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Linking adaptation science to action to build food secure Pacific Island communities
Citation
Cvitanovic, C and Crimp, S and Fleming, A and Howden, M and Hobday, AJ and Taylor, M and Cunningham, R, Linking adaptation science to action to build food secure Pacific Island communities, Climate Risk Management, 11 pp. 53-62. ISSN 2212-0963 (2016) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2016 The Authors. Licensed under Creative Common Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.crm.2016.01.003
Abstract
Climate change is a major threat to food security in Pacific Island countries, with declines in food production and increasing variability in food supplies already evident across the region. Such impacts have already led to observed consequences for human health, safety and economic prosperity. Enhancing the adaptive capacity of Pacific Island communities is one way to reduce vulnerability and is underpinned by the extent to which people can access, understand and use new knowledge to inform their decision-making processes. However, effective engagement of Pacific Island communities in climate adaption remains variable and is an ongoing and significant challenge. Here, we use a qualitative research approach to identify the impediments to engaging Pacific Island communities in the adaptations needed to safeguard food security. The main barriers include cultural differences between western science and cultural knowledge, a lack of trust among local communities and external scientists, inappropriate governance structures, and a lack of political and technical support. We identify the importance of adaptation science, local social networks, key actors (i.e., influential and trusted individuals), and relevant forms of knowledge exchange as being critical to overcoming these barriers. We also identify the importance of co-ordination with existing on-ground activities to effectively leverage, as opposed to duplicating, capacity.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | climate adaptation, trust engagement, knowledge exchange, participation |
| Research Division: | Environmental Sciences |
| Research Group: | Environmental Science and Management |
| Research Field: | Natural Resource Management |
| Objective Division: | Environment |
| Objective Group: | Climate and Climate Change |
| Objective Field: | Climate Change Adaptation Measures |
| UTAS Author: | Cvitanovic, C (Dr Christopher Cvitanovic) |
| UTAS Author: | Fleming, A (Dr Aysha Fleming) |
| UTAS Author: | Hobday, AJ (Dr Alistair Hobday) |
| ID Code: | 106391 |
| Year Published: | 2016 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 15 |
| Deposited By: | Fisheries and Aquaculture |
| Deposited On: | 2016-02-09 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-10-31 |
| Downloads: | 104 View Download Statistics |
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