Journal article
Perceptions matter: household adaptive capacity and capability in two Australian coastal communities
Regional Environmental Change, Vol.17(4), pp.1141-1151
2017
Abstract
This paper presents empirical data on household perceptions of capability to adapt to climate hazards and associated capacity needs. Households play an important role in responding to the impact of a changing climate by creating a functional link between individual and community responses to change. However, household perspectives on their capacity needs are rarely sought in programs seeking to provide incentives for household action-despite the influence of normative values and perceptions on household action. Rather, interventions are often informed by quantitative measures of adaptive capacity, such as access to financial or social capital. An alternative approach involves analysis of social narratives of capability that reflect normative perceptions of climate risk and capacity needs. Implementation of this approach reveals that a significant number of households in vulnerable locations consider existing capacities sufficient to manage familiar climate hazards, regardless of socio-economic circumstance. Our comparative study of two Australian coastal communities also suggests that a dominant narrative of capability to manage climate hazards reduces the likelihood of household investments in adaptive actions. While socio-political influences on narratives are often deeply embedded and difficult to change in the short term, identifying perceived risk and response capacity is pivotal in determining the likely utility of adaptive capacity stocks as measured through quantitative means.
Details
- Title
- Perceptions matter: household adaptive capacity and capability in two Australian coastal communities
- Authors
- Carmen Elrick-Barr (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and LawDana C Thomsen (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and LawBenjamin Preston (Author) - Oak Ridge National Laboratory, United StatesTimothy F Smith (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
- Publication details
- Regional Environmental Change, Vol.17(4), pp.1141-1151
- Publisher
- Springer
- Date published
- 2017
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10113-016-1016-1
- ISSN
- 1436-3798
- Copyright note
- Copyright © Springer-Verlag 2017. The author's accepted version is reproduced here in accordance with the publisher's copyright policy. The final publication is available at www.springerlink.com
- Organisation Unit
- School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450351402621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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