1. Adapting in a Resilient Fashion
Demonstrating the Possible
Adapting in a Resilient Fashion
Susan Evans,
WWF-Canada
Nov 30th 2015
NBEN Adaptation Workshop 2015

2. What is Adaptation? Adaptation is A Journey NOT a Destination
IPCC Definition:
“the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities”
Adaptation is
an ongoing Process of risk management NOT a Project
the suite of actions taken in response to change
necessary for managing & prospering through ANY change, not just climate change
A Journey NOT a Destination

3. Is All Adaptation Considered Equal?

4. Adaptation Strategies
Coping
Reducing
Vulnerability
Building Resilience
Transformation
Elasticity!
Reactive
Resistant to Change
Short-term
Reactive
May Account for Change
Intermediate/long-term
Proactive
Accounts for Change
Intermediate/long-term
Proactive
Facilitates Change
Long-term
Vulnerability
Stays the Same
Vulnerability
Reduced
Vulnerability Reduced
Adaptive Capacity
Strengthened
New Vulnerabilities
Facilitate Desirable
Future States

5. Building Resilience How is it different What are the key attributes
Practical example

6. Resilience defined “The capacity of a system to respond to change
and continue to develop”
Humans and Nature are
Strongly Coupled
Accepts Change
Anticipates
Embraces Learning
Manages Feedbacks

7. Building Resilience: essential components
SCIENCE
Developing Science and Tools to:
Understand Baselines,
Anticipate Change, and
Plan for the Future
PEOPLE
Understanding the Actors
Involved in Responding to Change

8. Two Types of Resilience
Specified Resilience
The ability of a specific part of a system to respond to a particular, known disturbance in order to maintain valued characteristics of the system
General Resilience
The capacity of the system (as a whole) to absorb disturbances of all kinds including unknown or unforeseen ones
SPECIFIED
GENERAL
Resilience of what?
Particular value
Entire system
Resilience to what?
Known disturbance
Unknown disturbance

9. Key Attributes of Building Resilience
WHO?
Inclusive Participation
Strong Leadership
Maintain Diversity
& Redundancy
Manage
Connectivity
Manage
Feedbacks
Encourage
Learning
WHAT?
Diversity, modular
Social-ecological
Shared vision
Broaden
Participation
Promote Polycentric
Governance
Azote Images, 2015
HOW?
Adaptive Planning
Flexible Institutions
Foster Complex Adaptive
Systems Thinking
Biggs et al

10. Practical Examples Social-Ecological Inventory
Identifies actors
Builds inclusivity
Foundation for collaboration
Scenario Mapping/Planning
Identifies trade-offs
Builds a shared vision
Monitoring
Encourages learning
Enables adaptive planning
Diversifying Landscapes
Builds insurance against risk
extreme events
markets
Values multiple knowledge sources

11. Susan Evans, sevans@wwfcanada.org