Bottom-up Climate Adaptation Strategies towards a Sustainable Europe

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Participation, scenarios and pathways in long-term planning for climate change adaptation

Publication . Campos, Inês; Vizinho, André; Coelho, Carlos; Alves, Fátima; Truninger, Mónica; Pereira, Carla; Santos, Filipe Duarte; Lopes, Gil Penha

This article describes a climate change adaptation planning process triggered by a group of researchers and stakeholders in a context where no collective responses or long-term plans for protecting a vulnerable coastal system had been initiated, despite local perceptions of vulnerability and risk. The case study shows the application of two methods: scenario workshops and adaptation pathways in the context of a participatory action research methodological design. Participatory action research and qualitative scenario methods are highlighted as accelerators of climate change adaptation processes by calling to action, facilitating and connecting diverse social groups with a stake in a long-term plan towards a more adapted society. The experience leads to the conclusion that planning climate change adaptation has to go far beyond the technical dimension and take into account those affected (in the present and the future) by decisions made. A holistic approach to climate change adaptation planning will depend on the interrelations of managerial and top-down approaches with localized initiatives driven through an inclusive and collective action research process.

2016Journal article

Open access

Adapting the agro-forestry landscapes of the Alentejo region to climate change

Publication . Vizinho, André; Penha-Lopes, Gil; Roxo, Maria José

The main motivation of this thesis is to contribute to the adaptation of Montado agro-silvopastoral landscapes of Portugal, located mostly in the Alentejo and Algarve regions. These landscapes and agro-forestry ecosystems are in increased danger, as climate change pressure increases. The complexity of climate adaptation planning and action, in this sector, is very large and this thesis aims to answer the question “How can we plan and adapt to climate change, the Montado agro-silvo-pastoral systems of the Alentejo region?”. Using a Participatory Action Research approach, this works main result is, to begin with, a framework for the climate adaptation of agriculture and forestry of Mediterranean climate regions. This framework presents a review of 162 adaptation measures that are organized into 5 main adaptation strategies, presenting indicators and quantification of efficacy. The second main result is the upgrade of the SWAP – Scenario Workshop & Adaptation Pathways method for the use in agro-forestry systems, dealing with the limitations of Adaptation Pathways in nature resource management and integrating participatory planning in climate adaptation. The practical and concrete use in the three case studies, the municipality of Mértola, the Noudar nature park and the Ribeira Abaixo farm constitute the practical cases in which the framework and methods were tested and evaluated. The adaptation plans and actions are under implementation in the three case studies, and from the experiments developed in Ribeira Abaixo farm, a third article was published, with concrete results on the use and creation of Microclimates to increase the success of cork oak afforestations. Finally, the authors’ first-hand experience and learning from the participatory adaptation planning and from the implementation of several adaptation measures in 100 hectares with a LIFE project, constitute the basis of the discussion chapter, that points to the scaling-up of adaptation and identifies several avenues of future research.

2023-09Doctoral thesis

Open access

Societal transformation and climate change adaptation : PAR experiences in Portugal

Publication . Campos, Inês; Trüninger, Mónica, 1972-; Lopes, Gil Pessanha Penha, 1981-

The rationale for this thesis is based on the principle that the adaptability and resilience of societies to climate change impacts should be contemplated for those living today, as well as for future generations. This study is guided by a concept of climate change adaptation that accounts for the possibility of a sustainable transition to transformed socio-technical and social-ecological systems. It is also informed by multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary participatory action-research (PAR) experiences. PAR approaches can be instrumental for supporting collective action, simplifying complex decision-making processes; and facilitating shared common visions towards more sustainable development pathways. PAR is more likely to integrate insights from different knowledge systems, by engaging a number of researchers from diverse scientific disciplines, while attempting to respond to local needs and empirical questions. PAR may thus offer a ground for experimenting with disparate approaches to the study of transitions and transformation. The hypothesis that underlies this study suggests that, in climate change adaptation research, PAR promotes outputs that may influence more sustainable development pathways through the reflexive involvement of diverse social actors, at different scales and levels of governance. The hypothesis was depicted on the basis of three important aspects that co-evolved with the development of this thesis. First, it acknowledges the possibility for transformational adaptation. Second, its definition resulted from my experiences in conducting collaborative research within a multidisciplinary group, in the context of an EU funded research project. Third, it is also based on my own conceptual journey into different interpretations and approaches to the study of transitions and societal transformation. The thesis is structured in six chapters, and centred in four research articles. Chapter I provides a general introduction that starts with describing my personal transition, followed by the scientific context for the research developed; and ending with a description of the aims of the study and an outline of the following five chapters. Chapter II presents the results of a literature review on long-term sustainable transitions and societal transformation. The reviewed literature focused on different perspectives that have been developed over the previous decades, including the Sustainable Transitions Research Field; the Social-Ecological Systems Resilience Framework; and Social Practice Theory. Chapter III describes the methodological trajectory and presents na analytical framework that integrates the different components of the research developed. These methodological components include five research questions and three research objectives, leading up to the main hypothesis. The chapter also explains the collaborative framework under which multidisciplinary action-research case studies were implemented. Findings from the case study research experiences are described and critically discussed throughout the four papers encompassed by Chapter IV. The succeeding Chapter V presents a meta-discussion of the papers that address the thesis’ guiding questions and main hypothesis. In Chapter V, the key findings of the study are abridged. The empirical studies illustrate that PAR, co-implemented by scientists and other social actors, is playing a role in igniting adaptation processes in Portugal. PAR does serve the purpose of creating adaptation outputs, such as strategies, plans, or long-term visions for more adapted, resilient and sustainable societies. Nevertheless, the case studies do not provide any certainties of whether the momentum for adaptation will be sustained over the medium or long term. Yet, collaborations, dialogue, participation and a continuous reflexivity on how future directions are paved seem to be key features for moving forward in a new sustainability agenda that integrates and transforms the negative effects of climate change. Thus, this thesis advocates for complementarity, collaboration and the overcoming of conceptual and disciplinary frontiers in climate change adaptation research, towards a governance for transformation.

2016Doctoral thesis

Open access

Converging for deterring land abandonment: a systematization of experiences of a rural grassroots innovation

Publication . Campos, Inês; Vizinho, André; Truninger, Mónica; Lopes, Gil Penha

Anchored by a case study research, the paper asks whether rural socially innovative initiatives in Portugal can be considered sources of adaptability and increased resilience to land abandonment and land degradation in a vulnerable region to climatic changes. The article retells a systematization of experiences of a grassroots innovation in the Alentejo region. Elaborating on the lessons learned by the participants, the discussion reflects on the sources of social and ecological resilience created. These include facilitating new modes of participatory governance, a shared vision for a sustainable village, building up social capital and the steady collection of memories of traditional land use and resource management practices. In the final conclusions, key findings are distilled and prospects for further research suggested.

2016Journal article

Restricted access

Framing the application of Adaptation Pathways for agroforestry in Mediterranean drylands

Publication . Vizinho, André; Avelar, David; Fonseca, Ana Lúcia; Carvalho, S.C.P.; Sucena-Paiva, Leonor; Pinho, Pedro; Nunes, Alice; Branquinho, Cristina; Vasconcelos, Ana Cátia; Santos, Filipe; Roxo, M. J.; Penha-Lopes, Gil

Adaptation Pathways is a decision support tool designed to create adaptation policies under different climate change scenarios. This tool has been used successfully in several sectors and contexts such as coastal and river adaptation, urban heat waves, floods and rural livelihoods but its use in natural resource management, has faced several challenges and limitations. In the sector of agroforestry its use has seldom been done or documented and one of the reasons for this may due to some of its specific challenges. In this study, these challenges were addressed when using the Adaptation Pathways for the adaptation planning of three case studies in the semi-arid Alentejo region, a Mediterranean dryland of southern Portugal. This tool was integrated in a participatory approach combined with the Scenario Workshop method, to plan the adaptation of the agriculture and forestry sector of one municipality (Mértola) and two agroforestry farms (221 ha and 1000 ha). The methodology included, for each case study, 20 interviews, two workshops, literature review, expert analysis and the use of indicators of efficacy of adaptation measures, to define tipping points. The adaptation process and the resulting adaptation plans were evaluated by questionnaire and expert review. This combination of methods has supported the choice of effective adaptation measures for the case studies and when combined with several adaptation pathways and a landscape approach it supported the creation of integrated climate change adaptation plans that are now in implementation. We discuss how this combination of methods deals with limitation to Adaptation Pathways identified in the literature, conclude that the method was able to create adaptation plans that are now under implementation and present avenues for future research.

2021-05Journal article

Open access