KENYA'S ADAPTATION TO THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT: CAN ADAPTIVE CAPACITY BE MEASURED AND STRENGTHENED?
Date
2017-01-31
Authors
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Volume Title
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ORCID
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Kenya is currently experiencing the effects of climate change on its environment and urgently needs credible adaptation strategies for its forests, which provide key ecosystem services. Climate adaptation is a dynamic social and institutional process where the governance dimension is receiving growing attention. As uncertainty is an inherent feature of climate adaptation, I argue that climate adaptation governance would benefit from systematic and yet flexible decision-making tools and methods such as collaborative management for the implementation and evaluation of adaptation options, and that these methods can be linked to key adaptive governance principles. Noting that the criteria and indicators of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) make few references to policy and governance, the thesis argues that, in the context of SFM and development, policy capacity will be needed to achieve SFM goals threatened by climate change and should be reflected in the criteria and indicators. The thesis reviews the debate about the relative importance of central and decentralized policy capacity in developing countries and, using indices measuring vulnerability to climate impacts and policy capacity in Kenya and other countries, argues that policy capacity plays a significant role in a country’s ability to adapt to the effects of climate change.
Description
Keywords
Sustainable Forest Management, Policy Capacity, Adaptive Capacity, Climate Change, Policy Capacity and Adaptability
Citation
Degree
Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.)
Department
Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy
Program
Public Policy