Abstract
This chapter evaluates the role of communication in building support for climate change adaptation through urban spatial planning. We take Durban in South Africa as our case study, a city with significant vulnerability to climate change which is widely regarded as having successfully implemented climate adaptation initiatives through spatial planning, despite a challenging socio-economic context. In particular, we aim to assess the role of communication in initiating and sustaining Durban’s climate adaptation initiatives, and evaluate wider lessons and challenges for the role of communication in climate change action with reference to social theory on science and environmental governance. We pay particular attention to the role of communication at the personal, institutional and municipal scale in eThekwini Municipality’s Municipal Climate Protection Programme, focusing on how framing and argumentation around the role the city’s open space system may support progress towards ecosystem-based adaptation. Drawing on a narrative literature review and associated content analysis of planning documentation and peer-reviewed literature, we argue that climate adaptation initiatives which carry multiple rationales in addition to the scientific basis for action stand the greatest chance of reaching implementation. We argue this is important because: (a) the complexity of governance structures mean many actors with different priorities and value positions must be engaged to enact policy; and (b) the short-term nature of political attention necessitates rationales that sustain their appeal to a broad range of viewpoints over time. We caution, however, that there is a need for ongoing critical reflection as to the grounds on which the ‘success’ of a climate adaptation intervention can be claimed, and that care must be taken to ensure a focus on framing and getting buy-in does not deflect attention away from debating the underlying causes of vulnerability.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) (2011) Towards a low carbon city: focus on Durban. Report of the ASSAf Consensus Study on Low Carbon Cities. ASSAf, Pretoria
Aylett A (2010) Participatory planning, justice, and climate change in Durban, South Africa. Environ Plan A 42:99–115
Bond P, Dada R (2007) A death in Durban: capitalist patriarchy, global warming gimmickry and our responsibility for rubbish. Agenda 73:46–56
Crawford R (2016) New Zealand Productivity Commission Research Note 2016/2: what can complexity theory tell us about urban planning?. New Zealand Productivity Commission, Wellington
Cockburn J, Rouget M, Slotow R, Roberts D, Boon R, Douwes E, O’Donoghue S, Downs CT, Mukherjee S, Musakwa W, Mutanga O, Mwabvu T, Odindi J, Odindo A, Procheş S, Ramdhani S, Ray-Mukherjee J, Sershen, Schoeman MC, Smit AJ, Wale E, Willows-Munro S (2016) How to build science-action partnerships for local land-use planning and management: lessons from Durban, South Africa. Ecology and Society 21(1). doi: 10.5751/ES-08109-210128
De Georges PA, Reilly BK (2009) The realities of community based natural resource management and biodiversity conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sustainability 1(3):734–788
Douwes E, Rouget M, Diederichs N, O’Donoghue S, Roy K, Roberts D (2015) Buffelsdraai Landfill Site Community Reforestation Project. XIV World Forestry Congress, 7 Sept 2015, Durban. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3577.9286
Downs A (1972) Up and down with ecology—the issue-attention-cycle. The Public Interest 28:38–50
Einsiedel EF, Boyd AD, Medlock JE, Ashworth P (2013) Assessing socio-technical mindsets: public deliberations on carbon capture and storage in the context of energy sources and climate change. Energy Policy 53:149–158
eThekwini Municipality (2010) Durban’s municipal climate protection programme: climate change adaptation planning for a resilient city. eThekwini Municipality, Durban. http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/development_planning_management/environmental_planning_climate_protection/Publications/Documents/Durbans%20Municipal%20Climate%20Protection%20Programme_Climate%20Chan.pdf. Last accessed 08 Nov 2016
eThekwini Municipality (2011a) What is the Durban Metropolitan open space system? http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/development_planning_management/environmental_planning_climate_protection/Durban_Open_Space/Pages/-What-is-the-Durban-Metropolitan-Open-Space-System.aspx. Last accessed 08 Nov 2016
eThekwini Municipality (2011b) Creating space for biodiversity in Durban: guideline for designing green roof habitats. Durban, South Africa. http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/development_planning_management/environmental_planning_climate_protection/Publications/Documents/Guideline%20for%20Designing%20Green%20Roof%20Habitats1.pdf. Last accessed 08 Nov 2016
eThekwini Municipality (2011c) Buffelsdraai Community Reforestation Project. Durban, South Africa. http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/development_planning_management/environmental_planning_climate_protection/Projects/Pages/Buffelsdraai-Community-Reforestation-Project.aspx. Last accessed 08 Nov 2016
eThekwini Municipality (2011d) Durban Metropolitan open space system FAQ. Durban, South Africa. http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/development_planning_management/environmental_planning_climate_protection/Durban_Open_Space/Pages/MOSS_FAQ.aspx. Last accessed 08 Nov 2016
eThekwini Municipality (2015) 2015/2016 Final integrated development plan. Durban, South Africa. http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Government/City_Vision/IDP/Documents/Final%20Adopted%20IDP%2027May2015.pdf. Last accessed 08 Nov 2016
eThekwini Municipality, ICLEI Africa Secretariat (2007) Durban Biodiversity Report 2007. Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) Report. eThekwini Municipality, Durban. http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/development_planning_management/environmental_planning_climate_protection/Publications/Documents/Durbans%20Biodiversity%20Report%202007.pdf. Last accessed 08 Nov 2016
Freund R (2001) Brown and green in Durban: the evolution of environmental policy in a post-apartheid city. Int J Urban Reg Res 25(4):717–739
Google (n.d.) Google Scholar, scholar.google.com. Last accessed 08 Nov 2016
Green BN, Johnson CD, Adams A (2006) Writing narrative literature reviews for peer-reviewed journals: secrets of the trade. J Sports Chiropr Rehabil 15:5–19
Haas PM (1992) Introduction: epistemic communities and international policy coordination. Int Org 46(1):1–35
Hajer M, Kesselring S (1999) Democracy in the risk society? Learning from the new politics of mobility in Munich. Environ Polit 8(3):1–23
Jasanoff S (2004) Science and citizenship: a new synergy. Sci Public Policy 31:90–94
Jones K (2004) Mission drift in qualitative research, or moving toward a systematic review of qualitative studies, moving back to a more systematic narrative review. Qual Rep 9(1):95–112
Kasperson R (2014) Four questions for risk communication. J Risk Res 17(10):1233–1239
Kosoy N, Corbera E (2010) Payments for ecosystem services as commodity fetishism. Ecol Econ 69(6):1228–1246
Leck H, Roberts D (2015) What lies beneath: understanding the invisible aspects of municipal climate change governance. Current Opin Environ Sustain 13:61–67
Mabon L, Shackley S (2015) More than meeting the targets? The ethical dimensions of carbon dioxide capture and storage. Environ Values 24:465–482
Mabon L, Shackley S, Vercelli S, Anderlucci J, Boot K (2015) Deliberative decarbonisation? Exploring a framework of ethical governance for low-carbon energy. Environ Plan C Gov Policy 33(2):256–271
Matulis BS (2014) The economic valuation of nature: a question of justice? Ecol Econ 104:155–157
Munang R, Thiaw I, Alverson K, Mumba M, Liu J, Rivington M (2013) Climate change and ecosystem-based adaptation: a new pragmatic approach to buffering climate change impacts. Current Opin Environ Sustain 5(1):67–71
Northcott M (2015) Place, ecology and the sacred: the moral geography of sustainable communities. Bloomsbury, London
O’Neill J (2007) Markets, deliberation and environment. Routledge, London
Pellizzoni L (2003) Uncertainty and participatory democracy. Environ Values 12(2):195–224
Puppim de Oliveira JA, Balaban O, Doll CNH, Moreno-Peñaranda R, Gasparatos A, Iossifova D, Suwa A (2011) Cities and biodiversity: Perspectives and governance challenges for implementing the convention on biological diversity (CBD) at the city level. Biol Cons 144(5):1302–1313
Roberts D (2010) Prioritizing climate change adaptation and local level resilience in Durban, South Africa. Environ Urban 22(2):397–413
Roberts JJ, Escobar O (2015) Citizens’ juries on wind farm development in Scotland. ClimateXChange, Edinburgh. http://www.climatexchange.org.uk/files/5614/3213/1663/Citizens_Juries_-_Full_Report.pdf. Last accessed 08 Nov 2016
Roberts D, O’Donoghue S (2013) Urban environmental challenges and climate change action in Durban, South Africa. Environ Urban 25(2):299–319
Roberts D, Boon R, Diederichs N, Douwes E, Govender N, McInnes A, McLean C, O’Donoghue S, Spires M (2012) Exploring ecosystem-based adaptation in Durban, South Africa: “learning-by-doing” at the local government coal face. Environ Urban 24(1):167–195
Rogers-Hayden T, Mohr A, Pidgeon N (2007) Introduction. Engaging with nanotechnologies: engaging differently. NanoEthics 1:123–130
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) (2009) Connecting biodiversity and climate change: report of the second ad hoc technical expert group on biodiversity and climate change. UNEP, Montreal
Shih W-Y (2017) Greenspace planning for climate co-benefits in Durban, South Africa. In: Doll CNH, Puppim de Oliviera JA (eds) Urbanization and climate co-benefits: implementation of win-win interventions in cities. Routledge, London pp. 88–95
Shih W-Y, Mabon L (2017) Land use planning as a tool for balancing the scientific and the social in biodiversity and ecosystem services mainstreaming? The case of Durban, South Africa. J Environ Planning Manage. doi: 10.1080/09640568.2017.1394277
Shrader-Frechette K (2002) Environmental justice: creating equality, reclaiming democracy. Oxford University Press, New York
Smith L (2008) South African social work education: critical imperatives for social change in the post-apartheid and post-colonial context. Int Soc Work 51(3):371–383
Stirling A (2008) “Opening Up” and “Closing Down”: power, participation, and pluralism in the social appraisal of technology. Sci Technol Human Values 33(2):262–294
Sundqvist G (2014) ‘Heating up’ or ‘Cooling Down’? analysing and performing broadened participation in technoscientific conflicts. Environ Plan A 46(9):2065–2079
Toke D (1999) Epistemic communities and environmental groups. Politics 19(2):97–102
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2015) Human development report 2015: work for human development. UNDP, New York
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2009) IEA training manual: a training manual on integrated environmental assessment and reporting: training module 3: Developing an impact strategy for your IEA. UNEP, New York http://www.unep.org/ieacp/_res/site/File/iea-training-manual/module-3.pdf. Last accessed 08 Nov 2016
van Dijk T, Ubels H (2016) How Dutch professionals conduct interactive design sessions to foster ‘shared understanding’. Environ Plan 43(3):464–479
Vercelli S, Battisti N, Dolcetti F, Ciesielska J, Barkved L, van der Panne G, Engen S, Provoost M (2014) Dialogue and mutual learning towards a low carbon society—experiences from 10 countries across Europe. Energy Procedia 58:30–35
Wynne B (1992) Misunderstood misunderstandings: social identities and public uptake of science. Public Underst Sci 1:281–304
Wynne B (1996) May the sheep safely graze? A reflexive view of the lay-expert knowledge divide. In: Lash S, Szerszynski B, Wynne B (eds) Risk, environment and modernity: towards a new ecology. SAGE, London, pp 44–83
Acknowledgements
The ideas and arguments in this paper were developed through a grant from the RGU Foundation received by Leslie Mabon, and a Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowship (Grant No. 23.01774) held by Wan-Yu Shih.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mabon, L., Shih, WY. (2018). Getting Buy-In for Climate Change Adaptation Through Urban Planning: Climate Change Communication as a Multi-way Process. In: Leal Filho, W., Manolas, E., Azul, A., Azeiteiro, U., McGhie, H. (eds) Handbook of Climate Change Communication: Vol. 1. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69838-0_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69838-0_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69837-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-69838-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)