Going Beyond Incrementalism: Climate Projects’ Beneficiaries’ Perspective on What Could Be Described as Transformational Adaptation

Abstract

The concept of transformational adaptation is increasingly becoming a buzzword in the field of political ecology or the emerging sub-field of climate change governance. However, what kind of adaptation to climate impact can best be described as transformational? This question is not fully answered, since the concept is still at an embryonic stage of life. In this article, the concept is diagnosed bottom-up—exclusively from the perspective of adaptation project beneficiaries. The question is asked: what kind of adaptation project intervention and outcome do you consider transformational? How is transformational adaptation different from incremental adaptation? Through an interpretive research paradigm, some selected adaptation projects from Ghana were used as a case study. According to the interviewees, climate change adaptation interventions that create a systematic shift in livelihood to a more sustainable option, create equitable power structures that influence adaptive decision-making, minimise vulnerability and create opportunity for scaling up could be described as transformational. Specifically, it was found that project beneficiaries consider transformational adaptation strategies that encourage and support a total shift in livelihood (e.g., from rice farming to snail rearing) as transformational. On the basis of the data, the study concludes, though with some cautious optimism, that transformational adaptation could spur innovations and diffusion of ideas and create a path for poverty reduction.