Climate change and globalization in the arctic : an integrated approach to vulnerability assessment / E. Carina H. Keskitalo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Keskitalo, E. C. H. (Eva Carina Helena), 1974-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Climatic changes--Arctic regions.

Climatic changes.

Globalization--Arctic regions.

Globalization.

Environmental conditions.

Arctic regions--Environmental conditions.

Arctic regions.

Environmental protection--Arctic regions.

Environmental protection.

Arctic Regions.

Physical Description:

viii, 254 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; Sterling, VA : Earthscan, 2008.

Summary:

Climate change vulnerability assessment is a rapidly developing field. However, despite the fact that such major trends as globalization and the changing characteristics of the political and economic governance systems are crucial in shaping a community's capacity to adapt to climate change, these trends are seldom included in assessments. This book addresses this shortcoming by developing a framework for qualitative vulnerability assessment in 'multiple impact' studies (of climate change and globalization) and applying this framework to several cases of renewable natural resource use.

The book draws upon case studies of forestry and fishing - two of the largest sectors that rely on renewable natural resources - and reindeer herding in the European North. The study represents a bottom-up view, originating with the stakeholders themselves, of the degree to which stakeholders find adaptation to climate change possible and how they evaluate it in relation to their other concerns, notably economic and political ones. Moreover, the approach and research results include features that could be broadly generalized to other geographic areas or sectors characterized by renewable natural resource use.

Contents:

Introduction: Vulnerability Assessment in the Context of Multiple Levels and Impacts 1

Understanding change and societies in flux 1

Research questions 3

Chapter 1 Structuring the Conceptions of Change 9

1.1 Vulnerability assessment 9

1.1.1 The concepts of vulnerability and adaptive capacity 9

1.1.2 The history of vulnerability assessment 12

1.1.3 The extension of climate change vulnerability assessment to social vulnerability 14

1.1.4 Community-based and double-exposure approaches 17

1.1.5 Assessing vulnerability and adaptive capacity 19

1.2 Adaptation as a political process 23

1.3 A focus on multi-level governance for vulnerability assessment 26

1.4 Analysing, organizing and understanding large-scale change 29

1.5 Conceiving of multiple impacts: Definitions of economic and political globalization 32

1.5.1 Economic globalization 32

1.5.2 Political globalization 35

1.6 A framework for assessing vulnerability and adaptive capacity to multiple stresses 37

Chapter 2 A Methodology for Vulnerability Assessment 39

2.1 The approach to vulnerability assessment in this work 39

2.1.1 Stakeholder-defined nested scale levels and stressors 40

2.1.2 Relation of the study to participatory and modelling-focused vulnerability assessment 42

2.2 A structure for vulnerability assessment 44

2.2.1 Overview of the methodology 44

2.2.2 Case study selection 44

2.2.2.1 Case study areas 46

2.2.3 Methodology and material 48

2.2.4 Identification of governance networks and norms 52

2.2.5 Synthesis of climate change scenario and impacts literature 53

2.2.5.1 General impacts of climate change 54

2.2.5.2 Impacts of climate change on forestry 57

2.2.5.3 Impacts of climate change on reindeer herding 58

2.2.5.4 Impacts of climate change on fishing 59

2.2.6 Understanding change 59

Chapter 3 Perceptions of Change, Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity among Forest Industry Stakeholders in Northern Sweden and Finland 61

3.1 Introduction: The organization of forestry in Sweden and Finland 61

3.2 Socioeconomic change in the industry 62

3.2.1 Rationalization and technological change over time 63

3.2.2 Impacts on smaller actors: The example of small sawmills 65

3.2.3 The mobility of larger actors and dependence on resource access 66

3.2.4 The changing role of the state 68

3.3 The political network influencing the forest industry 69

3.3.1 Support possibilities at the local and regional levels 70

3.3.2 National legislation and support 71

3.3.3 International normative changes: Environmental protection as a priority 74

3.3.3.1 Nature reserves 75

3.3.3.2 Certification: Socioeconomic and political globalization? 78

3.3.4 The governance network as perceived by local forestry 80

3.4 Climate and climate change 84

3.4.1 Climate impacts on forestry in autumn and winter 85

3.4.2 Spring and summer 87

3.5 Conclusion: Vulnerability and adaptive capacity in forestry 92

3.5.1 Adaptations at the company level and in employment 92

3.5.2 Adaptation in the context of administration and policy 94

3.5.3 Particular adaptations to climate: Climate change as an addition to an increasing resource problematique 95

3.6 The nature of adaptation 96

Chapter 4 Perceptions of Change, Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity among Reindeer Herding Stakeholders in Northern Norway, Sweden and Finland 99

4.1 Introduction: The organization of reindeer herding in Norway, Sweden and Finland 99

4.1.1 Reindeer herding organizations and practices 100

4.2 Socioeconomic changes in reindeer herding 103

4.2.1 Increased mechanization, costs and supplementary feeding 104

4.2.2 Supplementary feeding 107

4.2.3 The meat market, meat prices and profitability 110

4.2.3.1 Solutions to the meat market problem: Refining and marketing to increase consumption 112

4.3 Political change in the sector: Legislation and support 114

4.3.1 National systems for financial support and stabilizing the number of reindeer 115

4.3.2 Impacts on reindeer herding from multiple use of forests 120

4.3.3 International norms and regulation impacting reindeer herding 123

4.3.4 The governance network perceived by reindeer herding 127

4.4 Climate change 131

4.4.1 Autumn and winter 132

4.4.2 Spring and summer 135

4.5 Conclusion: Vulnerability and adaptive capacity in reindeer herding 138

4.5.1 Adaptations at the individual level to economic changes 139

4.5.2 Adaptation within the governance and political regulatory framework 140

4.5.3 Adaptation to climate change 141

4.6 The vulnerability of reindeer herding 142

Chapter 5 Perceptions of Change, Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity among Fishing Stakeholders in Northernmost Norway 145

5.1 Introduction: Fishing organizations in Norway 145

5.2 The socioeconomic change in fishing 148

5.2.1 Change over time 148

5.2.2 The quota system and fishing economy 152

5.2.3 Market adaptations: Different types of fish processing 154

5.3 Political and organizational change in fishing 156

5.3.1 Contested fishing rights 156

5.3.2 Local and regional-level support for fishing 159

5.3.3 National-level state and interest group decision-making and quota allocation 161

5.3.4 The impact of international norms and the international and EU levels 164

5.3.5 The governance network perceived by local small-scale fishing 165

5.4 Environmental and climate change in fishing 168

5.4.1 Environmental influences on fish populations 168

5.4.2 Climate change 169

5.4.2.1 Autumn and winter 170

5.4.2.2 Spring and summer 171

5.5 Conclusion: Vulnerability and adaptive capacity 175

5.5.1 Individual adaptations 175

5.5.2 Larger-scale adaptation within the governance network 176

5.5.3 Adaptations to climate change 177

5.6 The vulnerability of local fishing 178

6.1 Economic, political and environmental changes 179

6.1.1 Economic globalization? 180

6.1.2 Political globalization? The pattern of governance and the role of traditional policy actors 182

6.1.3 Interaction between economic and political globalization: Governance by the state and the market 184

6.1.4 Is globalization a key determinant of change? 186

6.1.5 Is globalization a key determinant of social vulnerability and adaptive capacity? 188

6.1.6 Climate change 190

6.2 Conclusion: Summary of vulnerability, adaptive capacity and types of adaptation in the areas 192.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [197]-246) and index.

ISBN:

9781844075287

1844075281

OCLC:

190877010