Towards a heuristic for assessing adaptation knowledge: impacts, implications, decisions and actions
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In: Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 14, No. 9, 093002, 09.2019.
Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Towards a heuristic for assessing adaptation knowledge: impacts, implications, decisions and actions
AU - Cradock-Henry, Nicholas A.
AU - Buelow, Franca
AU - Flood, Stephen
AU - Blackett, Paula
AU - Wreford, Anita
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2019 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.
PY - 2019/9
Y1 - 2019/9
N2 - Climate change poses a significant challenge to primary industries and adaptation will be required to reduce detrimental impacts and realise opportunities. Despite the breadth of information to support adaptation planning however, knowledge is fragmented, obscuring information needs, hampering strategic planning and constraining decision-making capacities. In this letter, we present and apply the Adaptation Knowledge Cycle (AKC), a heuristic for rapidly evaluating and systematising adaptation research by analytical foci: Impacts, Implications, Decisions or Actions. We demonstrate its application through an assessment of ten years' climate change adaptation research for New Zealand's primary industries. The letter draws on the results of systematic review, empirical analysis, workshops, interviews, narrative analyses and pathways planning to synthesise information and identify knowledge gaps. Results show the heuristic's simplicity is valuable for cross- and transdisciplinary communication on adaptation in New Zealand's primary industries. Results also provide insight into what we know and need to know with respect to undertaking adaptation planning. With the development of tools and processes to inform decision making under conditions of uncertainty - such as adaptation pathways - it is increasingly important to efficiently and accurately determine knowledge needs. The combination of systematic data collection techniques, and heuristics such as the AKC may provide researchers and stakeholders with an efficient, robust tool to review and synthesise existing knowledge, and identify emerging research priorities. Results can in turn support the design of targeted research and inform adaptation strategies for policy and practice.
AB - Climate change poses a significant challenge to primary industries and adaptation will be required to reduce detrimental impacts and realise opportunities. Despite the breadth of information to support adaptation planning however, knowledge is fragmented, obscuring information needs, hampering strategic planning and constraining decision-making capacities. In this letter, we present and apply the Adaptation Knowledge Cycle (AKC), a heuristic for rapidly evaluating and systematising adaptation research by analytical foci: Impacts, Implications, Decisions or Actions. We demonstrate its application through an assessment of ten years' climate change adaptation research for New Zealand's primary industries. The letter draws on the results of systematic review, empirical analysis, workshops, interviews, narrative analyses and pathways planning to synthesise information and identify knowledge gaps. Results show the heuristic's simplicity is valuable for cross- and transdisciplinary communication on adaptation in New Zealand's primary industries. Results also provide insight into what we know and need to know with respect to undertaking adaptation planning. With the development of tools and processes to inform decision making under conditions of uncertainty - such as adaptation pathways - it is increasingly important to efficiently and accurately determine knowledge needs. The combination of systematic data collection techniques, and heuristics such as the AKC may provide researchers and stakeholders with an efficient, robust tool to review and synthesise existing knowledge, and identify emerging research priorities. Results can in turn support the design of targeted research and inform adaptation strategies for policy and practice.
KW - Adaptation
KW - Agriculture
KW - Climate change
KW - Impacts
KW - Knowledge
KW - Pathways planning
KW - Environmental Governance
KW - Sustainability Governance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85079872083&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/1748-9326/ab370c
DO - 10.1088/1748-9326/ab370c
M3 - Scientific review articles
VL - 14
JO - Environmental Research Letters
JF - Environmental Research Letters
SN - 1748-9318
IS - 9
M1 - 093002
ER -