Coping with the wicked problem of climate adaptation across scales: The five R governance capabilities

5 governance capabilities are reflexivity, resilience, responsiveness, revitalization and rescaling

Abstract

Adapting social-ecological systems to the projected effects of climate change is not only a complex technical matter but above all a demanding governance issue. As climate change has all the characteristics of a wicked problem, conventional strategies of governance do not seem to work. However, most conventional governance institutions are poorly equipped to enable, or at least tolerate, innovative strategies. This paper analyses the various strategies used to cope with the wicked problem of climate adaptation across scales, and the institutional conditions that enable or constrain such strategies. For this, it relies on a theoretical framework consisting of five governance capabilities that are considered crucial for coping with wicked problems: reflexivity, resilience, responsiveness, revitalization and rescaling.

Citation

Termeer, C.J.A.M., Dewulf, A., Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, S.I., Vink, M., van Vliet, M., Coping with the wicked problem of climate adaptation across scales: The five R governance capabilities, Landscape And Urban Planning, vol.154, issue7, pp.11-19, 2016

Coping with the wicked problem of climate adaptation across scales: The five R governance capabilities

Updates to this page

Published 1 October 2016