Climate Change and development - Climate Change Adaptation and Development: Transforming Paradigms and Practices - page 283

Gabrielsson ( Chapter 5 ) and Eriksen and Marin ( Chapter 10 ), empowering
vulnerable groups in adaptation processes means giving priority to the vulnerable
in planning and decision-making processes, for example marginalized women
over men, or pastoral groups over irrigation farmers. The voices of the vulnerable
must be accorded political influence - not only in adaptation planning but also in
development strategies, which includes choosing development futures (Eriksen
and Marin this volume).
The negotiating table is usually tilted against the most vulnerable through
norms, customs, rules and social/political relations that determine who is
included and whose interests are heard, and that often make the vulnerable
invisible. Empowering those who suffer structural injustices in planning and
decision-making processes is not only a way of strengthening their adaptive
capacity; it can also tackle the structural causes of vulnerability, for instance by
challenging the norms and structures that create vulnerability in the first place
(Gabrielsson; Nagoda and Eriksen, this volume). As Kronik and Hays ( Chapter
14 ) point out, empowerment is a deeper process than mere participation or
inclusion of indigenous knowledge: it is about the basic ability to exercise rights.
Development models and approaches such as agricultural investments
shape the vulnerability context, as West ( Chapter 8 ) points out. Kronik
and Hays ( Chapter 14 ) show that development initiatives have tended to be
based on the very developmental models that are part of the problem, such as
economic growth led by extractive industries that undermine the human rights,
resource access, livelihoods and adaptation options of indigenous groups.
Instead of mainstreaming adaptation into development plans, development
plans themselves may need adjusting based on the needs and strategies of the
vulnerable - an essential point. It is clear that development actors usually have
to work within existing structures and institutions - sometimes the very same
social and political structures that disempower vulnerable groups. Addressing
social hierarchies and power structures may be considered outside the mandate
of most development actors. However, as Nagoda and Eriksen ( Chapter 11 )
point out, these actors can nonetheless identify how their interventions and
processes exacerbate or alter such structures and strive to create situations and
'safe spaces' where the most vulnerable have a voice and conflicts can be aired.
Recommendation 4: extend the time frame for activities
The findings presented in this volume point to a growing need to accord greater
weight to long-term perspectives and wider and multiple goals when planning
and prioritizing adaptation. The chapters show that vulnerability-reducing
interventions can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, which necessitates
a wide and long-term focus that is participatory and process-oriented. As such,
the time frames of development activities need to be significantly altered. This
recommendation is in line with observations by Brooks et al. (2011), who note
that since many aspects of climate change and adaptation unfold over long time