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Building Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change in Less Developed Countries

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Climate Science for Serving Society

Abstract

This paper focuses on the relevance of adaptive capacity in the context of the increasing certainty that climate change impacts will affect human populations and different social groups substantially and differentially. Developing and building adaptive capacity requires a combination of interventions that address not only climate-related risks (specific capacities) but also the structural deficits (lack of income, education, health, political power, etc.—generic capacities) that shape vulnerability. We argue that bolstering both generic and specific adaptive capacities, with careful attention to minimizing the potential tensions between these two types of capacities, can help vulnerable groups maintain their ability to address risks in the long run at the same time as they respond effectively to short term climate impacts. We examine the relationship between generic and specific capacities, taking into consideration that they are not always positively related. We then propose a conceptual model describing positive and negative feedbacks between the two.

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Acknowledgement 

This material is based upon work supported by the US National Science Foundation under Grant No. SES 1061930.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, 440 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Maria Carmen Lemos, Arun Agrawal, Nathan L. Engle & Owen Johns

  2. School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, 875302, Tempe, AZ, 85287-5302, USA

    Hallie Eakin

  3. Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, 250A Baldwin Hall, Jackson St, Athens, GA, 30602-1619, USA

    Don R. Nelson

Authors
  1. Maria Carmen Lemos
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  2. Arun Agrawal
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  3. Hallie Eakin
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  4. Don R. Nelson
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  5. Nathan L. Engle
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  6. Owen Johns
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Correspondence to Maria Carmen Lemos .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. World Climate Research Programme, World Meteorological Organization, bis, Avenue de la Paix 7, Geneva 2, 1211, Switzerland

    Ghassem R. Asrar

  2. Earth System Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Center Green Drive 3090, Boulder, 80301, Colorado, USA

    James W. Hurrell

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Lemos, M.C., Agrawal, A., Eakin, H., Nelson, D.R., Engle, N.L., Johns, O. (2013). Building Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change in Less Developed Countries. In: Asrar, G., Hurrell, J. (eds) Climate Science for Serving Society. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6692-1_16

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