Suchergebnisse

Local governments are increasingly responding to climate change by developing formal institutions for adaptation. However, given the relative novelty of the adaptation planning field, there is insufficient practice-related research to inform these processes. The aim of this dissertation is therefore to assess the factors and actors that affect climate adaptation planning at the municipal level. Whilst numerous studies have identified the barriers to and opportunities for adaptation, less is known about what the underlying institutional, political and social conditions are that cause these factors to arise. This dissertation adopts a placebased perspective to comparatively analyse the adaptation planning processes that were undertaken in the Bergrivier, Drakenstein and Eden Municipalities between 2012 -2013, under sponsorship from the Western Cape Government's Climate Change Municipal Support Programme (CCMSP). The CCMSP upholds an ethos of participation and multistakeholder engagement, and the theoretical concepts of knowledge co-production and collaborative governance are therefore drawn on as a framing device to guide the analysis. The results highlight the various factors that can inhibit the success of collaborative adaptation planning in municipalities, as well as the multiple opportunities that exist to overcome or avoid these barriers. The barriers that emerged most strongly included: the prioritisation of local socio-economic development needs, restricted financial and human capacity resources, information and time constraints, an absence of mandatory legislation, a lack of political will to prioritise adaptation, limited cross-sectoral integration, poor representation and continuity at multi-stakeholder workshops, unclear employee roles within an organisation, strong power dynamics and misrepresented perceptions around compound environmental, climate change and development issues. The most prominent opportunities that were found for overcoming these barriers included: sound leadership from driven local champions, locating champions in departments other than, or in addition to, environmental departments, the presence of political will and support for the adaptation agenda, drawing on and/or building relationships and networks to co-explore and co-produce knowledge and policy, embracing experimentation and innovation, using informal communication channels, finding alternative devices through which to frame climate change and mainstreaming adaptation into overall municipal planning. Whilst some of the barriers and opportunities that were identified were common across the three case studies, others were specifically related to causes internal to the municipal environment and were thus highly context-specific. In light of these findings, the dissertation concludes that future municipal adaptation planning processes should focus on addressing the need for strong political will and effective local leadership, remain cognizant of the municipal context, call attention to the invisible factors that influence municipal climate governance, capitalize on opportunities for partnership-building, view adaptation as an iterative process rather than an end-point and embrace a flexible, 'learning by doing' approach.

The increasing popularity of digitally-mediated communication is prompting us to radically rethink literacy and its role in education; at the same time, national policies have promulgated a view of literacy focused on the skills and classroom routines associated with print, bolstered by regimes of accountability and assessments. As a result, teachers are caught between two competing discourses: one upholding a traditional conception of literacy re-iterated by politicians and policy-makers, and the other encouraging a more radical take on 21st century literacies driven by leading edge thinkers

The effect of neighbouring plants on crop root system architecture may directly interfere with water and nutrient acquisition, yet this important and interesting aspect of competition remains poorly understood. Here, the effect of the weed blackgrass (Alopecurus myosuroides Huds.) on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) roots was tested, since a low density of this species (25 plants m-2) can lead to a 10% decrease in wheat yield and herbicide resistance is problematic. We used a simplified growth system based on gelled medium, to grow wheat alongside a neighbour, either another wheat plant, a blackgrass or Brachypodium dystachion individual (a model grass). A detailed analysis of wheat seminal root system architecture showed that the presence of a neighbour principally affected the root length, rather than number or diameter under a high nutrient regime. In particular, the length of first order lateral roots decreased significantly in the presence of blackgrass and Brachypodium. However, this effect was not noted when wheat plants were grown in low nutrient conditions. This suggests that wheat may be less sensitive to the presence of blackgrass when grown in low nutrient conditions. In addition, nutrient availability to the neighbour did not modulate the neighbour effect on wheat root architecture. ; This work was supported by European Union FP7 Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, the Broodbank Trust and the Newton Trust University of Cambridge.

Although participatory approaches are becoming more widespread, to date vulnerability assessments have largely been conducted by technocrats and have paid little attention to underlying causes of vulnerability, such as inequality and biased governance systems. Participatory assessments that recognise the social roots of vulnerability, however, are critical in helping individuals and institutions rethink their understanding of and responses to climate change impacts. This paper interrogates the contribution of Oxfam's Vulnerability and Risk Assessment methodology to enabling transformation at both personal and institutional levels. Three Vulnerability and Risk Assessment exercises were conducted in Malawi, Botswana and Namibia by one or more of the authors in 2015 and 2016. Reflecting on these workshops, we explore the contribution that a process like the Vulnerability and Risk Assessment may bring to transformation. We conclude that these types of inclusive and representative participatory approaches can shift narratives and power dynamics, allow marginal voices to be heard, build cross–scalar relationships and enable the co-creation of solutions. Such approaches can play a key role in moving towards transformational thinking and action, especially in relation to climate change adaptation.