Adaptation to the effects of climate change is becoming increasingly important. A tool that can help deal with such a long-term uncertainty is the adaptive pathways method, in which pivotal decisions are aligned with multiple pathways under different futures. In a recent study, published in Global Environmental Change, we analysed the use of adaptive pathways worldwide over the period of 10 years. We found that adaptive pathways planning helps to accelerate adaptation, generate new ideas, and identify path-dependency, barriers and opportunities.
Applied in various domains
The analysis was carried out by a team of researchers from Deltares, Utrecht University, Delft University of Technology, and the Climate Change Research Institute from Victoria University of Wellington.
The adaptive pathways planning method is now over a decade old and has since then been applied in various domains and decision contexts, both in theory and practice. Given the urgency for adaptation consequent upon observed climate changes, their impacts globally and the range of climate projections, it is timely to assess what can be learned from these studies.
238 pathways studies
In the paper, examples from 355 studies were mapped and 238 pathways studies and applications worldwide assessed in detail, in addition to over 20 guidance documents. The authors found applications in coastal management, agriculture and forestry, urban drainage, spatial planning and heat risks, water resources management, and ecosystem management.
