2015 has been the year of the conference for me. From the CBA (Community-based Adaptation) Conference in Nairobi (April), Scaling Up Good Adaptation Practices in Delhi (August) to the Development and Climate Days in Paris (December), a 2-day side event to the Conference of Parties, adaptation has been a binding thread. What have I taken away from all my conversations?
- Adaptation and development are inextricably linked. However, we (as researchers and practitioners), are yet to develop a vocabulary to clearly demarcate the two and in the mean time, many development initiatives are peddled as adaptation. While \’good\’ development definitely helps adaptation, in the face of unprecedented change, it may not be sufficient to facilitate adaptation.
- While people recognise that vulnerability is temporal (especially in agriculture-based livelihoods that are directly affected by seasonality), few studies focus on it. Short-term and long-term dynamics in local vulnerability are understudied and poorly captured in common survey-based methods.
- Social differentiation is the new sustainable development: Everyone is talking about it and is broad and generic enough to be applicable to various issues.
- Many people talk of combining traditional and science-based knowledge systems to conserve natural resources, understand risk perception, and motivate adaptive action. However, I haven\’t heard as much on how we can do it. How do we actually draw on two very different and often conflicting ways of thinking, understanding and processing risk to work together to inform decision-making?
- It is encouraging to hear a lot of people talk of the utility of research. With adaptation research having direct implications on action, I am always all ears for discussions on our responsibilities towards decision-makers and practitioners. At all the conferences I attended, issues of ethics, implications, and uptake of adaptation research were at the heart of our discussions.
- And finally, adaptation to climate change may require us to move out of our comfort zones. I am not sure we are ready. The Taste the Change session at the DC Days challenged us to eat insects (high protein, low carbon footprint). Not everyone did.
Fancy a treat? Eating insects at #DCDays pic.twitter.com/BJcwfwYVLR
— Matt Wright (@mattjobob) December 6, 2015
Here\’s to another year of learning!
chandnisingh.info 