Guidelines for individual project: A climate adaptation assessment

The Aim of the Individual Project

The aim of the individual project is to offer a comprehensive, individual task that provides for:

a) A continuous, in depth learning process that is directly related to the learning objectives of the course (see the syllabus).
b) A task that demands active integration of various themes covered by the course.
c) A platform for detailed, in-depth discussions on key aspects of adaptation to environmental change among students and lecturers.
e) An opportunity to apply questions, themes, concepts, theoretical approaches, tools etc. covered by the course to a specific case of climate risk, vulnerability and/or adaptation
d) An exercise in writing an advanced academic text.

What do we mean by a Climate Adaptation Assessment?

In the particular context of this course, a climate adaptation assessment refers to an analysis of the present climate risks, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity in relation to a specific context, a specific case, based on which strategies to make successful climate adaptation possible can be critically assessed, discussed and proposed. We suggest that the task to perform a climate adaptation assessment should be seen as an open task where the end result will depend upon availability of information, the specific context of the chosen case-study, and the interest and priority of the individual student. Within the general requirements for the task (see below), the student is expected to make his or her own choices in terms of the content of the final report.

The Choice of Case-Study

The starting point of the individual project is to choose and define the case-study.The student should choose a case-study of his or her interest. The case-study could be a city, a part of a city, a region, a rural area, a country, a cross-boundary area or context, etc. However, since the quality of the assessment is dependent on access to relevant information, the student has to make sure that such information exists before settling on a specific case. The student also needs to be able to clearly define the boundaries of the case: what is included and what is not? Furthermore, the student is required to present his or her choice of case-study at the first individual seminar, and receive the confirmation from one of the course coordinators, before finalizing the choice.

General Requirements

Even though the detailed structure of the final report is optional, the final report should contain the following main sections:

Introduction

Problem statement: why and in what regard is your case-study interesting and important in relation to climate risks, vulnerability and adaption?
Aim of the case-study (what is your main focus?)
Questions to be answered by the report
Delimitations (what will you NOT cover by the report and why?)

Background/Presentation of the case

Here you introduce the reader in more detail to your case, guided by your aim and research questions, including for example:

The socio-economic, socio-political context of the case-study
Key relationships/links between socio-economic development and on-going environmental changes in the case-study area
development plans/challenges

An account of the present state of knowledge regarding climate change with relevance for the case-study
An account of present policies, strategies, and plans relevant for climate change mitigation and adaptation in the case-study area, including how the policies, strategies, and plans relate to different levels (international, regional, national, local i.e. governance landscape).

Concepts and Theories

Here you should account for and discuss concepts and theories dealt with during the course that you find relevant for your case study and assessment. Relevant concepts and theories accounted for and discussed during the course should guide your analysis as well as critical discussion of a future adaptation strategy in relation to your specific case. Below you find a few examples of possible directions of such an analysis. Your individual project should be focused around a limited set of questions and selected concepts, based on an informed choice related to you own interest and relevance in relation to the specific case you have selected.

Analysis

A risk analysis: An account and discussion of the climate risks faced in the case-study area. For example, what constitute a climate risk in your specific case? Why and according to who? What is included as a climate risk and what is not? How is climate risks defined and/or assessed?
A vulnerability analysis: for example, which areas are vulnerable? Who is vulnerable? Vulnerable according to which criteria/definition? What are the driving forces/causes of this vulnerability?
An analysis of the present adaptive capacity: for example, what is the economic, technical, institutional and human capacity? Does the capacity to adapt to climate change risks differ between different geographical areas or different social groups? Is the question of adaptive capacity subject to conflicting interests? Capacity on the local level and across scales? What are the existing mechanisms/plans/strategies across scales to build adaptive capacity?

The analysis does not have to consist of and be divided into three separate sections as above. Nor does it have to cover all of them. It can be structured and presented in many different ways and with different emphasis (guided by your research aim, questions and theory/concepts). However, it is a requirement that the analysis in one way or the other addresses the three key concepts of risk, vulnerability and adaptive capacity. So for example, if you decide to focus on risk analysis, then your background presentation could briefly outline the vulnerability and adaptive capacity aspects.

Critical discussion/proposal of an adaptation strategy for the future

A discussion/proposal of a long-term adaptation strategy in order to effectively respond to and govern the identified climate risks (which could include both mitigation and adaptation, but where adaptation should be in focus) vulnerabilities and need for improved adaptive capacity. Below you find some suggested topics that could be discussed in relation to the proposed strategy:

The aim of the adaptation strategy (Resilience? Transition? Transformation? Sustainable Development? Security? Food Security? Human security? Continued economic growth? Poverty alleviation?)
The scales addressed by the strategy (in both time and space)
The relationship between climate change adaptation and responses to other challenges (governance, economic development, sustainable development, conflicts, environmental protection etc.)
The institutional/governance framework for successful risk management and climate change adaptation
Economic/Financial mechanisms for climate adaptation
Risk management and climate change adaptation as a political process/challenge (who decides? Who should be involved in decision making and in implementation of the strategy? Who are the winners and losers in relation to climate change impacts and in relation to alternative responses to climate change risk and impacts? Who should pay the costs? How is the burden of the costs shared?)
The capacity of the proposed adaptation strategy to respond to different future scenarios (how is the proposed strategy addressing the uncertainty of climate change risks and impacts?)

Conclusions

What is the main learning outcome of your case-study?

Format

The final report should be no more than 15 pages (12 times new roman, 1,5 line spacing) excluding references and attachments and uploaded on canvas.

The process of working on your individual project

The steps are explained in more detail in the Modules and assignments. Here is an overview of the process:

You will select your case study and present that already early in the course (Week 15) by submitting a one page presentation of the case you propose to work on during the course. This is your first draft. Later in the week, there will be a seminar when you will get feed-back from the teachers on your case proposal.

You will continue work on your project parallel to following thematic lectures and seminars during the course. On April 28 you will be expected to present a second draft of your project covering the sections: Introduction and Background/Presentation of case that are outlined above. If you have made a decisions on which concepts and theories to use you can include it as well. You will upload this and be prepared to discuss your text in a seminar.

By the 24th of May you should have a third draft of your individual project report which you will upload on canvas. All the students' draft reports will be discussed in smaller groups on the 26th of May. Prior to the seminar you are expected to read and prepare constructive comments on your group's drafts to be discussed in the seminar. You will also receive comments from the teachers.

You will continue work on your individual report and prepare a short presentation (max 15 min) of your individual project (with ppts) and prepare to present it in a small group seminar on June 2 or 3. This will help you structure your work and give you a final opportunity for feedback. With the help of this final input you will finalise your project and submit the final version on June 7.

You will only be graded on your final version.

Grading criteria

The grading of the final report will be based on the following learning objectives:

The ability to critically reflect on different theoretical approaches related to the concept of adaptation to global environmental change
The ability to account for how and why conflicts and/or synergies arise between adaptation, economic development, migration, security, poverty, gender,human rights agendas etc.
The ability to account for and apply key concepts of relevance to climate change adaptation such as risk, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity
The ability to apply relevant theoretical approaches and concepts in the critical analysis and elaboration of local adaptation policies and practices
The ability to conceptualize and demonstrate the interplay between global, national, and local processes in relation to adaptation to global environmental change
The ability to assess adaptation plans in terms of their impact on and relevance for vulnerable groups
Proficiency in presenting results from the individual project in a final project report.

In order to pass the examination the student should clearly meet all the learning objectives. In order to pass the examination with distinction, the student should clearly meet all learning objectives, of which at least 50 % have to be met with excellence.

Good Luck!

Per and Annica