Adaptation technologies as drivers oF social development - Climate Change Adaptation and Development: Transforming Paradigms and Practices - page 101

The logic of dividing adaptation technologies into these broad categories is
illustrated by the general adaptation literature and by Agrawal (2010), who states
that all adaptation occurs in an 'institutionally rich context and the success of
adaptation depends on specific institutional arrangements', thereby underlining
the importance of including orgware. Without local institutions, it can be far
costlier for poor households to adapt sufficiently to climate change, since these
institutions are enablers of the capacity of households and groups to deploy
specific adaptation practices. Thus, according to Agrawal (2010) in facilitating
any adaptation to climate change, institutions should be considered in terms of
their role of determining vulnerability as the expression of power of different
social groups, and in terms of the groups' ability to change and adapt in response
to climate change or other external factors. Household adaptive capacity is
closely related to the demand for, access to and use of information at the local
level (Ribot and Peluso 2003). For example, those households in a village whose
contacts and knowledge are based around the village will have less adaptive
capacity in the face of climate exposure than households with networks that
extend over a greater geographical range and connect with a wider variety of
institutions (Adger 2003).
Previous TNAs of adaptation have accorded limited emphasis to further
specifying the concept of technologies for adaptation. A review by Fida (2011)
of existing TNAs (the 'top-up round') for adaptation reveals that, possibly as
a result, countries do not distinguish between 'adaptation technologies' and
'adaptation measures', but use the terms interchangeably. There exists a broad
range of different adaptation typologies, presented in various concepts and
frameworks (see Biagini et al. 2014 for an overview). One such interpretation
sees adaptation as also being a means of embracing and taking advantage of
the new circumstances and conditions presented by changes. The perception
of climate change adaptation within human systems has been described as 'the
process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to
moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities' (IPCC 2012).
An optimal mix of technology types?
The technologies are available, but there remain other potential problems
associated with the use of technology - especially hard technology - for climate
adaptation, even if access to technologies were greatly improved (Klein 2011;
Markandya and Galarraga 2011). Stand-alone technology, such as physical
structures and equipment, is seldom sufficient in itself, without an enabling
framework. In many cases, hardware will need to be combined with software
and orgware to become adequately embedded in communities and thereby
ensure the acceptance and ownership necessary for successful implementation
(Agrawal 2010). An 'enabling environment' should be understood as the set
of resources and conditions within which the technology and the target
beneficiaries operate. For adaptation technologies, such conditions (or enabling