Abstract
We develop and apply a synthetic framework for understanding potential adaptations to climate change in the Canadian agriculture sector through a case study of irrigated agriculture in the Oldman River Basin. Our framework examines the incremental, transitional, and transformational elements of climate change adaptation (the Adapt IT2 framework, for short), and we apply our framework to focus group discussions around hypothetical hydro-climatic variability and extremes to identify past and potential future adaptations. By applying our framework, we uncover the nuanced interplay between incremental and transformation adaptation and develop the related concept of transition. Our work provides insights into the interactions between the different types of adaptation processes, and our findings indicate that: (1) There are interdependencies between and among actions and actors across various scales and (2) one type of adaptation can set boundaries for the other. This work also identifies thresholds that, when perceived to be surpassed by actors, may facilitate transformation. It concludes with opportunities for further research, particularly into the transitional space that exists between the two types of adaptation.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the workshop participants for their participation and time, and the research team for their contributions to the workshop. Special thanks to Jennifer Nitschelm for her help developing the workshop and constructive feedback on this manuscript; and also to Dave Sauchyn, Jessica Vanstone, Brent Paterson, Ron McMullin and Shannon Frank for their support in organizing the workshop and preparing the materials. Thank you also to Cam Kenny for his work on the figures. The workshop was co-sponsored by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the University of Regina (Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Extremes in the Americas project). We thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback.
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Editor: Jamie Pittock.
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Hadarits, M., Pittman, J., Corkal, D. et al. The interplay between incremental, transitional, and transformational adaptation: a case study of Canadian agriculture. Reg Environ Change 17, 1515–1525 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-017-1111-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-017-1111-y