Deliverable 7 - Samukhelisiwe Mkhize - CSA Adoption and Adapatation - A sociological Study in Community Learning and Agency

WRC_K5-2719-4_Deliverable 7_Attachment 5

Samukhelisiwe Mkhize: PhD Concept Note in Social Policy

SOME OF THE GUIDING CONCEPTS:

COMMUNITY WEALTH, RESILIENCE AND VULNERABILITY

Climate changes are a function of physical changes in the climatic system, vulnerability occurs

when these changes affect social human lives. When these come together: Impacts = f(CC,V)

the physical impacts + human component it provides a sense of what might happen in a

community. Much of the climate change budgets at alllevels has been focused on climate

that, the greater a community wealth the more resilient it is not only to environmental but to

socio-economic change and disturbances as well because accessing other resources and other

chances affecting their lives. Focus groups would be an appropriate tool to gather a set of

community wealth factors and resilience from the perspective of local people (both individual

and collective) involving the design and implementation of participatory action activities to

engage in dialogue and learning.

The study has a central focus on how people interact with their environment, how they view it

and how this shapes how they interact with adaptation. Rural economies, quality of life, the

health and well-being of local peopleare reliant on healthy natural environments and its

ecosystem services. Science-based projections of potential changes in the physical climate are

populations), locally important economic sectors such as (tourism, agriculture etc.), and

important infrastructure and community services such as (water supplies, transportation, and

emergency management) to better understand how the regions and communities within the

county are vulnerable to climate change.

This information will be related to, exposure (E), sensitivity (S), adaptive capacity (C), and

resilience (R) to illustrate how certain demographic, socio-economic and other factors make

locals and economic activities more or less vulnerable to climate change. It will also investigate

what capacities the communities have to draw on and could leverage in the process of

adaptation. The following assessment of vulnerability of the socio-ecological systems will be

used: V= f (E, S, R, C) formula to be used is Vulnerability= f (Exposure,Sensitivity, Exposure,

vulnerabilities and how these vulnerabilities interact with climate change to produce impacts on

social systems. They will help identify climate-smart adaptation actions that could be considered

implement, but because they can yield benefits to the environment, economy and to people

regardless of precisely how climate change will unfold.

(ranging from short term coping to longer term, deeper transformations) in response to actual

and expected impacts of climate change and concurrent interacting non-climatic change which

may moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities’’. This is a modified definition version of

the IPCC (2007) definition. This definition provides a broad understanding of adaptation which

allows for the inclusion of short term coping strategies to long term transformational changes

such as landscape ecosystem changes. As the framework above shows adaptation strategies

can be minor-adjustments, immediate-coping and affecting system linked with system-level

adaptations.

The barriers to achieving transformational changes and adaptations that affect human and

whereas others distinguish between them. Limits are understood as obstacles that tend to be

absolute in a real sense: they constitute thresholds beyond which existing activities, land uses,

ecosystems, species, sustenance, or system states cannot be maintained, not even in a

modified fashion. Beyond such limits looms irreversible loss (and the adjustment to living with

that loss) and/or radical system shifts, including innovation and novelty. Limits are common in

physical and ecological systems in their natural state, but, in some instances, physical and

ecological limits have been stretched or overcome with technological innovations (e.g., genetic

modification of crops to increase heat tolerance). Those seeming limits that can be overcome

will would be viewed as barriers.

Barriers are those obstacles that can be overcome with more concerted efforts, creative

As such these implementation actions and frameworks need to be investigated as well. But it is

equally important to recognise that some barriers may stop, delay, or divert the adaptation

process. However, a hypothetical smooth, barrier-free process is not a sufficient condition to

guarantee adaptation success. In turn, not even the best-run process should be expected to be

free of barriers, and its outcomes may still require adjustments in the next iteration. But ignoring

certain best practices throughout the process (such as effective stakeholder involvement,

consensus or broad agreement if and when it is required, adequate information, considering

both biophysical and social dimensions of the problem, or adequate funding) could lead to

maladaptation.

But, how do we diagnose and know where these changes are? Ekstrom and Moser (2013)

argue that a diagnostic model (see below) can be used to answer the question: how do actors,

involved process. It will be used to investigate across community-local-provincial and national

levels addressing both structural and process elements.

Source: Ekstrom and Moser (2013)

The systems of concern relate to:What are decisions being about (e.g community, water,

land),

The actor component relates to:What can the actor do in the position they are in, how do

they think about change/particular issue, decisions they make,

The Governance component related to: the rules, laws, decision process, cultural norms that

affect how they make decisions

The human and ecological environment:the system of concern takes place here (where

The long term impacts of climate change are not known in certain local contexts, particularly in

rural communities this necessitates for local people to be committed to life-long learning

communication strategies required for this? How do we facilitate this process? Developing good

communication skills is an important element of the co-production of knowledge at community

level. Good communication is necessary to create a climate that will allow researchers and

community members to work together effectively. For example, how do we communicate land

degradation in a way farmers will understand based on experience? Certainly not by pounding

the science into peoplesminds. In some cases, the use of dramatic images may alienate local

teaching are quite different from those which come naturally in everyday conversation. Thus, the

skills include the skills to organize and facilitate communication with community people,

organize and facilitate discussions and meetings, group activities, workshops, field days,

interviews and other forms of communication. Therefore, effective communication requires both

verbal and non-verbal skills in asking questions, probing and listening. In other words, effective

communication requires good facilitation skills. But in some cases,this may not be sufficient

myriad of social issues that necessitate for structure to be put in place to facilitate learning.

We generally start with the idea of starting with the positive and focus on community strengths

but we also need to build and sustain them. One way such is persistence. If we understand

how do we assist farmers to develop a pattern of reverting back to developing innovative and

creative ways? These are some of the questions the study will develop further.