The rapid pace of climate and environmental changes requires some degree of adaptation, to forestall or avoid severe impacts. Adaptive capacity and water security are concepts used to guide the ways in which resource managers plan for and manage change. Yet the assessment of adaptive capacity and water security remains elusive, due to flaws in guiding concepts, paucity or inadequacy of data, and multiple difficulties in measuring the effectiveness of management prescriptions at scales relevant to decision-making. We draw on conceptual framings and empirical findings of the articles in this special issue and seek to respond to key questions with respect to metrics for the measurement, governance, information accessibility, and robustness of the knowledge produced in conjunction with ideas related to adaptive capacity and water security. Three overarching conclusions from this body of work are (a) systematic cross-comparisons of metrics, using the same models and indicators, are needed to validate the reliability of evaluation instruments for adaptive capacity and water security, (b) the robustness of metrics to applications across multiple scales of analysis can be enhanced by a “metrics plus” approach that combines well-designed quantitative metrics with in-depth qualitative methods that provide rich context and local knowledge, and (c) changes in the governance of science-policy can address deficits in public participation, foster knowledge exchange, and encourage the co-development of adaptive processes and approaches (e.g., risk-based framing) that move beyond development and use of static indicators and metrics.

Oyster farming is an important mariculture along the western coast of Taiwan. There is always impacts on the oyster farming. The information of frequency, size and timing of tyhoon every year is strongly connected to the decisions of starting and harvesting of oyster culture. Climate change or variation seem to examine the future management of an oyster farm. This study aims to understand the adaptive strategies of oyster farmers in Tainan to possible climate change or variability. To analyze the mechanism of adaptive capacity and decision-making through a qualitative approach, specially , with focus groups, in-depth interviews, and semi-structured questionnaires. The results revealed abundant adaptation existing in the oyster farmers in Tainan, such as selecting small-size or median-size oyster as a way to cope with typhoon. However information exchange is rare among focus groups and more training and out reach courses are suggested.

This dissertation interprets gender-differentiated vulnerability to drought within a rural community located in the dry zone, la zona seca, of Nicaragua, a region that has been identified by the government and NGO sector as suffering from prolonged and, since the 1970s, more frequent droughts.  A combination of gender, capitals, and vulnerability demonstrates the value in using a multidimensional perspective to look at the socioeconomic and cultural contexts that form the capacity individuals have had to reduce their long-term vulnerability to drought in Nicaragua.  Due to the place-based characteristics of gender as well as vulnerability the analysis is mainly based on people’s stories about the history of their lives.  Based on these stories a local level picture is created of the households’ situation over time, how their work strategies and management of resources have varied, and how they perceived changes in capacity and vulnerability in relation to continuity and change in the climate.  The issue of adaptive capacity, which currently is less covered in research on gender and vulnerability and recognized in the literature as in need of more attention, and how it distinguishes itself from coping capacity in relation to vulnerability, is placed at the center of analysis.  In an additional analysis of how Nicaragua’s hazard management policies look upon the role and importance of interaction among societal levels and actors in reducing hazard vulnerability I show how the discourse has moved from emergency response to risk management with an increased emphasis on capacity building.  However, the recognition to differentiated vulnerability is lacking which risks hampering a successful vulnerability reduction. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Accepted. Paper 3: Manuscript.</p>

Climate change is experienced most through the medium of water. The ability of water institutions and the factors that enable or hinder them to purposefully adapt to the new and additional challenges brought by climate change require better understanding. Factors that influence their perception of climate change impacts and initiatives being taken for adaptation are shaped by various enabling factors and barriers through the interaction with both governmental and non-governmental institutions across administrative scales. Better understanding of these adaptation enablers and barriers is essential for devising adaptation strategies. This research aims to identify and expound the characteristics that enable or hinder institutions to adapt for water management, and hence, it evaluates the involvement of key governmental and non-governmental institutions in India and the inter-institutional networks between them. It surveyed webpages and online documents of sixty Union Government institutions and interviewed representatives from twenty-six governmental, non-governmental, research and academic institutions operating at the national level and another twenty-six institutions operating within the State of Himachal Pradesh in India to assess the characteristics that enable or hinder adaptation. While the online projection of institutional involvement and interaction among key Union Government institutions on climate change and water indicate a more centralized network pointing to Planning Commission and Ministry of Environment and Forest, the interview responses indicated a more distributed network with both Ministries of Water Resources and Environment and Forest recognized as key institutions thereby indicating a potential variation in perception of who is in-charge. Moreover, online documents show institutions that are involved in water have less mention of climate change compared to Union Government ministries involved in less climate-sensitive sectors indicating that impacts of climate change on water are potentially ignored. While it is evident that research and consulting institutions engaging with both national and state level institutions play a key role in enabling adaptation, various barriers pertaining to data and information accessibility, inadequacy of resources and implementation gaps exist particularly due to inter-institutional network fragmentations. Although barriers identified in this study bear resemblance to barriers identified by other researchers in other contexts, this research shows similar barriers can emerge from different underlying causes and are highly interconnected; thereby indicating the need for addressing adaptation barriers collectively as a wider governance issue. Since many of the adaptation barriers emerge from wider governance challenges and are related to larger developmental issues, the findings have important policy implications. Among the various issues that the government needs to address is improving the inter-institutional networks between water institutions so that information dissemination, sharing of learning experiences and data accessibility is improved and prescriptive legislations are seen to be inadequate in this regard. Restructuring the way officials in government water institutions are recruited and deployed is suggested as a potential solution for improving the inter-institutional networks. The research elucidates that inter-institutional networks and transboundary institutions are two pillars that supports adaptation and also bridges the gap between adaptive capacity and adaptation manifestation that enable water institutions to cross the chasm of adaptation barriers. Thus the thesis presents an important analysis of key characteristics that enable or hinder water management institutions to adapt to climate change which have been so far under acknowledged by other studies through the analysis of the state of climate change adaptation in India. Therefore, this study provides valuable insights for developing countries, particularly, facing similar challenges of adapting water management for climate change.

No description available.

Co-management of fisheries in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) began with the establishment of the Fisheries Joint Management Committee (FJMC) in 1986, one of the provisions of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) signed in 1984. The agreement between the Inuvialuit and the Canadian Government with regards to renewable resource management was arranged as a collaborative management process that included knowledge and insight from both sides. This thesis uses the case of beluga entrapment in the Husky Lakes, NWT, to explore how co-management between the Tuktoyaktuk Hunter and Trapper Committee (HTC) and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has changed through time in structure and process, and to determine what impacts co-management has had on Inuvialuit involvement in management. Additionally, the linkage between co-management and adaptive capacity at the local level is analyzed in order to better understand how Inuvialuit involvement in fisheries management can have beneficial impacts on cultural preservation, youth education, and employment. This study employed the use of mixed qualitative and quantitative methods within a participatory approach, which aimed at including the community of Tuktoyaktuk in every step of the research process. Qualitative methods included informal discussions, semi-directed interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. Community research partners were also essential in accessing information and interviews. The quantitative method used in this study was the use of questionnaires for Social Network Analysis (SNA) in attempting to describe the changes in the management network over time.

Co-management of fisheries in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) began with the establishment of the Fisheries Joint Management Committee (FJMC) in 1986, one of the provisions of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) signed in 1984. The agreement between the Inuvialuit and the Canadian Government with regards to renewable resource management was arranged as a collaborative management process that included knowledge and insight from both sides. This thesis uses the case of beluga entrapment in the Husky Lakes, NWT, to explore how co-management between the Tuktoyaktuk Hunter and Trapper Committee (HTC) and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has changed through time in structure and process, and to determine what impacts co-management has had on Inuvialuit involvement in management. Additionally, the linkage between co-management and adaptive capacity at the local level is analyzed in order to better understand how Inuvialuit involvement in fisheries management can have beneficial impacts on cultural preservation, youth education, and employment. This study employed the use of mixed qualitative and quantitative methods within a participatory approach, which aimed at including the community of Tuktoyaktuk in every step of the research process. Qualitative methods included informal discussions, semi-directed interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. Community research partners were also essential in accessing information and interviews. The quantitative method used in this study was the use of questionnaires for Social Network Analysis (SNA) in attempting to describe the changes in the management network over time.

Abbasi, S., M.Sc., University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, September 2013. Adaptation to Drought in Saskatchewan Rural Communities: A Case study of Kindersley and Maidstone, Saskatchewan. Joint Supervisors: S. Kulshreshtha and E. Wheaton The main aim of this thesis is to gain knowledge of the processes of adaptation that have enabled communities and agricultural producers to function in a relatively dry and drought prone region of Saskatchewan. This investigation was limited to two rural communities – Kindersley and Maidstone. Historically, vulnerability to natural hazards has been considered only a physical phenomenon. As a result, the social characteristic of a place\system, which contribute to vulnerability to natural hazards, are not well studied. This study used both secondary (quantitative in nature) and primary (qualitative in nature) methods to understand exposure, sensitivity and adaption to droughts in two study communities. Quantitative method included estimating drought condition from time series data for both communities. Intensity of the drought was based on Palmer Drought Severity index and Standard Precipitation Index. Given this background, qualitative techniques (semi-structured interviews and participation observations) were employed to explore the sensitivity and adaptation to droughts in the two communities. The results indicated that drought had caused significant economic hardships for farmers and ranchers during the 2001- 2003 period. Crop yield declined more than 50% of normal level for some crops during this period. Producers had undertaken some adaptive actions to counteract the adverse effect of the drought. These included changing their farming practices -- intensive tillage to minimum or zero tillage, diversification in terms of types of crops grown, off-farm employment, and participation in business risk management programs. Respondents reported that drought was not the sole cause of their vulnerability. Social factors such as changing government policies, reduced profit margins, insufficient business risk management programs, and international markets shaped their vulnerability to climate-related natural hazards. The study found a strong sense of alienation between respondents and federal government agencies. The combination of economic stress, inadequate government risk management programming translates into a very narrow window of sustainability for producers should they face a severe multi-year drought in the future.

Adaptation is now recognized as an important aspect of responses to climate change. Rural communities in the prairie provinces of Canada are considered to be sensitive to the impacts of climate change due to socio-economic and geographical factors. This study examines the ways in which governance institutions shape the ability of two rural communities in Alberta to adapt. 32 semi-structured interviews were done with decision-makers in the communities of High Level and Canmore, and with provincial-level governance actors. A vast array of secondary documents was also examined. The comparison of these two case studies shows that institutional capacity in Canmore supports proactive adaptation. In contrast, several features of governance institutions in High Level detract from adaptive capacity. Provincial governance institutions were found to contribute both positively and negatively to the capacity of rural communities to adapt to climate change. / Rural Sociology

Over the past two decades, the mountain pine beetle (MPB) has killed millions of acres of forest across western North America. In addition to extensive environmental disturbance, the MPB epidemic has deeply impacted human systems, including motivating the formation of novel environmental governance arrangements. In Colorado, the Colorado Bark Beetle Cooperative (CBBC) formed as a collaboration between federal, state, and local stakeholders to address the epidemic. This study used a combination of GIS analysis and qualitative document analysis to understand how the CBBC has been able to respond adaptively to changes in the landscape pattern of MPB damage. I found that the CBBC was able to respond adaptively to changes in the MPB outbreak through shifting their organizational direction and activities. However, the adaptive capacity of the group was constrained by logistical factors, the declining importance of MPB at a national level, and the ways in which the group framed the MPB problem.