The role of adaptive capacity in incremental and transformative adaptation in three large U.S. Urban water systems

Dilling, Lisa; Daly, Meaghan E.; Travis, William R.; Ray, Andrea J.; Wilhelmi, Olga V.

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102649

i

The role of adaptive capacity in incremental and transformative adaptation in three large U.S. Urban water systems

2023
By Dilling, Lisa ; Daly, Meaghan E. ; Travis, William R. ; ...

Details

Journal Title:

Global Environmental Change
Personal Author:

Dilling, Lisa ; Daly, Meaghan E. ; Travis, William R. ; Ray, Andrea J. ; Wilhelmi, Olga V.
NOAA Program & Office:

OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research)
Description:

Urban water systems need to serve increasing numbers of people under a changing climate. Studies of systems facing extreme events, such as drought, can clarify the nature of adaptive capacity and whether this might support incremental (marginal changes) or transformative adaptation (fundamental system shifts) to climate change. We conducted comparative case studies of three major metropolitan water systems in the United States to understand how actions taken in response to drought affected adaptive capacity and whether the adaptive capacity observed in these systems fosters the preconditions needed for transformative adaptation. We find that while there is ample evidence of existing and potential adaptive capacity, this can be either enabled or diminished by the specific actions taken and their cascading effects on other parts of the system. We also find social dimensions, such as public acceptance, learning, trust, and collaboration, to be as critical as physical elements of adaptive capacity in urban water systems. Finally, we suggest that changes in practices initiated during drought, combined with sustained engagement, collaboration, and education, can lead to substantial and long-lasting changes in values around water, a precursor to transformative adaptation.
Keywords:

Ecology Geography, Planning And Development Global And Planetary Change Management, Monitoring, Policy And Law Geography, Planning And Development Global And Planetary Change Management, Monitoring, Policy And Law Geography, Planning And Development Global And Planetary Change Management, Monitoring, Policy And Law
Source:

Global Environmental Change, 79, 102649
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102649
ISSN:

0959-3780
Format:

PDF
Publisher:

Elsevier BV
Document Type:

Journal Article
Funding:

Grant no. NA10OAR4310172 ; Grant no. NA15OAR4310144
License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Rights Information:

CC BY-NC-ND
Compliance:

Library
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha256:6384c2a5f0c16d4d1004b891fbe95be77b33893178ab2e6861777508b5b0a397
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/59544/noaa_59544_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 1.90 MB ]

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