Integrating Social Learning, Adaptive Capacity and Climate Adaptation for Regional Scale Analysis: A Conceptual Framework.

The impact of climate-related changes on northern Canada's renewable resource sectors makes bolstering adaptive capacity an urgent imperative throughout the region. Although social learning is a key ingredient of adaptive capacity, our understanding of the relationships among social learning, adaptive capacity, and climate change adaptation is limited. Building on previous conceptual and empirical studies, this paper develops a framework that clarifies the interactions among social learning, adaptive capacity and climate change adaptation pertinent to a regional scale of analysis. The framework is multi-layered and consists of different levels of governing variables, units of analysis, learning outcomes and climate change adaptations. It is also integrative in that it encompasses social learning motivations, context and process factors, and outcomes, along with key determinants of adaptive capacity. A post hoc assessment of two climate change disturbances in northern boreal resource systems reveals the applicability of the framework to a regional scale analysis.

Learning for sustainability among faith-based organizations in Kenya.

The complex and unpredictable contexts in which environmental and development work take place require an adaptable, learning approach. Faith-based organizations (FBOs) play a significant role in sustainability work around the world, and provide a unique setting in which to study learning. This paper explores individual learning for sustainability within two FBOs engaged in sustainability work in Kenya. Learning outcomes covered a broad range of areas, including the sustainability framework, environment/conservation, skills, community work, interpersonal engagement, and personal and faith development. These outcomes were acquired through embodied experience and activity, facilitation by the workplace, interpersonal interaction, personal reflection, and Bible study and worship. Grounded categories were compared to learning domains and processes described by Mezirow's transformative learning theory. The findings indicate that for learning in the sustainability field, instrumental learning and embodied learning processes are particularly important, and consequently they require greater attention in the theory when applied in this field.

Public involvement in environmental assessment: the case of the nonparticipant.

Public involvement is recognized by legislators, practitioners, academics, nongovernment organizations and, most importantly, affected communities, as a fundamental component of environmental assessment (EA) processes. Experience with public involvement in EA has proven, however, that despite good intentions, there are formidable barriers to participation. This paper examines this issue, largely through a case study of a new Can$120 million hog processing facility in Brandon, Canada. Primary data were collected in three phases, using multiple methodological techniques, including document review, qualitative interviews, and a mail questionnaire. Results included a diverse list of barriers to involvement, grouped into two primary categories: structural and individual. A significant structural barrier was a belief that becoming involved would not make a difference as the ultimate decision in the case was a foregone conclusion. An important individual barrier was that people did not know about the EA. Finally, the results indicated that lack of interest was not an important reason for nonparticipation.