Lecture 5: adaptation and vulnerability Flashcards
What happened in 1859 in the UK in regards to adaptation?
Establishment of the Met Office that meant daily weather forecasts were not published
What happened in 1879 in the UK in regards to adaptation?
Destruction of Tay Bridge during winds led to new building codes and improve wind monitoring
What happened in 1917 in the UK in regards to adaptation?
Started using meteorological information from military planning after Army offensive of Passchendaele
What happened in 1953 in the UK in regards to adaptation?
storm surge caused intense coastal flooding which led to improved design and construction of Thames Barrier
What happened in 1987 in the UK in regards to adaptation?
Great Storm caused intense damage and costs which led to changes in the way weather forecasts were communicated
What happened in 1995-97 in the UK in regards to adaptation?
Drought provoked new government legislation that required companies to meet basic water standards and water companies also had to have management plans implemented
What happened in 2000 in the UK in regards to adaptation?
Floods led to new planning guidance about building in flood plains
What happened in 2003 in the UK in regards to adaptation?
Heatwave led to premature elderly deaths which led NHS to introduce a heatwave plan
What happened in 2009 in the Australia in regards to adaptation?
Heatwave and bushfires that resulted in 272 deaths and consequently a Royal Comission was created to investigate deaths
What are the 3 forms of adaptation?
Anticipatory (before impacts are observed)
Autonomous (reactive to an event)
Planned (result of deliberate policy decision based on prior event awareness)
Evidence that climate adaptation is new
unprecedented climate change conditions, rates of change and knowledge about issue. Adaptation features new actors and measures
Evidence that climate adaptation is old
societies have always attempted to make the best use of their climatic conditions. Adaptation includes practices from well-established domains.
What is vulnerability and capacity?
vulnerability is the risk from exposure and capability is ability to resources/ability to cope with the risks posed
What affects vulnerability and capacity?
social characteristics: age, gender, class, ethnicity, race, disability
What differentiates human adaptation from other forms of adaptation from other organisms?
The availability of social capital
What is social capital?
the value of bonding, bridging and networking between different people
When was the Chicago heat stress event?
1995
What were the social capital factors that affected the damage caused by the heatwave event?
living on top floor working air conditions living alone whether they left home participated in group activities had a pet access to transportation had friends in Chicago
What were the different ways that elderly people did not perceive themselves as vulnerable after the 1995 chicago heat event?
whether they perceived themselves as ‘elderly’
whether they acknowledge heat as a threat
level of self-efficacy
knowledge held by their carers
What is a social contract?
A real or implicit contract between civil community and the state. The contracts are constantly being negotiated between the two actors due to new perturbations that affect how risks should be managed
What is an example of a social contract?
The Australian government’s ‘prepare, stay and defend; or leave early’ policy in response to bushfires during 2009
Where did the social contract between community and state break down?
Norfolk where coastal erosion has started to threaten a home so much that it is now worth £1 and cannot get any insurance. Residents believe that prior state action could have prevented such harm
What did Adger (2003) state?
The ability of communities to make sustainable transition will be determined in part by their networks and social capital. When they perceive adaptation to and the risk of climate change being within their powers to alter they will be more likely to make the connection to the causes of climate change thereby enhancing their mitigative as well as adaptive capacity
What did Handmer and O’Neill (2016) propose to improve the adaptive capacity of the Australian government plan that did not work during the 2009 wildfires?
- People with identifiable vulnerabilities should be supported by fire agencies
- Unacceptably high bushfire risk locations should be abandoned
- Warnings should be increased in urgency
