» Webcast Now Available for Noontime Seminar on Climate Adaptation in Northern Tanzania

Knowledge Production, Access, and Use for Climate Adaptation at Local Scales in Northern Tanzania

Meaghan Daly, CSTPR and Environmental Studies Program, CU Boulder
Eric Lovell, Geography Department, CU Boulder
Mara J. Goldman, Geography Department and Institute for Behavioral Sciences, CU Boulder
Lisa Dilling, CSTPR and Environmental Studies Program, CU Boulder

Due to a loss in connection, this webcast was recorded in two parts
Webcast Part one
Webcast Part two

Abstract: Adaptation to climate change is a rapidly expanding area of research. Much emphasis has been placed on producing scientific data and tools to support adaptation planning, with less consideration of how such knowledge can actually be linked with local adaptation decision-making. Additionally, the exclusive use of scientific knowledge has often excluded other forms of knowledge (e.g., local, indigenous), which have much to offer toward adaptation decision-making. In response, there have been increased calls to more effectively incorporate multiple forms of knowledge within adaptation planning. However, there are distinct challenges to bringing together different kinds of knowledge, including varying conceptions of what constitutes ‘valid’ knowledge across epistemologies and scales, as well as uneven power relations among stakeholders. Co-production of knowledge has been offered as a means of addressing these challenges, but questions remain about how best to facilitate processes of co-production. This talk will present a theoretical perspective and methodology, drawing on modified Actor Network Theory and Knowledge System Criteria (Cash et al. 2003), to examine production, access, and use of knowledge for climate adaptation across institutional scales (village, national, and international) and epistemologies in Tanzania. Researchers will share preliminary findings from the first phase of data collection, emphasizing the multiple dimensions of knowledge production, access, and use at local scales in northern Tanzania that must be considered within knowledge co-production efforts.