The Role of Institutions in Livelihood Adaptation Arun Agrawal and Nicolas Perrin

Research Questions What are the major classes of adaptation practices used by the rural poor? How do rural institutions assist households in adopting and pursuing these practices? What kinds of support can external interventions provide to assist rural institutions, communities, and households?

Stocktaking of the existing conceptual literature on adaptation History of thinking about adaptation –Evolutionary biology, cultural ecology, systems analysis (engineering and ecology) Definitions of adaptation –‘‘adjustments in a system’s behavior and characteristics that enhance its ability to cope with external stress’’ –‘‘adjustments in individual groups and institutional behavior in order to reduce society’s vulnerability Proactive or reactive, autonomous or planned

Adaptation in relation to climate Stern Review, 2006

Adaptation in relation to climate Major themes in existing writing Relatively high level generalizations OR Highly specific empirical work and case examples

High level generalizations Relationship between vulnerability = f(exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity) and adaptation –Adaptive capacity and adaptation practices Adaptation and mitigation relationship –Reinforcing, neutral, negative

Specific empirical work and case examples examples of adaptation: local cases Costing of adaptation strategies at the national to regional level Creation of regional or national level adaptation plans (NAPAs, AIACC)

Gaps in existing work on climate adaptation Absence of middle range theories comparative work at the local level even with the recognition that all adaptation is local Theoretically informed and policy relevant Institutions and their role in adaptation, especially at the local level Historical continuities in relation to risk and adaptation practices

Led to a focus on Institutions and their role in development Theoretical basis for empirically informed (broadly comparative) and policy-relevant research Drawing upon historical work on adaptation at local level by rural households and communities

Types of risks that climate change and variability pose Greater volatility and risks Lower incomes and returns Stress on institutions and social relations Historical dimension to these impacts Historical repertoire of responses and coping strategies

Classes of coping strategies Five major classes –Mobility –Storage –Diversification –Communal pooling –Exchange –Three kinds of roles –Other responses: Intensification, involution, specialization,

Role of local institutions Three roles: --Structure risks, variability, output; --Constitute the incentive structure for household adaptation practices and joint action at community levels; --Mediate external interventions unfold.

Types of external support Information Technological improvement Financial mechanisms (can be coupled with risk sharing) Leadership/lowering of barriers to joint action Institutional regulation/promotion

Links between institutions and coping strategies

Local Coping Strategies: Distribution (UNFCCC data) Class of Adaptation PracticeFrequency of use Mobility3 Storage10 Diversification47 Communal pooling24 Exchange3 Storage and Diversification2 Storage and Exchange12 Diversification and Communal pooling7 Diversification and Exchange40 Unidentified5

Local coping strategies (Benefit orientation) Individually oriented Benefits from Adaptation Practices Collectively oriented benefits from adaptation practices Total Local Institution Functioning in conjunction with an external intervention Local institutions without external interventions Total

Two new projects designed for next year based on current work Investigation of relative costs of local adaptation strategies in specific social and ecological contexts in five countries Investigation of how interventions to promote adaptive capacity can be coupled with post disaster interventions in regions with high exposure and for populations with high sensitivity (