Advancing Transformative Adaptation through Social Equity: Land, Water and Food Systems in the Global South

Abstract

An oft-repeated maxim is that those who are least responsible for climate change suffer the most from its consequences. The 1992 United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change states that “[t]he Parties should protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind, on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (Article 3). The 2015 ‘Paris Climate Agreement’ repeats this, adding “in light of different national circumstances” (Article 2). If futures are to be sustainable, just and fair, then environmental sustainability research needs to address social equity even if this raises challenges for climate change adaptation.

The Special Issue will invite scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to share new knowledge concerning issues of social equity in climate change research linked to transformation of food, land and water systems in the Global South. Contributions will be inter- or transdisciplinary, while reflecting critical insight from the social sciences. Key is how social equity is given meaning in contexts where transformative adaptation must be addressed. These contexts include those where the impacts of climate change are manifest in land, water and food systems, and where conflict stimulates questions of transformation within a peace – in/security nexus.

Authors will deploy concepts broadly connected to social equity: gender equality, intersectionality, social inclusion, justice, etc., to provide insights informed by empirical knowledge and development practice. Social equity includes gender but treats it as part of a contextual framing that recognizes differential exposure to vulnerability and to how people’s lived experience reflects multiple identities. This facilitates understanding of how inequalities are reproduced or resolved in the context of efforts to address the impacts of climate risk.