Margot Hurlbert

Water Governance in Chile and Canada: a Comparison of Adaptive Characteristics

We compare the structures and adaptive capacities of water governance regimes that respond to water scarcity or drought in the South Saskatchewan River Basin (SSRB) of western Canada and the Elqui River Basin (EB) in Chile. Both regions anticipate climate change that will result in more extreme weather events including increasing droughts. The SSRB and the EB represent two large, regional, dryland water basins with significant irrigated agricultural production but with significantly different governance structures. The Canadian governance situation is characterized as decentralized multilevel governance with assigned water licenses; the Chilean is characterized as centralized governance with privatized water rights. Both countries have action at all levels in relation to water scarcity or drought. This structural comparison is based on studies carried out in each region assessing the adaptive capacity of each region to climate variability in the respective communities and applicable governance institutions through semistructured qualitative interviews. Based on this comparison, conclusions are drawn on the adaptive capacity of the respective water governance regimes based on four dimensions of adaptive governance that include: responsiveness, learning, capacity, including information, leadership, and equity. The result of the assessment allows discussion of the significant differences in terms of ability of distinct governance structures to foster adaptive capacity in the rural sector, highlights the need for a better understanding of the relationship of adaptive governance and good governance, and the need for more conceptual work on the interconnections of the dimensions of adaptive governance.

Climate change and water governance in Saskatchewan, Canada

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the successes and challenges of adaptation to climate change focusing on water governance institutions in Saskatchewan, a province located in the western Canadian prairies.Design/methodology/approach – A framework of vulnerability and adaptive capacity to the effects of climate change is employed. Data are obtained through qualitative research conducted through interviews and focus groups with stakeholders and people playing a role in water governance in Saskatchewan.Findings – There have been many positive institutional developments which have improved Saskatchewans adaptive capacity. The most promising is the creation of local watershed advisory committees that are poised to implement on‐the‐ground water management decisions. What is lacking, however, is a long‐term comprehensive climate change and adaptation plan, with built‐in flexibility to address present and future climate variability. Without a long‐term baseline plan and vision, Saskatchewan rural...

The adaptation of water law to climate change

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the adaptive capacity of the institution of water law in two provinces of Canada, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, through the examination of several water conflict case studies in the last decade. By examining outcomes in cases of water shortage, legal mechanisms promoting adaptation can be identified and suggestions made for improving those which potentially increase vulnerability.Design/methodology/approach – This paper explores several case studies situated in Western Canada, identified during interviews relating to a broader theme of water governance adaptation as part of the Institutional Adaptation to Climate Change (IACC) Project as well as other case studies carried out in the larger IACC project relating to the institutional adaptation to climate change in Canada and Chile. The outcomes of these case studies are examined in relation to their effect on vulnerability and their inter‐relationship to established principles of water law.Findings – This exa...

Development, local livelihoods, and vulnerabilities to global environmental change in the South American Dry Andes

Climate change will increasingly impact large areas of South America, affecting important natural resources and people’s livelihoods. These impacts will make rural people disproportionately more vulnerable, given their dependency on ecosystem services and their exposure to other stressors, such as new rules imposed by agribusiness and trends toward the commodification of natural resources. This paper focuses on the vulnerability of rural communities in Andean drylands of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, showing how different economic and political pathways lead to different levels of vulnerability. The paper begins with a brief discussion of the methodological and theoretical concept of vulnerability, which framed the research. Starting from the premise that global environmental change impacts are strongly linked to styles of development, the discussion explores the diverse institutional capital and governance schemes as well as different development styles in the case studies and their role in increasing or reducing local vulnerability to climate and water scarcity. Using a comparative perspective, the exposures and adaptive capacities of rural actors in three river basins are discussed, emphasizing situations that speak for the ways in which development styles counteract or magnify conditions of vulnerability. The analysis considers irrigated and non-irrigated agriculture, water property interests, different productive structures (viticulture, horticulture, etc.), producer typologies (large/small, export, etc.), and geographical location. Finally, the paper offers some insights about development style and adaptive capacities of rural people to overcome those vulnerabilities.

Learning, participation, and adaptation: exploring agri-environmental programmes

This paper explores the perceptions of policy makers and rural agricultural producers in respect of policy framing and adaptation to climate change, social learning and stakeholder input (participation) surrounding two successful agri-environmental programmes in Saskatchewan, Canada. Given the record of success of these two programmes in reducing vulnerability to climate change, this study provides an opportunity to explore certain attributes of adaptive management, including: what attributes make policy and programmes responsive; how government can frame programmes facilitating adaptation to climate change; what types of mechanisms can or should be used to engage with producers; and perhaps most importantly, what producers expect of government, government policies and programmes in relation to adaptation to climate change.

Adaptive institutional design in agri-environmental programs

Purpose – This paper aims to explore how and in what context adaptive governance might work in practice in relation to climate variability through the study of two successful agri-environmental programs. Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained through semi-structured qualitative interviews with key policy informants as well as rural agricultural producers. The adaptive attributes of two successful agri-environmental programs with a proven track record in reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive capacity of rural producers were studied, including program responsiveness, program framing, stakeholder engagement mechanisms, and the respective roles of key actors. Findings – The adaptive governance practices of program delivery through localized government personnel and organizations increased perceived responsiveness. Mechanisms of program delivery and stakeholder participation and review changed over time as well as the framing of programs. Producers and key policy informants agreed that produ...

The adaptive capacity of institutions in Canada, Argentina, and Chile to droughts and floods

The increasing evidence of global warming calls on all states to enhance their adaptive capacity to deal with climate change. This paper compares the adaptive capacity of two Canadian provinces, the province of Mendoza, Argentina and the administrative region of Coquimbo, Chile in relation to the vulnerability of farmers to droughts and floods by applying the adaptive capacity wheel (ACW). It concludes that Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada are particularly weak in terms of double- and triple-loop learning and in developing adaptive capacity in an equitable manner, probably attributable to strong climate scepticism in society and the weak economy. In the developing countries of Chile and Argentina, resources to assist with adaptation are often lacking; in Coquimbo, future learning is precarious because of information deficits in relation to data, memory, trust, and responsiveness; in Mendoza, institutions lack variety (redundancy of programs), resources, and governance processes are inadequately responsive. The paper makes contributions at the regional level by recommending that specific institutional weaknesses and lack of responsiveness be remedied by adopting appropriate missing instruments (perhaps, for example, water transfer provisions in Mendoza). New findings are made in relation to the dimensions of fair governance and learning capacity in the ACW. While learning capacity was closely linked to the dimension of leadership, the deficit of equity was closely linked to other indicators of fair governance (legitimacy, responsiveness, and accountability).

Making Science Count: Climate Change and the Science/Practice Interface

There is mounting evidence that global warming is producing variations in local weather patterns and water supplies, disturbing ecosystems and soil landscapes and impacting economic production and social conditions. Important changes in rainfall patterns, increases in temperatures and more intense and severe climate events have already been observed, with negative impacts for people’s livelihoods. The multiple impacts of climate change could be a considerable source of risk, affecting patterns of development and local livelihoods, but they could also provide new opportunities (i.e., expansion of cultivated areas). In this perspective, climate change has been defined as a “wicked” problem for which there is no easy solutions and no simple approaches. It requires not only a multiplicity of perspectives to understand the phenomenon in all its complexity but also an increasing proximity between university researchers, policy-makers, industry, and citizen sector organizations to manage the risks and opportunities. A significant challenge, nevertheless, has been the limited integration between researchers and those government agencies that play a central role in the everyday management of development and natural resources. There are significant institutional and cultural barriers between researchers and policy-makers that hinder the transformation of scientific knowledge into plans and actions able to strengthen adaptive capacity. The chapter discusses climate governance and the science/practice interface in terms of the process of climate knowledge mobilization. Based on the dissemination experience of two multi-disciplinary policy-oriented projects, the presentation applies the lessons learned and compares these lessons to a variety of insights found in the related literature.

Exploring adaptive management in environmental farm programs in Saskatchewan, Canada

This paper assesses two policy programs employed over the last several decades in the rural agricultural sector in Saskatchewan, Canada through the lens of adaptive management. The programs relate to farm environmental management practices and farm water infrastructure, which reduce the vulnerability of agricultural producers to climate change impacts. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with key informants from the agricultural policy community and then interpreted through qualitative content analysis. Results contribute to the scholarship of adaptive management and suggest ways to improve the two farm programs.

Evaluating public consultation in nuclear energy: the importance of problem structuring and scale

Purpose – This paper hypothesizes that in respect of developing nuclear energy, utilizing one process, on one occasion, and with only the development of nuclear energy as the “policy problem” on which consultations are based will not be successful; a more successful model occurs over the long term, utilizes an iterative process of engagement, and multiple framing of related energy issues (in addition to the development of nuclear energy). The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews and analyzes the framing of issues and chosen mechanisms of public consultations employed by the Government of Saskatchewan in relation to the nuclear energy future for Saskatchewan. These mechanisms are reviewed based on the perceptions and comments made by members of the public within the consultations which were recorded, coded and analysed, as well as a series of semi-structured qualitative interviews with key personnel involved in the consultation process. The three mechanisms o...