• Energy Research

AbstractEvidence on the effectiveness of climate change adaptation interventions in low- and middle-income countries has been rapidly growing in recent years, particularly in the agricultural and coastal sectors. Here we address the question of whether results are consistent across intervention types, and risk reduction versus development-related outcomes using a systematic review of 363 empirical observations published in the scientific literature. Generally, we found more evidence of risk reduction outcomes in the coastal sector than in the agricultural sector, and more evidence of development-related outcomes in the agricultural sector. Further, results indicate that nature-based solutions have the strongest positive effects for both the coastal and agricultural sectors. Social/behavioural interventions in the coastal sector show negative effects on development-related outcomes that will need to be further tested. Taken together, our results highlight the opportunity for development and climate adaptation practitioners to promote adaptation interventions with co-benefits beyond risk reduction, particularly in the case of nature-based solutions.

Social networks influence decision-making in agricultural landscapes by affecting how farmers access knowledge and resources. However, researchers ignore the disparate structures built to access different kinds of knowledge and resources and the social mechanisms that take place on such farmers advice networks. We explored the role of social networks in decision-making among farmers in Navarre (Spain) to understand how and why some practices spread among farming communities. Social network analysis allows us to understand how farmers in this region share both knowledge and resources, and the potential implications of this sharing for the landscape. We find that large-scale farmers undertaking intensive land management are at the core of the network in this region, controlling the flow of knowledge and resources related to farm management, policy, technology, and finance. The central position of these farmers in the social network, and their reputation, is key to the spread of intensive farming practices in the region, which ultimately may lead to homogenization of local agricultural landscapes. Understanding farmer network structures in a context of agricultural intensification can help tease out the social mechanisms, such as farmers joining each other in cooperatives, behind the spread of agricultural practices. © 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. Many thanks to all the participants, especially to the lead author?s host Patxi Sueskun, and the people from the local cooperative: Rogelio Rodriguez, Andrea Ayestaran, and Leire Elorz. Without their help, this work would have not been possible. The lead author would also like to mention Julen Ugalde for his support in Canada during the data analysis and Jesse Rieb, Jesse Sayles, Jacopo Baggio, Karina Benessaiah, Carrie Dai, and Yevgen Nazarenko for their help at different stages of this research. Likewise, we are grateful for the insightful comments of the four reviewers that have made this paper stronger and sharper.

The introduction and expansion of large-scale modern irrigation technology is often justified on the grounds of agricultural productivity and, more recently, climate change adaptation. However, the impacts of its accompanying process of agricultural intensification are seldom analysed from a social-ecological lens. Here we explore the effects of a large-scale modern irrigation (LSMI) project on farming livelihoods in Navarre, Spain. We identify farmers’ main livelihood and land management strategies to show how they are affected by the adoption of LSMI technology. We show that the development of the LSMI project contributes to change farm management practices in ways that simplify cropping patterns while displacing some farmers towards drylands and forcing others to sell their arable lands. Furthermore, we suggest that the LSMI project adopters may become more sensitive to climate change in the long term. In light of these findings, we argue that LSMI projects, and irrigation policy more broadly, may be inadvertently eroding traditional and less intensive small-scale farming while contributing to land accumulation by large-scale and pro-intensification farmers. These processes may be sowing the seeds of future rural vulnerabilities under accelerating climate change. UPV/EHU

El aumento de las temperaturas globales, especialmente notorio en los espacios urbanos, debido al efecto de la isla de calor, ha generado una creciente preocupación debido a sus impactos en el medio ambiente urbano. En este contexto, las Soluciones basadas en la Naturaleza (SbN) han surgido como una estrategia prometedora para adaptarse a los efectos adversos del cambio climático. Sin embargo, aún se evidencian desafíos significativos para la implementación de SbN. A través del caso de estudio de la naturalización de patios escolares, como ejemplo de integración de SbN en entornos urbanos en Vitoria-Gasteiz, se busca entender cómo influye la gobernanza local en la integración del cambio climático en la planificación urbana, mediante la valoración de tres principales factores: gobernanza climática, capacitación institucional e implicación psicosocial. Tras una revisión bibliográfica y una serie de entrevistas semiestructuradas, se evidencia un proceso de gobernanza inclusivo, facilitando la colaboración entre los agentes implicados y promoviendo la participación ciudadana en la toma de decisiones. El proyecto analizado no sólo contribuye a la adaptación al cambio climático, además ofrece muchos otros servicios, sobre todo culturales. Sin embargo, también se detecta falta de coordinación entre diferentes áreas y niveles del gobierno, que ralentiza la escalada del proyecto piloto; falta de evaluación de resultados (por la fase temprana en la que se encuentra); e insuficiente financiación, lo que se relaciona con una falta de compromiso político. La oportunidad de mejorar la relación de los niños con la naturaleza, así como la creación de refugios climáticos que, abiertos a la comunidad, mejoren la cohesión social de los barrios, indican que los esfuerzos necesarios para integrar este tipo de acciones en la planificación urbana merecerán la pena.