Including the Adapter in the Co-Development of Adaptation Strategies.

We propose that adaptation strategies to climate change will be more popular and effective if potential adapters are involved in the co-development of these strategies.  Unlike the simple translation of scientific information into prescriptions for adaptation, the co-development process is based on feedback among adapters, educators and scientists.  Programmatically, this iterative process has the potential to identify high impact research needs, rather than seeking impacts after the research is completed.  Specifically, social science research can provide critical information throughout the process: first to identify perceptions, tolerances and motivations of adapters, then to understand best practices for performing co-development processes, and finally to understand willingness to adopt the strategies.  Co-development of adaptation strategies is especially applicable to agriculture and natural resources because potential adapters 1) have insights based on experience with extreme weather events, 2) may avoid adopting a long-term strategy because immediate risks overshadow the less certain risks of climate change, and 3) may avoid any consideration of climate change adaptation because they are skeptical of human-caused climate change. Co-development is an iterative process that includes information exchange, learning, and trust-building among potential adapters, educators, and scientists. For example, co-development of adaptation strategies can emerge from an exercise of identifying challenges and responses to a variety of climate change scenarios.  The success of these processes appears to be dependent on the “fit” of information with personal experience and relevance to management challenges, the participant’s flexibility and willingness to engage, and the resources available to support the process.  Therefore, co-development is more likely if the facilitating organization has knowledge of the adapters and the relevant climate science, and they have and can maintain the trust of all participants.