TY - JOUR
T1 - Participatory processes and climate forecast use
T2 - Socio-cultural context, discussion, and consensus
AU - Peterson, Nicole D.
AU - Broad, Kenneth
AU - Orlove, Ben
AU - Roncoli, Carla
AU - Taddei, Renzo
AU - Velez, Maria Alejandra
N1 - Funding Information:
Preparation of this article was facilitated by US National Science Foundation Grants SES-0345840 and SES-0435622, and US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Grant NA06GP0308, the Tinker Foundation, the Wenner– Gren Foundation, the Comitas Institute for Anthropological Study (CIFAS), the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), the University of Miami’s Abbess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy and the São Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP). We acknowledge the valuable comments provided by Roberta Balstad, David Krantz and Elke Weber (co-directors of the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions, CRED). We thank Merit Kabugo and Dorah Nanteza both of Makerere University for their participation in the research in Uganda, and Gina Maranto and Ed Sarachik. In Ceará, the staff of the Limoeiro do Norte office of the Ceará State Water Agency (COGERH), Francisco de Assis de Souza Filho and Eduardo Savio Martins from the Ceará’s Foundation for Meteorology and Water Resources (FUNCEME), João Lúcio Farias de Oliveira from the National Department for Works Against the Droughts (DNOCS), and the members of the water committees of the Jaguaribe Valley. Finally, we thank Jon Bialecki, the members of the CRED lab and two anonymous reviewers for constructive feedback on earlier versions of this article.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Participatory processes are increasingly promoted by various groups as among the best approaches to increase efficiency, democracy and equity in decisions involving climate forecasts. Yet little is understood about the interaction between participation and its surrounding socio-cultural environment in the context of the dissemination and use of climate forecasts. This article draws on two case studies: water allocation choices in Brazil and agricultural decision making in Uganda. The focus is on two under-studied aspects of participatory processes: (1) the social norms of interactions that affect activity and outcomes through exclusion, pre-meetings, alliances, language and non-linguistic events; and (2) the diversity of goals and outcomes that motivate participation, including desire for consensus, social networking and community building. These norms and goals often result in behaviours and outcomes unanticipated by the promoters. We argue that the influence of socio-cultural context on the process is not only an unavoidable characteristic of participation, but also what makes it possible in the first place, bringing meaning and purpose to the activity for many participants.
AB - Participatory processes are increasingly promoted by various groups as among the best approaches to increase efficiency, democracy and equity in decisions involving climate forecasts. Yet little is understood about the interaction between participation and its surrounding socio-cultural environment in the context of the dissemination and use of climate forecasts. This article draws on two case studies: water allocation choices in Brazil and agricultural decision making in Uganda. The focus is on two under-studied aspects of participatory processes: (1) the social norms of interactions that affect activity and outcomes through exclusion, pre-meetings, alliances, language and non-linguistic events; and (2) the diversity of goals and outcomes that motivate participation, including desire for consensus, social networking and community building. These norms and goals often result in behaviours and outcomes unanticipated by the promoters. We argue that the influence of socio-cultural context on the process is not only an unavoidable characteristic of participation, but also what makes it possible in the first place, bringing meaning and purpose to the activity for many participants.
KW - Climate
KW - Culture
KW - Economic development
KW - Language
KW - Participation
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U2 - 10.3763/cdev.2010.0033
DO - 10.3763/cdev.2010.0033
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77951517578
VL - 2
SP - 14
EP - 29
JO - Climate and Development
JF - Climate and Development
SN - 1756-5529
IS - 1
ER -