Global Evidence of Constraints and Limits to Human Adaptation

Authors

Adelle Thomas, University of The Bahamas
Emily Theokritoff, Humboldt University of Berlin
Alexandra Lesnikowski, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Diana Reckien, University of Twente
Kripa Jagannathan, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Roger Cremades, Wageningen University and Research
Donovan Campbell, University of the West Indies
Elphin Tom Joe, World Resources Institute
Asha Sitati, United Nations office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
Idowu Ajibade, Portland State UniversityFollow
multiple additional authors

Published In

Regional Environmental Change

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2021

Subjects

Climatic changes -- Research, Greenhouse gases -- Research

Abstract

Constraints and limits to adaptation are critical to understanding the extent to which human and natural systems can successfully adapt to climate change. We conduct a systematic review of 1,682 academic studies on human adaptation responses to identify patterns in constraints and limits to adaptation for different regions, sectors, hazards, adaptation response types, and actors. Using definitions of constraints and limits provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we find that most literature identifies constraints to adaptation but that there is limited literature focused on limits to adaptation. Central and South America and Small Islands generally report greater constraints and both hard and soft limits to adaptation. Technological, infrastructural, and ecosystem-based adaptation suggest more evidence of constraints and hard limits than other types of responses. Individuals and households face economic and socio-cultural constraints which also inhibit behavioral adaptation responses and may lead to limits. Finance, governance, institutional, and policy constraints are most prevalent globally. These findings provide early signposts for boundaries of human adaptation and are of high relevance for guiding proactive adaptation financing and governance from local to global scales.

Rights

Copyright (c) 2021 The Authors

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Locate the Document

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-021-01808-9

DOI

10.1007/s10113-021-01808-9

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/36450

Citation Details

Thomas, A., Theokritoff, E., Lesnikowski, A., Reckien, D., Jagannathan, K., Cremades, R., Campbell, D., Joe, E. T., Sitati, A., Singh, C., Segnon, A. C., Pentz, B., Musah-Surugu, J. I., Mullin, C. A., Mach, K. J., Gichuki, L., Galappaththi, E., Chalastani, V. I., Ajibade, I., … Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative Team. (2021). Global evidence of constraints and limits to human adaptation. Regional Environmental Change, 21(3), 85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-021-01808-9