Abstract
How decision makers and the public perceive and respond to potential local impacts of large-scale change, including economic and health risks, depends on social, cultural and political context and on how scientific evidence is presented. This proposal focuses on identifying the factors that facilitate a shift in knowledge, attitudes, values and decision making about local climate risks and adaptation strategies among decision-makers and stakeholders in case study communities in Brazil, United Kingdom, and the United States. The hypothesis is that risk knowledge is best understood as being coproduced by science and by the social, political and cultural context. The research will concurrently analyze social context factors that affect adaptation planning and policy changes (adaptive capacity) and responses by local stakeholders when presented with interactive computer-based scenario simulations in participatory planning meetings. The project will use: 1) state-of-the-art visualization tools developed in the US and Brazil, 2) sophisticated survey and choice evaluation tools, and 3) a risk assessment Adaptive Capacity Index developed in the UK. The visualization tools integrate scientific and economic data at the smallest level for local jurisdictions, and illustrate potential impacts, economic risk, adaptation options, and cost-benefits analyses projected over time. The data include changes in sea level, temperature, storm frequency, precipitation and other variables in the past 100 years and high resolution projections in 5-10 year increments to 2080 under the IPCC's 5th AR scenarios. Expected results include a new framework to evaluate the impact of integrating scientific, economic, and cultural context data on adaption planning and decision-making. This will improve the ability of scientists to interact with stakeholders by developing an understanding of social context, and gamer knowledge of best practices from three leading countries which may be applicable more broadly. (AU)
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