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... 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). ...
... Alternatively, there may be a less well-defined problem situation requiring a more imaginative risk assessment process that helps use the repeated renegotiation of climate-sensitive system boundaries as a tool to drive innovation 116 and trigger opportunities for transformational adaptation. 117 The positive domain (Figure 3, ovals 3 and 4) relates to the development of both climate futures (i.e., describing possible or probable changes in the system's climatic environment), as well as representational issues of the climate-sensitive system itself. These two are also clearly interrelated. ...
Widespread changes to climate-sensitive systems are placing increased demands on risk assessments as a foundation for managing risk. Recent attention to compounding and cascading risks, deep uncertainty, and ‘‘bottom-up’’ risk assessment frameworks have foregrounded the need to account for systemic complexity in risk assessment methodology. We describe the sources of systemic complexity and highlight the role of risk assessments as a formal sense-making device that enables learning and organizing knowledge of the dynamic interplay between the climate-sensitive system and its (climatological) environment. We highlight boundary judgments as a core concern of risk assessments, helping to create islands of analytical and cogni-tive tractability in a complex, uncertain, and ambiguous world. We then point to three key concepts—bound-ary critique, multi-methodology, and second-order learning—as critical elements of contemporary risk assessment practice, and we weave these into an overarching framework to better account for systemic complexity in the assessment of climate risk.
... Transformative adaptation requires those charged with governance in the governance process to have the capacity and courage for systemic inquiry, the ability to tackle and not shy away from risk, bold leadership, and enable participation. Moreover, leaders must instil a culture of honest dialogue that does not muzzle dissenting voices (Lonsdale, 2015). The purpose of transformative adaptation is to safeguard against systemic evolutions in mechanisms and worldviews that bring susceptibilities in society (Patterson et al., 2017). ...
The notion of transformation and governance in universities inspired this study. The study’s aims were to evaluate the extent to which King IV serves the transformation agenda of universities and provide recommendations for future King Code instalments given transformation imperatives in South Africa. Considering specific university contexts, literature provides a suite of governance models. The country’s need to achieve transformation targets brings complexities to the purest forms of governance models. A literature search strategy and simplified meta-synthesis approach were applied to transformation and governance literature. Types of transformation (Colloff et al., 2017) and seven university governance models (Baldridge, 1971; Meyer, 2007; Trakman, 2008) were reviewed. Achieving a mix of positives from various codes was found to be possible, and an enabling transformed governance mechanism was proposed, King IV’s application has transformation limitations making it less suitable as universities’ governance framework designed to attain transformation objectives. The study recommends that future instalments of the King Code need to extensively address aspects of socio-economic transformation in similar magnitudes as the current instalment does principles and practices. Additionally, universities should not be tied to one code’s provisions, universities examine and implement governance systems grounded in African cultures, and future research should be conducted around indigenous governance knowledge and systems which should shape governance models for universities.
... This concept responds to "the deep roots and conditions producing vulnerability in the first place" (Shi & Moser, 2021: 2) by "deliberately and fundamentally changing systems to achieve more just and equitable adaptation outcomes" (ibid.). While being widely discussed among scholars (e.g., Revi et al., 2020, Fedele et al., 2019, Mummery & Mummery, 2019, IPCC, 2018, Few et al., 2017, O'Brien, 2017, O'Brien, 2012, EEA, 2016, Sharpe, 2016, Lonsdale et al., 2015, Pelling et al. 2015a, Kates et al., 2012, practical examples of such approach are yet sparse (Shi & Moser, 2021: 2, EEA, 2020. Further research needs to explore the potential of transformative adaptation to foster the implementation of anticipatory municipal adaptation measures. ...
Understanding local adaptation to climate change is critical for the overall success of adaptation practices in Europe and around the world. Although it becomes more urgent by the day, existing literature does not adequately touch upon the topic of climate adaptation in small municipalities. This article addresses this gap. It explores whether adaptation measures in small municipalities are overlooked in research focused on other aspects of urban environment, or whether such measures are indeed inadequate. Based on a large quantitative survey among Bavarian municipalities (n = 401), we conducted 11 qualitative case studies to answer the following two questions. First, how active are small municipalities in Bavaria, Germany, in climate change adaptation? Second, why and how do municipal adaptation frontrunners implement adaptation measures and what lessons can we learn from their experience? Our findings confirm that small municipalities rarely adapt to climate change, and when they do, their actions usually target water-related issues. Most often measures are responsive and pragmatic, instead of being preventive and transforma-tive. The fact that the small municipality representatives that we have interviewed were not able to distinguish between adaptation and mitigation measures clearly illustrates the lack of local adaptation capacities. We conclude that national funding for municipal adaptation coordinators or networks is a promising way to improve local capacities.
... The approach emerges based on the premise that incremental adaptation is insufficient in addressing climate change because it is short-term and small-scale in nature (Wilson et al., 2020). Transformative adaptation, on the other hand, involves fundamental transformation within and across systems by altering their key attributes such as values, institutions, regulations, policies, practices, financing, bureaucracy, technologies, biological process, lifestyles, and thinking (Lonsdale et al., 2015). It portends a long-term strategy requiring complex learning to achieve non-linear and radical changes (Pelling et al., 2015). ...
Climate change has been and is still affecting every region in Europe, with varying impacts across the continent. While some cities are generally resilient to CC impacts, other cities are not necessarily as fortunate. Promoting policies that build resilience enhances cities' capabilities to cope with acute shocks and chronic stresses, adapt well to changing climate conditions, and ultimately transform to resilient cities. Conversely, the weak or absence of urban resilience increases the vulnerability of the urban poor to risks. It is therefore imperative to rapidly enhance urban resilience practices. To date, only 26% of 885 cities in Europe have viable adaptation plans, highlighting an imbalance in the adaptation and resilience progression across countries. Although digital transformation through increased data availability and the use of digitalization instruments has the potential to improve the rate of achieving the adaptation strategies, not much has been documented in this regard. Thus, this chapter examines the potentials of digitalization in accelerating adaptation and boosting resilience in selected European cities. Case studies are analyzed through a systematic literature search, and evidence of fruitful cases are presented. We conclude by discussing some challenges of digitalization and make recommendations for future works.
... TA presents a number of challenges for decision-makers, researchers as well as practitioners, not the least of which is the demand for capacities like 'leadership for transformation', the capacity for systemic inquiry, and for learning from practice (Lonsdale et al. 2015;Clarke et al. 2018;Lavorel et al. 2019). Initiating effective and most importantly sustainable adaptation requires a different conceptualization of TA; in line with the pathway discourse, adaptation may be considered as an element of possible pathways that are characterized by interacting global changes and societal responses which, in turn, may be shaped by historical determinism and certain path dependencies (Wise et al. 2014;Runhaar et al. 2018;Nunn et al. 2021a, b). ...
... In this regard, seven out of the ten projects were driven by climate hazards (mainly droughts and flooding), and at the same time, the project had also an element of community participation, indicating some degrees of sudden TA. Sudden TA is sometimes unavoidable (Lonsdale et al. 2015;Munene et al. 2018). When a volcano erupts, people in surrounding areas may be quickly relocated and may sometimes be unable to return to the places they formerly lived (Jibiki et al. 2019). ...
... A further crucial aspect emerging from the literature is that the cooperation of everyone driving and affected by TA projects of this kind is essential to their success. This raises issues of social justice (Lonsdale et al. 2015), and it is being increasingly recognized that affected people should be fully engaged from the outset in (non-sudden) TA (Granberg et al. 2019). A good number of projects discussed above seem to feature important elements that confirm the active involvement of communities, and key stakeholders, in 'owning' adaptation initiatives, by leaving those who fund/drive them taking a back seat. ...
Many climate change responses focus on form rather than substance. As a result, they invariably look at the consequences but ignore the drivers of climate change. Since past approaches towards climate change adaptation have had limited success, the most effective and sustainable way to minimize future climate change impacts on humanity is through transformative adaptation (TA). This paper defines and characterizes the conceptual foundations of this term and outlines how TA influences current and future climate change adaptation challenges. This paper reviews the meaning and purpose of transformation in climate change adaptation and, by means of a set of case studies, explains how their commonalities can help define good TA practice. Deploying a range of situations, this study shows how this approach is being implemented in a set of countries, and considers its potential transformative impact, its benefits, and challenges. The results obtained have shown that when implemented with due care, TA can yield long-term benefits to local communities. The paper conclude by listing some measures by which TA may be further deployed as a means of helping communities to meet the future challenges posed by a changing climate.
... Additionally, both incremental (e.g., diversifying livelihood options) and transformative adaptation options (e.g. formulation of policy provision for the concessional loan to women-owned forest-based enterprises) are included in the list (Fedele et al., 2019;Kates et al., 2012;Lonsdale et al., 2015). ...
The ultimate aim of Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (VRA) of Forest Biodiversity and Watershed Management is to improve climate-vulnerable people and populations, geographical areas, physical infrastructure, and ecosystems' adaptive ability and resilience. Medium and longterm adaptation activities will be incorporated into the development planning process at the state, regional, and local levels as a result of this process. This assessment's main goal is to help Nepal's NAP mechanism evaluate climate-related hazards, risks, and vulnerabilities, as well as define realistic adaptation options at the sectoral, provincial, and national levels.
... vulnerability assessment, climate risk assessment, climate impact assessment) Source: Adapted from Fünfgeld and McEvoy (2011) The foregoing also helps to frame the debate on the limits of adaptive capacities and the adaptive strategies in long-term. These concepts are argued by both the increasing magnitude of climate change impacts and the inability to make progress on incremental adaptive measures represent a tipping point for adaptation strategies, requiring responses that involve long-term transformational changes within and between the systems that shape current modes of development (Lonsdale, Pringle and Turner, 2015). In other words, the adaptive limits are expressed when impact risks become intolerable or unmanageable for individuals, communities and governments, and therefore their consequences could only be addressed through transformational changes (Dow et al., 2013). ...
The role of decentralisation processes and approaches in addressing climate change at the sub-national level and reducing territorial inequalities has become more critical. Decentralisation processes have been consistently questioned for their mixed experiences and results, especially in developing countries, where these reforms have failed to reduce territorial disparities. In turn, the role of each sub-national level in addressing climate change adaptation has been the subject of ongoing debate, as well as the consequences of decentralisation in weakening the capacity of states to implement systemic changes. Therefore, this paper was motivated by an interest in understanding how decentralisation processes in the context of developing countries could contribute to improving sub-national planning and response capacities to address disparities between cities and regions and the challenges of inclusive, equitable and coordinated climate change adaptation at all scales. The aim was to explore the frameworks and mechanisms through which decentralisation processes can address issues related to territorial disparities and climate change adaptation at the subnational level in the Latin American context.
A first conclusion is that reframing the understanding of adaptive actions as the outcome of an essentially political process in terms of objectives, planning, implementation, and measurement of results implies, in turn, addressing decentralisation as a political instrument and not only as a goal in itself. Thus, decentralisation processes can be seen as an interconnector between sub-national climate governance and adaptation challenges and territorial disparities, rather than as a parallel process or a challenge in itself. A second conclusion concerns the flexibilization of policy mechanisms and instruments beyond the rigid institutional reforms in which the success of these processes is analysed, implemented, and evaluated, to incorporate the diversity of local, decentralised, and polycentric approaches, as well as flexible and soft planning mechanisms that incorporate various forms of scaling, participation, and accountability.
In view of the above, this paper argues that the challenges of inclusive, equitable and coordinated climate change adaptation can contribute to deepening and rethinking decentralisation processes in Latin American countries -and in developing countries- in terms of strengthening capacities for planning and adaptive response at the sub-national level and reducing territorial disparity gaps. Finally, a conceptual framework is proposed as a starting point for future research to address the new challenges of decentralisation processes in relation to territorial disparities, climate change adaptation and the incorporation of flexible adaptive planning and governance mechanisms.
