Adaptation technologies as drivers oF social development - Climate Change Adaptation and Development: Transforming Paradigms and Practices - page 113

in hand or be an integral part of other development initiatives supporting
bottom-up approaches to initiating social development.
Conclusions
The chapter has investigated the empirical basis of adaptation technology
preferences among developing countries. We find that earlier tendencies to give
priority to 'hardware' technologies over software and orgware technologies
are no longer predominant. This analysis of 25 TNAs shows that developing
countries are well aware that hardware technology cannot stand alone. In many
cases, the preferred technologies consisted of several components covering
hard-, soft- and orgware. This further indicates that introducing 'technology
approaches' into adaptation and development practice will not necessarily
lead to major changes in priorities or in the actual measures implemented,
compared to those shown in earlier non-technology-focused adaptation
priority assessments such as NAPAs and National Communications.
Thus we see that countries are, to a large extent, already applying a wide
approach to TNAs. Hardware adaptation measures involving capital-intensive,
large, complex, inflexible technology and infrastructure are becoming
integrated with approaches that involve behavioural soft- and orgware
adaptation measures, such as natural capital, user organizations, community
control, and appropriateness.
The chapter has also shown that the social development aspects of adaptation
remain a high priority in technology-focused adaptation assessments and
implementation strategies, such as those developed under the TNA project.
Social criteria like 'social development', 'socio-economic development'
and 'social suitability' have all been widely applied and given significant
weight in the establishment of national priorities for adaptation technology.
Similarly, we have seen that both software and orgware are in practice being
accorded considerably more weight than foreseen by many, which in turn
would tend to favour social elements of adaptation like resilience of local
livelihoods, institutions and capacity building. Moreover, the analysis of social
development attributes of selected technologies has indicated that many of
these can be considered directly beneficial to social development, as they
are beneficial to the poor; and that the focus in the practical application of
technology frameworks is not so much on large capital-intensive investments
as on smaller-scale technologies suited to community-level interventions and
participation.
Further, the organizational component of technologies has a relatively
low share of the total technology priorities identified, compared to hardware
and software. There is little mention in literature of an 'optimal level' of
orgware in adaptation. However, systematically according low priority to the
orgware components of technologies entails the risk of creating ineffective
adaptation processes where adequately adapting to climate change could