Suchergebnisse

There are growing technical efforts by government organizations, academics and non-government organizations to define policy frameworks to promote the adaptation of agriculture to climate change. Nevertheless, adaptation is primarily a local process; therefore, tools that link these efforts with local requirements are needed based on current and consistent information. We develop a participatory methodology to characterize and assess subsistence livelihoods vulnerability and build local strategies for adaptation to climate change based on the Community Capitals Framework and present a review of its application in five micro-watersheds of the Pacific basin of three Mesoamerican countries. We conclude that the methodology supports the rapid characterization of vulnerability based on local knowledge, showing clear differences in the current impacts of climate change, adaptive capacity and vulnerability among different livelihoods and facilitating the identification of key constraints affecting adaptation of smallholder livelihoods in each site. However, we conclude also that this methodology is still insufficient for adaptation planning because the measures proposed are focused on adjustments to the production systems, rely on external technical assistance and are not effectively connected with financing mechanisms. Based on this, we identify recommendations for the future implementation of the methodology.

Can digital technologies serve to highlight and strengthen the work of social organizations that promote human development? This is the question the authors want to answer in this article, in which they analyse an eight-month participatory video (PV) process, promoted by a group of university researchers and conducted in collaboration with two grassroots innovations (GI) in the city of Valencia (Spain): the Fuel Poverty Group and Sólar Dómada. The innovative component of PV is situated in two areas: firstly, as an action research methodology, the PV process enables people's participation, with the aim of generating learning, agency and contextual knowledge from the participants; secondly, the innovation is found in the product, the video itself. The video narratives can be used to disseminate the practices of the GIs and offer a space for critical reflection on the structural constraints that may hamper the diffusion of innovations. Furthermore, the audiovisual work itself has its own agency and has the potential to create opportunities for advocacy and contribute towards removing barriers that limit human development.

AbstractThis article aims to explore the different accountability discourses of the various actors in the Spanish international aid system and to examine them in light of the various theoretical interpretations of development accountability. The conclusions reached suggest a technical and financial accountability model, largely isolated from international debates where political and social issues are at the core of the concept. Although this can be explained by a range of factors which are specific to the Spanish aid system, there are also interesting tendencies that are deepening a new understanding and practice of the idea. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.