IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v17y2015i5p1121-1140.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Opportunities and challenges for mainstreaming ecosystem-based adaptation in local government: evidence from the Western Cape, South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Lorena Pasquini
  • Richard Cowling

Abstract

Ecosystem-based adaptation can reduce social vulnerability to climate hazards and can be more sustainable in the long term than hard technical solutions to adaptation. Thus, it can provide a strong argument for the conservation of natural ecosystems. As the entities most directly responsible for local-level planning and management, municipalities represent a potentially key site for implementing ecosystem-based climate adaptation. This paper presents the results of a study that investigated the extent of eight local municipalities’ knowledge and mainstreaming of ecosystem-based adaptation issues in the Western Cape, South Africa. Most municipalities had little understanding of ecosystem-based adaptation issues and limited implementation of relevant actions. Our findings suggest that ecosystem-based adaptation mainstreaming in local governments will be assisted by increasing learning and networking opportunities for municipalities and by increasing the “profile” of the concept of ecosystem-based adaptation, as well as by conducting research on barriers and enablers to collaborative governance. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Lorena Pasquini & Richard Cowling, 2015. "Opportunities and challenges for mainstreaming ecosystem-based adaptation in local government: evidence from the Western Cape, South Africa," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 1121-1140, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:17:y:2015:i:5:p:1121-1140
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-014-9594-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10668-014-9594-x
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-014-9594-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Norman Myers & Russell A. Mittermeier & Cristina G. Mittermeier & Gustavo A. B. da Fonseca & Jennifer Kent, 2000. "Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities," Nature, Nature, vol. 403(6772), pages 853-858, February.
    2. Burch, Sarah, 2010. "In pursuit of resilient, low carbon communities: An examination of barriers to action in three Canadian cities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 7575-7585, December.
    3. Ananda, Jayanath & Proctor, Wendy, 2013. "Collaborative approaches to water management and planning: An institutional perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 97-106.
    4. Emilia Pramova & Bruno Locatelli & Houria Djoudi & Olufunso A. Somorin, 2012. "Forests and trees for social adaptation to climate variability and change," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 3(6), pages 581-596, November.
    5. Ruckelshaus, M. & Doney, S.C. & Galindo, H.M. & Barry, J.P. & Chan, F. & Duffy, J.E. & English, C.A. & Gaines, S.D. & Grebmeier, J.M. & Hollowed, A.B. & Knowlton, N. & Polovina, J. & Rabalais, N.N. & , 2013. "Securing ocean benefits for society in the face of climate change," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 154-159.
    6. Raffaele Vignola & Bruno Locatelli & Celia Martinez & Pablo Imbach, 2009. "Ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change: what role for policy-makers, society and scientists?," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 14(8), pages 691-696, December.
    7. Fisher, Brendan & Turner, R. Kerry & Morling, Paul, 2009. "Defining and classifying ecosystem services for decision making," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 643-653, January.
    8. Thomas G Measham & Benjamin L Preston & Cassandra Brooke & Tim F Smith & Craig Morrison & Geoff Withycombe & Russell Gorddard, 2010. "Adapting to Climate Change Through Local Municipal Planning: Barriers and Opportunities," Socio-Economics and the Environment in Discussion (SEED) Working Paper Series 2010-05, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems.
    9. Robledo, Carmenza & Clot, Nicole & Hammill, Anne & Riché, Béatrice, 2012. "The role of forest ecosystems in community-based coping strategies to climate hazards: Three examples from rural areas in Africa," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 20-28.
    10. Turpie, J.K. & Marais, C. & Blignaut, J.N., 2008. "The working for water programme: Evolution of a payments for ecosystem services mechanism that addresses both poverty and ecosystem service delivery in South Africa," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(4), pages 788-798, May.
    11. de Wit, Martin & van Zyl, Hugo & Crookes, Doug & Blignaut, James & Jayiya, Terence & Goiset, Valerie & Mahumani, Brian, 2012. "Including the economic value of well-functioning urban ecosystems in financial decisions: Evidence from a process in Cape Town," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 2(C), pages 38-44.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wan-Jiun Chen & Jihn-Fa Jan & Chih-Hsin Chung & Shyue-Cherng Liaw, 2023. "Do Eco-Based Adaptation Measures Enhance Ecosystem Adaptation Services? Economic Evidence from a Study of Hillside Forests in a Fragile Watershed in Northeastern Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-17, June.
    2. Gina Ziervogel & Lorena Pasquini & Sarah Haiden, 2017. "Nodes and networks in the governance of ecosystem-based adaptation: the case of the Bergrivier municipality, South Africa," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 271-285, September.
    3. Amanda R. Bourne & John Bruce & Meredith M. Guthrie & Li-Ann Koh & Kaylene Parker & Stanley Mastrantonis & Igor Veljanoski, 2023. "Identifying areas of high drought risk in southwest Western Australia," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 118(2), pages 1361-1385, September.
    4. Beatriz Kauark-Fontes & César E. Ortiz-Guerrero & Livia Marchetti & Jaime Hernández-Garcia & Fabio Salbitano, 2023. "Towards Adaptive Governance of Urban Nature-Based Solutions in Europe and Latin America—A Qualitative Exploratory Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-23, March.
    5. Wang, Y. & Huang, J., 2018. "Do forests relieve crop thirst in the face of drought? Empirical evidence from South China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276959, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Kennedy Muthee & Lalisa Duguma & Judith Nzyoka & Peter Minang, 2021. "Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Practices as a Nature-Based Solution to Promote Water-Energy-Food Nexus Balance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.
    7. Ephias Mugari & Nthaduleni Samuel Nethengwe, 2022. "Mainstreaming Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction: Towards a Sustainable and Just Transition in Local Development Planning in Rural South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-15, September.
    8. Claudia Múnera-Roldán & Dirk J. Roux & Matthew J. Colloff & Lorrae van Kerkhoff, 2020. "Beyond Calendars and Maps: Rethinking Time and Space for Effective Knowledge Governance in Protected Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-21, August.
    9. Adams, Clare & Frantzeskaki, Niki & Moglia, Magnus, 2023. "Mainstreaming nature-based solutions in cities: A systematic literature review and a proposal for facilitating urban transitions," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Laxmi D. Bhatta & Sunita Chaudhary & Anju Pandit & Himlal Baral & Partha J. Das & Nigel E. Stork, 2016. "Ecosystem Service Changes and Livelihood Impacts in the Maguri-Motapung Wetlands of Assam, India," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-14, June.
    2. Pablo Cuenca & Juan Robalino & Rodrigo Arriagada & Cristian Echeverría, 2018. "Are government incentives effective for avoided deforestation in the tropical Andean forest?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(9), pages 1-14, September.
    3. Jian Zhang & Hengxing Xiang & Shizuka Hashimoto & Toshiya Okuro, 2021. "Observational Scale Matters for Ecosystem Services Interactions and Spatial Distributions: A Case Study of the Ussuri Watershed, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-16, September.
    4. Gulay Cetinkaya Ciftcioglu, 2018. "Revealing major terrestrial- and marine species-based provisioning ecosystem services provided by the socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes of Lefke Region in North Cyprus," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 197-221, February.
    5. Chisholm, Ryan A., 2010. "Trade-offs between ecosystem services: Water and carbon in a biodiversity hotspot," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 1973-1987, August.
    6. Weitzman, Jenny, 2019. "Applying the ecosystem services concept to aquaculture: A review of approaches, definitions, and uses," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 194-206.
    7. Ho¨lzinger, Oliver & Horst, Dan van der & Sadler, Jon, 2014. "City-wide Ecosystem Assessments—Lessons from Birmingham," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 9(C), pages 98-105.
    8. Yue, Ian T. & Swallow, Stephen K., 2014. "Identifying which ecosystem services coastal residents actually value: A choice experiment survey of the Eastern Shore of Virginia regarding climate change adaptation," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 173302, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Ando Fahda Aulia & Harpinder Sandhu & Andrew C. Millington, 2020. "Quantifying the Economic Value of Ecosystem Services in Oil Palm Dominated Landscapes in Riau Province in Sumatra, Indonesia," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-23, June.
    10. Holland, Robert A. & Scott, Kate & Hinton, Emma D. & Austen, Melanie C. & Barrett, John & Beaumont, Nicola & Blaber-Wegg, Tina & Brown, Gareth & Carter-Silk, Eleanor & Cazenave, Pierre & Eigenbrod, Fe, 2016. "Bridging the gap between energy and the environment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 181-189.
    11. Davide Geneletti, 2012. "Integrating Ecosystem Services in Land Use Planning: Concepts and Applications," CID Working Papers 54, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    12. Yunhui Yang & Keyu Bai & Guanhua Li & Devra I. Jarvis & Chunlin Long, 2020. "Assessment of the Resilience in SEPLS (Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes) in Yanuo Village, Xishuangbanna, Southwest China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-14, May.
    13. Lehmann, Paul & Brenck, Miriam & Gebhardt, Oliver & Schaller, Sven & Süßbauer, Elisabeth, 2012. "Understanding barriers and opportunities for adaptation planning in cities," UFZ Discussion Papers 19/2012, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    14. Heuson, Clemens & Gawel, Erik & Gebhardt, Oliver & Hansjürgens, Bernd & Lehmann, Paul & Meyer, Volker & Schwarze, Reimund, 2012. "Ökonomische Grundfragen der Klimaanpassung: Umrisse eines neuen Forschungsprogramms," UFZ Reports 02/2012, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ).
    15. Constant, Natasha Louise & Taylor, Peter John, 2020. "Restoring the forest revives our culture: Ecosystem services and values for ecological restoration across the rural-urban nexus in South Africa," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    16. de Oliveira, Luiz Eduardo Chimello & Berkes, Fikret, 2014. "What value São Pedro's procession? Ecosystem services from local people's perceptions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 114-121.
    17. Ndayizeye, Gaëlle & Imani, Gerard & Nkengurutse, Jacques & Irampagarikiye, Rosette & Ndihokubwayo, Noël & Niyongabo, Ferdinand & Cuni-Sanchez, Aida, 2020. "Ecosystem services from mountain forests: Local communities’ views in Kibira National Park, Burundi," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    18. Gormley, Kate S.G. & Hull, Angela D. & Porter, Joanne S. & Bell, Michael C. & Sanderson, William G., 2015. "Adaptive management, international co-operation and planning for marine conservation hotspots in a changing climate," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 54-66.
    19. Marc D. Davidson, 2017. "Equity and the Conservation of Global Ecosystem Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-15, February.
    20. Lozada Ordóñez, Laura & Dias da Cruz, Denise & Oliveira de Andrade, Maristela, 2018. "Ecosystem services and use of Afro-descendant land in the Colombian North Pacific: Transformations in the traditional production system," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 631-641.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:17:y:2015:i:5:p:1121-1140. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.