LUCSUS Seminar: Maladaptation and governing climate science in developing countries

Maladaptation to climate change is often portrayed as a failure of project planning and insufficient consultation with vulnerable communities. Drawing on insights from science and technology studies, this paper urges more attention to the role of underlying models of risk, which shape “who” and “what” should be targeted by adaptation interventions. Using research in South and Southeast Asia, the paper argues that “co-production” is not simply consultation with affected groups, but a deeper and less cognitive mutual production of social norms and environmental knowledge. These insights raise important questions for how to engage communities within climate change policy; and for how expert bodies can integrate scientific research with valued outcomes to make adaptation interventions more locally meaningful.

Tim Forsyth is Professor of Environment and Development at the Department of International Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His research focuses on understanding contested science and risk within environmental governance, analysing two themes: the politics and policy processes of contested environmental debates in rapidly developing countries; and the evolution of new multi-actor, multi-level forms of governance such as cross-sector partnerships or deliberative forums. He has written on climate change governance, forest policies in Asia, and social movements and local governance. He is Special Adviser to the UK Parliament International Development Committee on climate change and to the UK House of Commons International Development Committee on climate change and aid, and his work has been cited in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. Professor Forsyth is the general editor of the Routledge Encyclopedia of International Development, and is on the editorial boards of Global Environmental Politics, Critical Policy Studies, Conservation and Society, Progress in Development Studies and Social Movement Studies.

The seminar is a part of the theme: Connecting the Local and the Global.

Registration

To join the seminar online please sign up here. You will then receive a confirmation email with a Zoom-link to the seminar.

The LUCSUS seminars are open for the public, held online or in-person and take place Thursdays from 11am to 12 noon. We are looking forwards to seeing you!