Track 3C

Climate Change Adaption

Track Chair

Dr. Pauline Deutz, Department of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, University of Hull, UK

Dr. Yamini Narayanan, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University

As our understanding of the likely impacts of a changing climate has matured so attention has turned towards consideration of how best to respond to this important 21st Century challenge. The early emphasis was on mitigation and the reduction of greenhouse gases; however there is increasing recognition that communities and individuals will also need to adapt to change that is unavoidable, and consider worst case scenarios.

1) Framing and conceptual convergence: An agenda that is very much in its infancy, climate change adaptation is a much more complex and diffuse agenda than mitigation. Conceptually, it draws from a multitude of different disciplines, and it is important to recognise that how adaptation is framed when considering options will ultimately determine the outcome of adaptation pathways that are followed. Furthermore, efforts are now attempting to better integrate adaptation with the previously discrete knowledge domains of hazards and vulnerability - as expressed through disaster risk reduction and development communities of practice - in order to underpin community resilience. Resilience itself is a fast emerging concept, particularly in Australia, that is being used to bridge these different domains.

2) Urban resilience in the Asia Pacific region: In an applied sense, these nuances are well illustrated by climate change adaptation discourse and practice which is being applied in cities across different regional contexts. In Australia for example, much attention is paid to the impact of existing hazards and extreme events e.g. bushfires and flooding. However, when considering the fast growing cities of many countries in the Asia Pacific it is not only the hazard element that is important but there is also a need to address the current day vulnerabilities of communities; vulnerabilities that are often exacerbated by rapid urbanisation, rural-urban migration etc.

3) Institutional complexity: Adaptation is also affected by greater institutional capacity than its mitigation counterpart. Multiple actors operate at multiple scales and include those that are affected by the climate hazard and those that are responsible for responding. These relationships are further complicated by who pays and who benefits from the implementation of adaptation measures. Indeed, the distribution of costs and benefits of adaptation options remains a large knowledge deficit.

4) Mainstreaming adaptation and communicating climate risks: Improved integration of scientific domains, whilst a valuable outcome, will also need to be accompanied by new ways of working between science, policy and wider stakeholder communities. A critical component of this will be to better translate climate data, including explicit consideration of the uncertainties involved, into formats that are useful for adaptation planning - this is an area that can be much approved.

Abstracts that address any of the four sub-themes are welcomed.

You may submit your abstract by visiting the Ex Ordo abstract submission system (you will be required to setup an account first): http://isdrs2015.exordo.com/

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10th - 12th July
2015
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