The use of and obstacles to social learning in climate change adaptation initiatives in South Africa
Global environmental change will have major impacts on ecosystems and human livelihoods while challenging the adaptive capacity of individuals and communities. Social learning, an ongoing adaptive process of knowledge generation, reflection and synthesis, may enhance people’s awareness about climate...
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doaj-592f68daac1e40b78999919e1ef6afc92020-11-25T00:55:24ZengAOSISJàmbá : Journal of Disaster Risk Studies1996-14212072-845X2017-03-0191e1e810.4102/jamba.v9i1.292165The use of and obstacles to social learning in climate change adaptation initiatives in South AfricaShakespear Mudombi0Christo Fabricius1Verena van Zyl-Bulitta2Anthony Patt3Faculty of Management Sciences, Tshwane University of TechnologySustainability Research Unit, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, George CampusFaculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of LeipzigDepartment of Environmental Systems Science, Swiss Federal Institute of TechnologyGlobal environmental change will have major impacts on ecosystems and human livelihoods while challenging the adaptive capacity of individuals and communities. Social learning, an ongoing adaptive process of knowledge generation, reflection and synthesis, may enhance people’s awareness about climate change and its impacts, with positive outcomes for their adaptive capacity. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of factors promoting social learning in climate change adaptation initiatives in South Africa. An online survey was used to obtain the views of decision makers in government and non-governmental organisations about the presence of personal factors and organisational factors that promote social learning. Descriptive analysis was used to assess these issues. The findings provide some evidence of social learning in climate change adaptation projects in South Africa, with the majority of respondents indicating that personal social learning indicators were present. Mechanisms for improved conflict resolution were, however, less prevalent. The organisational and governance-related barriers to implementation also presented significant challenges. Some of the main organisational barriers were short timeframes for implementing projects, inadequate financial resources, political interference, shortcomings in governance systems and lack of knowledge and expertise in organisations. There is a need for organisations to promote social learning by ensuring that their organisational environment and governance structures are conducive for their employees to embrace social learning. This will help contribute to the overall success of climate change adaptation initiatives.https://jamba.org.za/index.php/jamba/article/view/292adaptationclimate changesocial learningSouth Africa |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Shakespear Mudombi Christo Fabricius Verena van Zyl-Bulitta Anthony Patt |
spellingShingle |
Shakespear Mudombi Christo Fabricius Verena van Zyl-Bulitta Anthony Patt The use of and obstacles to social learning in climate change adaptation initiatives in South Africa Jàmbá : Journal of Disaster Risk Studies adaptation climate change social learning South Africa |
author_facet |
Shakespear Mudombi Christo Fabricius Verena van Zyl-Bulitta Anthony Patt |
author_sort |
Shakespear Mudombi |
title |
The use of and obstacles to social learning in climate change adaptation initiatives in South Africa |
title_short |
The use of and obstacles to social learning in climate change adaptation initiatives in South Africa |
title_full |
The use of and obstacles to social learning in climate change adaptation initiatives in South Africa |
title_fullStr |
The use of and obstacles to social learning in climate change adaptation initiatives in South Africa |
title_full_unstemmed |
The use of and obstacles to social learning in climate change adaptation initiatives in South Africa |
title_sort |
use of and obstacles to social learning in climate change adaptation initiatives in south africa |
publisher |
AOSIS |
series |
Jàmbá : Journal of Disaster Risk Studies |
issn |
1996-1421 2072-845X |
publishDate |
2017-03-01 |
description |
Global environmental change will have major impacts on ecosystems and human livelihoods while challenging the adaptive capacity of individuals and communities. Social learning, an ongoing adaptive process of knowledge generation, reflection and synthesis, may enhance people’s awareness about climate change and its impacts, with positive outcomes for their adaptive capacity. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of factors promoting social learning in climate change adaptation initiatives in South Africa. An online survey was used to obtain the views of decision makers in government and non-governmental organisations about the presence of personal factors and organisational factors that promote social learning. Descriptive analysis was used to assess these issues. The findings provide some evidence of social learning in climate change adaptation projects in South Africa, with the majority of respondents indicating that personal social learning indicators were present. Mechanisms for improved conflict resolution were, however, less prevalent. The organisational and governance-related barriers to implementation also presented significant challenges. Some of the main organisational barriers were short timeframes for implementing projects, inadequate financial resources, political interference, shortcomings in governance systems and lack of knowledge and expertise in organisations. There is a need for organisations to promote social learning by ensuring that their organisational environment and governance structures are conducive for their employees to embrace social learning. This will help contribute to the overall success of climate change adaptation initiatives. |
topic |
adaptation climate change social learning South Africa |
url |
https://jamba.org.za/index.php/jamba/article/view/292 |
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