{"id":620,"date":"2023-06-07T16:24:49","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T23:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/?p=620"},"modified":"2023-06-07T16:24:49","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T23:24:49","slug":"transformation-in-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/transformation-in-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Transformation in practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s June 4, 2023, the planet is at 424.72 ppm<\/a>, and here I am, stuck at an intersection, in a metaphorical traffic jam. I\u2019m studying Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and working in Disaster Risk Management (DRM).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been asked to make an argument for or against the question, what\u2019s the better approach to adaptation, incremental or transformational? DRM is decidedly in the incremental sphere, which makes me wonder, if a practice area doesn\u2019t have the vocabulary, then how does the practitioner make the switch? One of the assigned readings for this line of inquiry, Adaptation and transformation<\/em>, provides some insight into this question with an argument for a need to \u201c\u2026 ultimately co-construct a more dialectical approach to DRM\/CCA\u2026\u201d (Pelling et al., 2015, P.124<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically, DRM is described as a cyclical process ranging from prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery (GRDC, ND<\/a>). Historically, there\u2019s been no language for transformation. DRM lacks the vocabulary for going beyond incremental adaptation. Some DRM practitioners might say that incremental adaptation is the stretch goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although CCA and DRM practitioners operate in separate spheres, there are commonalities (Figure 1<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Figure 1 Simplified illustration of commonalities and differences of the DRM and CCA topics, from placard-network.eu cited in NIRAS (2021).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Pelling et al. (2015<\/a>) provide a comparative example for this need to co-construct a more dialectical approach:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A DRM Advisor with incremental framing: working towards community risk reduction, is compared to a Climate Change policy advocate using transformational framing: setting GHG targets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latter is in support of an energy transition away from fossil fuels while the former is triaging the impacts of fossil fuel induced climate change hazards. Somewhere in the middle is the more typical CCA practitioner working on incremental changes such as protecting communities from the impacts of climate change, like sea level rise or increasing wildfire events. Each practitioner is interested in solving parts of the same problem, but they\u2019re working in separate spheres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, as practitioners on both sides of DRM and CCA continue to keep busy with calculating incremental adaptation measures to protect communities from increasingly frequent and severe climate change impacts, the world continues to become more polarized. The definition for polarization is broad, ranging from racial segregation, class divides, and political ideologies, to name a few (Rao, P., 2023<\/a>). The common thread is increasing societal conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Figure 2 Polarization image source: 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer cited by Rao, P. 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

With this increasing societal conflict, it\u2019s hard to make space and time for transformative change, to create safe spaces for dialogue, to build community, to learn together. It\u2019s easier to continue along in our asynchronous swim lanes, calculating the exact right formulas, based on our area of specialty, our world view, within our limited spheres of control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we break away from the dominant power structures to become a leader capable of switching over to transformational adaptation? Is it even necessary or is incremental adaptation good enough? The authors of the second required reading, Fedele et al. (2019)<\/a>, argue that transformative adaptation to reduce the impacts of climate change is rare, facing many barriers, such as those with vested interest in particular outcomes. They also point to narrow mandates for institutions responsible for planning adaptive interventions, and which therefore lack political or social support for this type of change. They provide an agricultural example (Figure 3) showing a continuum, from coping to incremental adaptation, to transformative adaptation, illustrating possible responses to climate change impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Figure 3 –\u00a0 3 possible ways for social-ecological systems to respond
to climate change (Fedele et al., 2019, P.118)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s here the practitioner hits the roadblock as \u201ctransformation raises the stakes in adaptation decision-making, bringing into focus many ethical and procedural questions: who-or what processes \u2013 determine the dominant mode for adaptation, and selects objects for change?\u201d (Pelling et al., 2015, P.115<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faced with this challenge, situated within the social contract, with rights and responsibilities structured in hierarchical relationships, such as those in the workplace, raises a question. How do practitioners find paths away from incremental, business as usual processes, when they are co-dependent on the system\u2019s success? One thought is through the development of transformational policy. However, adaptation pathways interact over time, in unplanned ways, and even when transformational policy is directed, it may still be undermined as it\u2019s implemented locally (Pelling et al., 2015<\/a>). Resistance is embedded in culture, economic processes, and land use systems (Pelling et al., 2015<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One example of the power of resistance to transformational change can be seen in responses to environmental migration, which is exacerbated by climate change. Forecasts of future migrations vary from between 25 million to 1 billion people by 2050, depending on which climate scenarios are realized (IOM, ND<\/a>). As increasing political strife related to environmental migrations have shown us, there are no easy answers. There are, however, organizations and projects focused on bringing these two practices closer to working together, towards their shared goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PLA<\/strong>tform for C<\/strong>limate A<\/strong>daptation and R<\/strong>isk reD<\/strong>uction (PLACARD<\/a>), an intersectional project, has developed a visualization tool called the Connectivity Hub<\/a>, which aims to help practitioners find information and organizations working at this important intersection. The project aims to counter fragmentation between domains and sets an example for co-constructing a dialectical approach to DRM and CCA. In this lies hope for pathways to co-constructed initiatives which might just help practitioners like me, stuck at the intersection, to forge pathways to a better future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fedele, G., Donatti, C. I., Harvey, C. A., Hannah, L., & Hole, D. G. (2019). Transformative adaptation to climate change for sustainable social-ecological <\/a>systems.<\/a> Environmental Science and Policy<\/em>, 101<\/em>, 116\u2013125.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NIRAS. (2021, Mar.). Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Capability Statement<\/em>. NIRAS. https:\/\/www.niras.com\/media\/nh1pggyp\/cca-drm-capability-statement.pdf<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pelling, M., O\u2019Brien, K. & Matyas, D. (2015). Adaptation and transformation. Climatic Change<\/em> (133), 113\u2013127. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10584-014-1303-0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rao, P. (2023, Jan. 18). Which Countries are the Most Polarized<\/em>. Visual Capitalist. https:\/\/www.visualcapitalist.com\/polarization-across-28-countries\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s June 4, 2023, the planet is at 424.72 ppm, and here I am, stuck at an intersection, in a metaphorical traffic jam. I\u2019m studying Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and working in Disaster Risk Management (DRM).   I\u2019ve been asked to make an argument for or against the question, what\u2019s the better approach to adaptation, … Continue reading “Transformation in practice”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1093,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"post-thumbnail":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Julie","author_link":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/author\/jsimonsen\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"It\u2019s June 4, 2023, the planet is at 424.72 ppm, and here I am, stuck at an intersection, in a metaphorical traffic jam. I\u2019m studying Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and working in Disaster Risk Management (DRM).   I\u2019ve been asked to make an argument for or against the question, what\u2019s the better approach to adaptation,…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1093"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":625,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions\/625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jsimonsen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}