacts and losses that manifest locally and regionally (Barnett et al., 2015;Berrang-Ford et al., 2021;Dow et al., 2013). ...
Transformative adaptation (TA) places emphasis on changing the underlying causes of climate risk. Little is known about how TA can be achieved in practice in southern African cities. This paper reports on a set of criteria, derived from the literature and transdisciplinary engagements, for taking TA from theory into practice. These are: fundamental/sustainable changes in thinking and doing; inclusivity; challenging power asymmetries; demonstrability; responsive and flexible; and holistic, complex systems thinking. These criteria were explored through five water-related projects in Durban (South Africa) and Harare (Zimbabwe), which were identified by actors as having transformative potential to reduce urban climate risks. The study suggests that trade-offs might need to be made between several of these criteria, with strong synergies between others. Challenging power asymmetries is important in southern African cities where adaptation should change the structures of society that give rise to highly differential climate vulnerabilities. Challenging power structures largely requires true inclu-sivity and an equal stake in shaping decisions as opposed to tokenistic participation. While TA is needed in southern African cities, the complexity of these contexts and the scale of TA ambition introduces practical challenges when compared with incremental adaptation, i.e. small changes to existing practices to reduce climate impacts within the current development paradigm. Given such practical limitations, the paper concludes that TA in southern African cities might pragmatically be attempted as part of a process of ongoing learning to identify opportunities for gradual restructuring and expanding, in scale and ambition towards transformation.
... In the context of human adaptation, root causes are commonly defined as the limited access to resources, structures, and power (e.g., Downing et al., 2005). Transformative adaptation aims for a "radical change" through challenging the systemic structures that produce vulnerability and addressing the root causes of inequality (Lonsdale et al., 2015). Transformative adaptation is differentiated from incremental adaptations, which are understood as minor-and small-scale adjustments and business-as-usual strategies that do not challenge the status quo of current systems (Fedele et al., 2019). ...
... To better characterize adaptation policy, two criteria are being outlined: 1) intentionality, which refers to the purposeful design of policy, and 2) the substantiality of public policy outputs labeled as "climate change adaptation," which should contribute to reducing climate change vulnerability. Concerns on (continued) incrementalism of existing adaptation responses are frequently voiced in addition to growing adaptation implementation gaps (e.g., Lonsdale et al., 2015;Huitema et al., 2016;IPCC, 2023), especially when integrating justice concerns into adaptation action (IPCC, 2022). Further, the increased evidence of maladaptation is presented, which adversely affects marginalized and vulnerable groups (IPCC, 2023). ...
... HMPA offers a systematic framework of analysis and tool to study how and why specific state policies are or are not formulated and implemented and to what extent they contribute to the maintenance or reproduction of stately relationships and/or challenge them. As transformative adaptation aims for "radical change" (Lonsdale et al., 2015) and given the longtime debates on vulnerability inertia and persistence of adaptation incrementalism, HMPA is an angle which can offer new insights on why systemic structures that produce vulnerability remain unchallenged. HMPA also comes with a more intuitive understanding than previous analysis, as it argues, that the "state should be seen less in its function of problem-solving but rather as a mechanism for ordering and structuring policy processes against the background of essentially competing and contradictory social interests," (Brand et al., 2022: 14). ...
“Vulnerable populations” are experiencing a (re)emphasis in climate change adaptation research and practice even though the concept has long been contested. Adaptation planning is increasingly expected to restore past inequalities and address systemic injustices. Yet, we know little about the role local environmental agencies, bureaucrats, and policy practitioners (can) play in addressing “vulnerable populations”. Drawing from qualitative empirical research in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States, and Jinhua, Zhejiang in China, the local problem recognition about “vulnerable populations” and adaptation decision-making was examined. The findings reveal severe limitations in the way “vulnerable populations” are approached, with certain groups being politically contested and being considered difficult to be prioritized. In both cases, accidental forms of adaptation stand out, which mainly focus on blue-green infrastructure interventions and neighborhood revitalization programs, some of which recreated “vulnerable populations”. The findings hint to vulnerability being more deeply rooted in external conditions to the individual, which requires different policy interventions. The article presents a novel understanding by conceptualizing “vulnerable populations” as an instance of vulnerable political institutions. There’s a need to explore the nature of our political systems, how much inequality we allow and which redistribution mechanisms the state has for addressing interdependent dimensions of inequality. To make “vulnerable populations” finally a front and center concern begs us to radically engage the outside of the conventional adaptation box. Inequality studies offers synergies with adaptation justice discourses and different policy instruments that address the root causes of vulnerability.
... Considering the fact that adaptation is predominantly location and context sensitive, focusing adaptive capacity building at local community level is critically important [39]. Studies have demonstrated that transformative adaptation requires capacity building that is informed by grassroots level knowledge, lived experiences and traditional knowledge [40]. ...
Climate change impacts threaten sustainable development efforts. The magnitude of the impacts, however, varies with the socio-ecological characteristics of locations. This is the reason there is consensus on the necessity for climate change adaptive capacity building that is country driven, and based on, and responsive to, local needs. However, information on context specific capacity building needs in developing countries is not readily available. The objective of this study was to establish location specific awareness, training, educational research and technology capacity building needs for climate change adaptation among smallholder farmers in Uganda. Semi-structured questionnaires were used with 465 households from five agro-ecological zones, selected based on the level of vulnerability of agricultural systems to the main climate variation and change hazards. Results reveal substantial capacity building needs in all the zones. The majority of the farmers needed capacity building for interventions on soil-water conservation practices for adapting to drought and unpredictable rainfall. For all zones, education, research, and technology were perceived as key needs. However, the needs varied among zones. These results demonstrate the importance of context specificity in adaptation efforts. The study provides agro-ecological and social system specific information for climate change adaptation planning and policy interventions for effective capacity building.
... And it may require public policies that appeal to a logic of both mitigation and adaptation, and it may help people to recognise the link between them (Brink & Wamsler, 2019). Such a dramatic shift demands important capacities, which include leadership for transformation, capacity for systemic inquiry and learning from practice (Catrien et al., 2017;Lonsdale et al., 2015). It also requires the re-framing of adaptation research and practice (Wise et al., 2014) and a re-imagination of the future, as well as efforts to initiate the adaptation and sustain it over time (Kates et al., 2012). ...
... 'Adapting with' instead of `adapting to`, which is considered external, gives the illusion that people have an influence over economic, political and social factors responsible for the vulnerable environmental setup (Perez-Catala, 2014;Rickards & Howden, 2012). This brings up the importance of fair and ecologically sustainable decision-making (Lonsdale et al., 2015) in climate change adaptation contexts. Fig. 2 shows the importance of coordination in the implementation of development measures that promote equity and sustainability with adaptation measures that reduce the damage caused by climate change. ...
... Transformative adaptation is the rapid response when we experience extreme or rapid climate changes. Populations in such situations are extremely vulnerable to fundamental changes (Kates et al., 2012;Lonsdale et al., 2015). Sustainability based on adaptation policies and practices can result in consequences that have been given little attention ). ...
... Similarly, there is a three-tiered typology for 'change': incremental, transition, and transformation. Incremental change is often associated with business-as-usual, while transformation requires long-term complex learning on a systemic scale (Lonsdale et al., 2015). While there may be an intuitive notion that associates single-loop learning with incremental change, double-loop learning with transition, and triple-loop learning with transformation, it is important to note that there is no inherent or necessary connection between them. ...
Several actors have an impact on the quality of drinking water, but ultimately drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) play a decisive role in ensuring that water quality complies with public regulations. Several developing technologies are combined in water treatment processes. In this paper, we are analysing the technological development of DWTPs in the South Bohemian region of the Czech Republic. The empirical basis is five DWTPs of varying size, and data are gathered through semi-structured interviews with relevant staff inside and outside of the five DWTPs. This study identifies the interplay of factors driving technological development: public regulations, the economic capacity of local DWTP owners together with subsidies from the European Union and national authorities, political priorities by local authorities, and the knowledge network. The paper addressess learning–knowledge–change processes of DWTPs, thereby contributing to our understanding of developing competence in producing drinking water. Generally, large DWTPs are front-runners in introducing new technologies while the smaller ones are lagging. Still, private companies operating small plants on behalf of municipal owners ensure that those DWTPs are part of a wider knowledge network, aiding to introduce a necessary and cost-effective upgrade to treatment steps
HIGHLIGHTS
Drivers and barriers to technological change in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs).;
Differences in learning–knowledge–change processes within a tight knowledge network.;
Industry 3.0 roll-out of digital processors in water treatment technologies.;
Development trajectories differ between large and small DWTPs.;
... Backcasting supports envisioning alternative futures and exploring which options and adaptation pathways enables us to reach the desired futures, which may add value to pathways approaches for adaptation planning like (Wise et al. 2014, Butler et al. 2016, Star et al. 2016, Pandey et al. 2021, Vizinho et al. 2021, Werners et al. 2021, See et al., 2022. Backcasting is also beneficiary for social learning, enabling stakeholders to explore and open up a possibility space for empowering transformative climate adaptation to reach desired impact, as acknowledged in recent studies on transformative climate adaptation (Lonsdale et al., 2015, Holden et al. 2016, Mendizabal et al. 2021. Due to its compatibility with various types of tools and methods, backcasting has potential to address climate uncertainties in long-term decision making on climate adaptation ( Van der Voorn et al., 2017). ...
... The cases studied in the paper fall into one or more of these categories. Transformational adaptations usually operate on one or more scales of change to create truly "sustainable transformations" (Lonsdale et al. 2015). ...
... Transformational adaptation has a rather vague definition in the literature but is often juxtaposed and contrasted with "incremental transformation". Lonsdale et al. (2015) define transformational adaptation as consisting of three characteristics, namely, [i] a system-wide change or changes beyond one system, [ii] a focus on the forthcoming and prolonged changes; and [iii] a direct investigation of the efficacy of current systems, social injustices, and proven disparities and inequalities. Others have defined transformation as the capacity to move from the existing or conventional system to a new or different system (Folke et al. 2010). ...
... A study on the differing definitions of transformational change found that incremental and transformational adaptations are not individually seen as a single strategy. Instead, they are both viewed as several robust processes in response to significant changes that are anticipated or in reaction to (Lonsdale et al. 2015). Mochain et al. (2019) say that transformational change can occur when there is a recognition that incremental adaptations often fall short of the scale of the threat presented by climate change and developmental issues. ...
Climate change is becoming a defining factor for communities in South Asia. Forming one-fifth of the world population, the region increasingly faces climate-induced disasters such as floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones etc. This region also has one of the world’s poorest people who struggle to cope with the rapidly changing climatic conditions. Agriculture still employs many people in the region, one of the worst-hit sectors. Agriculture will become untenable in some parts of the region due to climate change. Monsoon patterns have changed, and agriculture does not guarantee sustainable income for the vast majority. Many climate change adaptations have been initiated in the region in response to the threat of climate change. Scholars and practitioners feel that these adaptations must be transformative to be effective. In this paper, we examine eight such adaptations from three South Asian Countries – Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, from the lens of transformative adaptation. We found that no single adaptation initiative meets all the criteria for sustainable socio-ecological transformations. However, there is a significant overlap between different typologies of transformation as envisaged in the paper and literature. We conclude that the concept of socio-ecological transformation is new for South Asia, so integrating it into the programmes and policies is the need of the hour.
