Tuesday 27 January 2015

Call for Abstracts RGS 2015

And another Call for Abstracts! :-) For the RGS Conference in Sept in Exeter, for the session on "Understanding Institutional Responses to Climate Change Challenges in Vulnerable Rural Areas" (convened by Alison Browne from University of Manchester, and Kate Walker-Springett and me from University of Exeter). Deadline 16 Feb!
See for more info: http://conference.rgs.org/Conference/CallForPapers/View.aspx?heading=Y&session=312c81f2-7d56-4c08-af89-6868de15213d

RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2015

Understanding institutional responses to climate change challenges in vulnerable rural areas.
Research Group Affiliation(s)
Session Convenor(s)
The convenors invite submissions to this session from a range of stakeholders from research, policy, practice, and planning to contribute to a discussion to the types of multi-scalar multi-actor institutional responses that may be needed to respond to climate change challenges in regional and rural areas. While the convenors research focuses on UK based case studies (including two projects focused on policy adaptation for flooding and water scarcity in Somerset, UK and one on climate change adaptation at the Dawlish coast and on Dartmoor, in Devon, UK), they invite participants who are facing similar challenges across the Global South and North. Far from providing a 'description' of the institutional context, the session is particularly interested in contributions that include empirical analysis to underpin or challenge conceptual framings and that diagnose, unpack and/or critique:
- governance dimensions of climate change adaptation for rural areas
- analysis of lack of, or weak, institutional responses as well as positive 'best practice stories' to climate change in such areas
- papers exploring the potential maladaptation’s or hindrance to adaptation from conflicting policy domains which influence rural areas (e.g., land use planning, catchment management and agricultural policy)
- policy and public sector responses to moments of climate crisis such as flooding, drought, increased severe erosion and severe storm damages
- assessments of (what influences) multi-institutional/multi-stakeholder collaborations towards climate change adaptation and recovery outcomes
- the devolution of responsibility and dealing with risks related to climate change planning, adaptation, and crisis recovery
Instructions for Authors
Please send abstracts (up to 250 words) for a 15 minute presentation to Dr Roos Den Uyl (R.M.Den-Uyl@exeter.ac.uk) or Dr Alison Browne, University of Manchester (alison.browne@manchester.ac.uk) or Dr Kate Walker-Springett (Walker-Springett@exeter.ac.uk)
Please submit papers at the latest by Monday 16th February.
Call For Papers Deadline
16-Feb-2015


Friday 23 January 2015

Critical reflections on the UK National Adaptation Strategy


The UK Environmental Audit Committee is currently looking into the UK National Adaptation Programme. Here is a video with a snapshot of the hearing from last Wednesday:

http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=17047

This discussion includes some critical reflections on the UK National Adaptation Programme (NAP), in particular for England (the Scottish one seems somewhat better). Which is quite refreshing, as it is typically referred to as a front runner. The witnesses (Lord Krebs, Chair of Adaptation Sub-Committee of the Committee on Climate Change, Matthew Bell, Chief Executive, Committee on Climate Change, and Daniel Johns, Head of Adaptation, Committee on Climate Change) bring forward that the UK's current NAP is unclear in priorities, rather unmeasurable, does not initiate new actions (it only lists ongoing actions), and does not allocate financial resources. The witnesses assign a score of 2/3 on a 10-points scale of the level where the UK governments stands in preparing for climate change impacts (whereby a 10 would refer to fully prepared). They furthermore expect that the next NAP (scheduled for 2017) will be less bottom-up oriented, and more top-down. Although it's not clear yet how national government can or should better coordinate efforts to adapt to a changing climate - a cabinet subcommittee on climate change was suggested and DEFRA taking more leadership. The discussion further includes whether it's wise to keep building in floodplains, whether buildings such as hospitals are sufficiently prepared for heat stress, whether water supply is sufficiently covered (e.g. Birmingham relies on one water supply source only), and soft and hard coastal defences.The discussion in this snapshot briefly touches upon infrastructure and transport, but doesn't address dealing with impacts from extreme weather events such as storm surges. It may have been addressed elsewhere in the hearing.


(With thanks to colleague Julie Whittaker from the Business School for forwarding this video.)