Role of Climate Justice in Strengthening Adaptive Capacities in Developing Countries

Abstract

Climate change intensifies the pre-existing vulnerabilities for already-struggling communities. It disproportionately affects the developing countries. Further, adaptation to climate change is becoming a significant issue within the climate change agenda, yet little attention is paid to the need to build on poor people’s own coping strategies. Local practices and indigenous knowledge to adapt and build resilience needs to be incorporated so that those most affected do not just become “passive” victims of state/global forces. When natural resource-dependent societies respond to climatic or non-climatic disturbances, the concerns exist regarding equity and social justice issues in adaptation to these changes. Thus, it becomes important to see how addressing these issues of climate justice can strengthen the local level adaptive capacities in the developing countries.

This paper emphasizes on a need to tap into the local knowledge systems of communities for a more comprehensive understanding to make effective adaptation policies and strategies, as “one-fits-all” approach will not work and yield the desired results in adapting to climate change. It aims to highlight climate change equity and justice issues relating to adaptation strategies in the developing world, specifically at the subnational levels, with a focus on Africa. The paper will also look into how climate justice and sustainable development both complement each other, as both the concepts emphasize the need to develop local citizen participation, the processes of community capacity building, more responsive governance, and greater empowerment of citizens.