Heiko Garrelts

Path dependencies and path change in complex fields of action: climate adaptation policies in Germany in the realm of flood risk management.

The spatial and temporal repercussions of climate change are of an extremely complex nature. Coping with climate change is, first and foremost, a challenge to political decision making and, considering the long-term effects of the climate system, to planning. However, there have never been more doubts that the political-administrative system is able to meet these requirements. Although much evidence has been put forward in favor of such skepticism, sometimes, it is dangerous to overstate the existing limits. Drawing on two case studies in the area of flood risk management in Germany, the article illustrates how and why significant path change came about. In both cases, the state proved to still being a pivotal actor, due to a number of functions that cannot be assumed by other actors. However, other actor groups—such as actors from science, the media, NGOs, and citizen groups—play a significant role as well by providing relevant expertise and influencing the public discourse, thus mobilizing significant political pressure.

Risk Management at the Science–Policy Interface: Two Contrasting Cases in the Field of Flood Protection in Germany

Abstract This paper concerns the way in which the scientific debate on climate change and new risks is being adopted as a basis for political decision making. How does the crucial risk issue ‘diffuse’ into policy, which in turn has to give the public account of the risks of climate change? In discussing the science–policy interface, reference is made to the debate on blurring boundaries between science and policy making. Here, heterogeneous and often competing discourses come into play. This makes discourse analysis an appropriate and well-accepted tool in both conceptual and theoretical aspect. However, which of the competing discourses wins the day can hardly be explained in a discourse analytical way, due to its constructivist bias. Case studies provide some evidence that complex understanding can be obtained when discourse analysis is framed by a more realistic approach, such as Kingdons policy window approach. Two cases are presented. Although representing overlapping policy domains, the risk management differs considerably. In both the state proves to be the pivotal actor. In the first case, on coastal protection in northern Germany, the administrative officers in charge try to transform and to curtail the risk issue and its emphasis on uncertainty in a way that makes it compatible with their own safety discourse, thus generating a scientific–administrative hybrid. The second case, a newly enacted political strategy on riparian flood protection, draws explicitly on uncertainty and risk, thus transferring and integrating the issue firsthand into the political–administrative system. Taking a governance perspective, the explanation refers to different steering contexts in terms of institutional settings, actor constellations, political framings and natural extreme events.

Governance issues in the Ecosystem Approach: what lessons from the Forest Stewardship Council?

The certification scheme of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Ecosystem Approach (EA) as conceptualised under the Convention on Biological Diversity show substantial convergence in their broader aims and normative background. Taking this finding as a starting point, the paper discusses what lessons could be learned from FSC’s experience in developing and implementing specific norms and standards. The elaborate decision-making mechanisms of FSC may prove useful for the refinement and implementation of the EA, in particular regarding the transformation of generic principles into national and regional level standards. FSC’s strong reliance on market mechanisms, however, and the related influence of dominant economic actors limit its suitability as an overall blueprint for the implementation of the EA.

Organisationsprofil Plane Stupid

Plane Stupid ist eine 2005 gegrundete britische Graswurzelgruppe, die sich mit gewaltfreien und direkten Aktionen primar gegen die Expansion der Luftfahrtindustrie wendet. Der Organisationsname ist ein Wortspiel, bestehend aus „plane“ (Flugzeug) und „plain stupid“ (etwa: einfach dumm oder blod). Das Logo der Organisation zeigt eine Faust, die ein Flugzeug aus der Luft holt.

Konturen der internationalen Klimabewegung – Einführung in Konzeption und Inhalte des Handbuchs

Erstmalig fur den deutschsprachigen Raum untersucht das vorliegende Handbuch in umfassender Weise eine noch junge soziale Bewegung, deren Fokus auf den Klimawandel gerichtet ist. Aktivisten, NGOs und eine Vielzahl weiterer Akteure aus unterschiedlichen gesellschaftlichen Teilbereichen engagieren sich auf verschiedenen Ebenen – lokal, regional, national, international – gegen die Ursachen und Verursacher des Klimawandels sowie fur die gerechte Eindammung seiner Folgen. Gefordert wird insbesondere ein entschiedeneres Handeln der internationalen Politik.

Organisationsprofil Klima-Bündnis der europäischen Städte mit indigenen Völkern der Regenwälder

Das Klima-Bundnis der europaischen Stadte mit indigenen Volkern der Regenwalder e. V. ist ein im Jahr 1990 (und damit noch vor dem Aufstieg des Klimawandels zu einem wichtigen Politik-Thema) gegrundetes europaisches Netzwerk von Stadten, Gemeinden, Landkreisen sowie amazonesischen indigenen Volkern. Letztere werden im Klima- Bundnis vom Dachverband der indigenen Organisationen des Amazonasbeckens vertreten, der Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indigeneas de la Cuenca Amazonica (COICA).

Verstrickung und Korrektiv. Zivilgesellschaftliche Akteure und marktbasierte Klimaschutzinstrumente - das Beispiel der Forest Carbon Offsets

Als sich mit Verabschiedung des Kyoto-Protokolls 1997 bzw. mit dessen Inkrafttreten 2005 marktbasierte Instrumente zum Schutz des Klimas durchsetzten, haben viele internationale klimapolitische Nichtregierungsorganisationen (NGOs) wie das Climate Action Network (CAN) dies anfanglich kritisiert.