Perceptions of Climate Risk in the South Saskatchewan River Basin (SSRB) and Impacts on Climate Policy Choice

This paper addresses how members of government institutions, local water advisory groups and the local rural communities studied construct the risk of climate change in the South Saskatchewan River Basin (SSRB) of Alberta and Saskatchewan and how this impacts climate legislation and policy. A portion of the data obtained in a larger research project surrounding institutional adaptation to climate change is presented. Within the framework of vulnerability and adaptation of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), data obtained from qualitative interviews conducted in 2007–2008 is analysed in relation to the assessment of vulnerability and implicitly the construction of risk in relation to climate change.

Most of the literature on risk treat it or deal with the phenomenon as a global issue. Defining risk as a universal event might lead to the use of a rigid definition of what is risk, as well as ignore both the diversity of risk perceptions and experience in everyday life and the unequal distribution of risk. This paper will explore the construction of climate change risk at the local level. The paper is based on a set of interviews with members of water governance institutions and local advisory watershed committees in a study on water governance in the South Saskatchewan River Basin in Alberta and Saskatchewan in 2007–2008. In the context of these interviews information was obtained relating to the perceived risk of climate change or climate variability and the associated impacts on water resources and whether plans, actions, or amendments to laws were anticipated to respond to climate change or climate variability into the future. The process of local contextualization and knowledge of the risk associated with changes to climate conditions is compared to the legislation and policy on climate in 2009.



Copyright: © Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH
Quelle: Issue 3/2011 (Dezember 2011)
Seiten: 15
Preis: € 41,65
Autor: Margot Hurlbert

Artikel weiterleiten In den Warenkorb legen Artikel kommentieren


Diese Fachartikel könnten Sie auch interessieren:

Climate Change Action ‘Got ‘tween the Lawful Sheets’
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2011)
Two of the things we have learned about the problems of mitigating climate change is that it is both interdisciplinary and international. Thus, although I will largely be writing from the disciplinary perspective of law, I hope it will not seem too academic to pay especially close attention to some issues of language, for many reasons, not the least of which is to bow in respect of interdisciplinarity. If various disciplines are to speak to one another, they must share some meanings from their specialty languages, and if the disciplines themselves are to emerge from ghettoes of specialization, they must invite others to their language and feel at ease to join the conversations of other disciplines.

Erdgas: auf dem Weg ins regenerative Zeitalter
© wvgw Wirtschafts- und Verlagsgesellschaft Gas und Wasser mbH (11/2010)
Auf dem Weg zu einer Vollversorgung durch regenerative Energien werden fossile Energiequellen in der Stromerzeugung weiterhin ihren Platz haben und mittelfristig den Großteil des Energiebedarfs decken müssen. Vor diesem Hintergrund hat das Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie im Auftrag von Greenpeace Deutschland eine Studie zur Bewertung des Energieträgers Erdgas und seiner Importabhängigkeit erstellt. Im Folgenden werden die Kernergebnisse dieser Studie mit dem Titel „Erdgas: die Brücke ins regenerative Zeitalter“ vorgestellt.

Climate Crime: Can Responsibility for Climate Change Damage be Criminalised?
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (10/2010)
As the world drifts towards dangerous climate change, there have been allegations that the acts or behaviour of governments, corporations and even individuals constitute “climate crimes.” In the near future, nations that see themselves as victims of climate change may also use the allegation of climate crime to seek redress from those they hold responsible. It is unlikely that exceeding emission targets or failing to assist victim states with adaptation efforts will be criminalised, although they may be subject to stronger or new civil sanctions in international law. Nevertheless, some harmful acts which contribute to climate change damage and are relatively easy to monitor and prosecute are likely to be subject to criminal sanctions.

The Role of Renewables in the Interaction between Climate Change Policy and Energy Security in Europe
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (7/2010)
After decades of hesitation, there is now growing concensus among European Union (EU) member states that European energy policy objectives can best be achieved at the EUlevel, with climate change policy already having led to a degree of energy policy harmonisation at the expense of member state autonomy.

Klimaschutzpotenziale der thermischen Abfallbehandlung
© Universität Kassel (6/2010)
Die Abfallwirtschaft leistet einen wichtigen Beitrag zum Klimaschutz. In Deutschland sind die Hauptpotenziale zur Treibhausgassenkung im Abfallsektor durch die Einstellung der Deponierung unvorbehandelten Siedlungsabfalls bereits ausgeschöpft. Bereits im Jahr 2006 hat die Siedlungsabfallwirtschaft einen Beitrag von 18 Millionen Tonnen CO2-Äquivalenten zur Reduktion der gesamten Treibhausgase geleistet, das bedeutet gegenüber 1990 eine Senkung um 56 Mio. t CO2-Äq.

Name:

Passwort:

 Angemeldet bleiben

Passwort vergessen?