As an integral part of the Sustainability Science and
Technology Project, VARIP (Vulnerability and Resilience in
Practice) seeks to help maintain and even accelerate the
momentum of the
sustainability science initiative over the two years between mid-2004
and the
launch of the next phase of the program in mid-2006. The proposal
contains two closely related
elements: a set of focused Partnership Team efforts to link knowledge
with
action in emerging areas of sustainability science; and a larger
Science-Practitioner Dialogue to catalyze significant increases in the
quantity
and effectiveness of knowledge/action partnerships for sustainability
being
pursued around the world, and to develop the capacity to establish and
implement such partnerships.
The VARIP initiative is now well under way in late 2005. Roger
Kasperson of Clark University and Anand Patwardhan of the Indian
Institute of Technology are acting as co-chairs. An international work
group of task force members has been appointed, assisted by several
research assistants at Clark University. One face-to-face meeting was
held in
October at Bonn, Germany where project goals and core questions were
established, and prospective case studies discussed. A review of the
vulnerability, resilience, and adaptation literature is in progress and
a report will be prepared by June of 2006. Three case
studies--climate change policy in the U.S., European Union policy for
natural disaster reduction in Nicaragua, and social justice issues in
societal response to Katrina in New Orleans--are underway. A number of
additional case studies are now in planning. The literature review and
the case studies will result in a synthesis report on issues in
bridging
science and policy, to appear in 2005. In addition, an action plan will
also be prepared of next steps needed as well as new research. The
results will appear in published form but also at an international
dialogue scheduled for early 2007 in Chang Mai, Thailand.
the current members of the VARIP
project team include:
Lilibeth
Acosta-Michlik
|
Department of Geography, Catholic University of
Louvain
|
| Rebecca Brenner
|
George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark University
|
| Zachary
Christman
|
Graduate School of Geography, Clark University
|
| A.J. (Ton) Dietz |
University of Amsterdam |
| Tom Downing
|
School of Geography and Environment, University of
Oxford
|
| Roger Kasperson
|
George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark University
|
| Louis Lebel
|
Unit for Social and Environmental Research,
Faculty of Social Science, Chiang Mai University
|
| Amy Luers
|
Union of Concerned Scientists
|
| Elia Machado
|
Graduate School of Geography, Clark University
|
| Elena Nikitina
|
EcoPolicy Research, Institute of World Economy and
International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences
|
| Dennis Ojima |
Colorado State University |
| Anand Patwardhan
|
Technology Information, Forecasting &
Assessment Council, Indian Institute of Technology
|
| Roberto
Sanchez-Rodriguez
|
Institute for Mexico and the United States,
University of California, Riverside
|
| Barry Smit
|
Department of Geography, University of Guelph
|
| Huen-Min Tsai |
National Taiwan Normal University |
| Coleen Vogel
|
School of Geography, Archaeology, and
Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
|
| Juergen
Weichselgartner |
Feodor
Lynen Research Fellow
Kennedy School of Government, Center for International Development
Harvard University |
Currently, our research on each case study revolves around the
following inquiries:
- How adequate is the knowledge base to support efforts
for
vulnerability reduction and building resilience and adaptation? How is
that knowledge distributed among actors?
- How may the science-practice interface best be
structured and
characterized? Who are the principal actors? What are their roles and
interests? (Note: Every case study is encouraged to present a graphic
depicting the structure of the actors and their relationships with
boxes and arrows).
- To what extent do the actors make use of the
knowledge
available to them? How do the actors structure the vulnerability and
resilience discussion in the transfer of knowledge? How relevant and
pertinent is the knowledge to the needs of decision-makers and other
actors?
- What barriers and failures limit the transfer of
knowledge
and feedbacks in the science-practice interface? Do the barriers and
failures occur in the transfer of knowledge principally from science to
practice or from practice to science? How important are the
intermediaries between science and practice and who are they?
- How does the nature of institutions shape the
science-practice interface? To what extent is institutional
fragmentation a problem? How permeable are the boundaries of
institutions to new information?
- What major conflicts exist among actors and
institutions in
the interactions between science and practice? To what extent are the
conflicts primarily about values or facts? Does social justice enter
into the decision-making process?
- What is the role of consensus in the science-practice
interface? How is consensus built? How are conflicts resolved? Who are
the consensus builders and mediators and what are the major processes
they use?
- What factors contribute most to adaptive capacity?
How large
is the gap between the capacity to adapt and the adaptation that
actually occurs? What causes this gap and how can it be reduced? What
new elements of enlarged capacity would contribute most to greater
resilience in the face of environmental change over the short run, the
longer term?
- To what extent has social learning evolved among the
principal actors? To what extent has social learning ameliorated or
exacerbated vulnerability? What most limits or facilitates the ability
to learn from one’s own experience and the experience of
others?
- Where is the science-practice interface vulnerable to
failure? Where is the science-practice interface most vulnerable to
failure to future risks?
- How can the science-practice interface be best
improved?
Case studies currently in progress include (links go to PDF summaries):
As the project continues, this site will contain more information for
public consumption; in its current form, it serves as an interface to
the archives for current project members. For information
about this project, please contact Roger Kasperson,
Marsh Institute, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester,
Massachusetts, 01610. For information about the website, or
for information on accessing resources,
please contact Zachary
Christman.
The VARIP project is affiliated
with the following organizations and projects:
Current project members can
access the resource site here. |
