The role of culture in climate adaptation: ‘the nkanyamba caused that storm’

Abstract

Interpretations and responses to climate change are rooted in social processes and cultural interests. While culture is increasingly recognised as a key characteristic influencing climate change adaptation there is still a paucity of studies that explore empirically and theorise the relationship between culture and climate change understandings and responses and why this matters for climate adaptation and development imperatives. Recognising these gaps, this paper presents key findings from in-depth qualitative research on climate change adaptation in the greater eThekwini municipal regions in South Africa which revealed strong evidence of cultural and faith-based/spiritual shaping understandings and responses to climate change.

Keywords:

• Culture
• religion
• climate change
• beliefs
• South Africa

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank three anonymous reviewers and the guest editors of this collection for their very helpful reviews and suggestions, as well as invaluable contributions from David Simon (Royal Holloway, University of London).

Notes

1. Ensor and Berger, “Community Based Adaptation.”

2. Hulme, “Climate and Its Changes.”

3. Ensor and Berger, “Community Based Adaptation”; Schipper, “Religion as an Integral”; Heyd, “Climate Change, Individual Responsibilities”; WDR, World Disasters Report; Leonard et al., “The Role of Culture”; Krüger et al., Cultures and Disasters; Hulme, “Climate and Its Changes”; Harris, Mountain-Bodies, Experiential Wisdom.”

4. Schipper, “Religion as an Integral”; Haluza-Delay, “Religion and Climate Change.”

5. Carmin, Anguelovski and Roberts, “Urban Climate Adaptation”; Roberts et al., “Exploring Ecosystem-Based Adaptation”, Roberts and O’Donoghue, “Urban Environmental Challenges”; Pasquini, Cowling and Ziervogel, “Facing the Heat.”

6. Swidler, “Culture in Action.”

7. Heyd, “Climate Change, Individual Responsibilities.”

8. WDR, World Disasters Report; Hulme, “Climate and Its Changes.”

9. Tiwari, Transforming Cultural Heritage, 67.

10. Mitchell, “The Hazards of One’s Faith”; Hulme, “Climate and Its Changes.”

11. Radcliffe, Culture in Development.

12. Ibid.

13. IPCC, Managing the Risks.

14. Adger, Lorenzi, O’Brien, Adaptation Now.

15. Haluza-Delay, “Religion and Climate Change.”

16. Hulme, “Climate and Its Changes,” 2.

17. Norgaard, Living in Denial.

18. Ibid., 7.

19. See note 6 above.

20. Ibid.

21. Ibid.

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid., 277.

25. See note 7 above.

26. Ibid., 89.

27. Ibid.

28. See note 6 above.

29. Heyd, “Climate Change, Individual Responsibilities.”

30. Neumann, Making Political Ecology, 74.

31. Reid and Vogel, “Living and Responding to Multiple Stressors.”

32. Roberts and O’Donoghue, “Urban Environmental Challenges.”

33. Yin, Case Study Research.

34. Ibid.

35. Ibid.

36. Ibid.

37. Ibid.

38. Ibid.

39. IPCC, Glossary, 1451.

40. Brooks, Vulnerability, Risk and Adaptation; Burton, “Deconstructing Adaptation,” 17.

41. See note 39 above.

42. Carmin, Anguelovski and Roberts, “Urban Climate Adaptation”; Roberts et al., “Exploring Ecosystem-Based Adaptation”, Roberts and O’Donoghue, “Urban Environmental Challenges.”

43. Roberts et al., “Exploring Ecosystem-Based Adaptation”, Roberts and O’Donoghue, “Urban Environmental Challenges”; Leck and Roberts, “What Lies Beneath.”

44. See note 33 above.

45. Ibid.

46. Roncoli, Crane, Orlove, “Fielding Climate Change,” 97.

47. Schipper, “Religion as an Integral”; Haluza-Delay, “Religion and Climate Change.”

48. Ibid.

49. See note 46 above.

50. Donner, “Domain of the Gods”; Hulme, Why We Disagree; Schipper, “Religion as an Integral”; WDR, World Disasters Report.

51. Donner, “Domain of the Gods,” 232.

52. Hulme, Why We Disagree, 341.

53. Wood, “The Snake in the Sky,” 82.

54. Heyd, “Climate Change, Individual Responsibilities,” 89.

55. Ibid.

56. See note 7 above.

57. Lawrence et al., “The Sea Goddess.”

58. Heyd, “Climate Change, Individual Responsibilities,” 89.

59. Ibid.

60. Oelofse, “Dimensions of Urban Environmental Risk.”

61. Bankoff, “The Historical Geography of Disaster.”

62. Eberhart, “Mysterious Creatures.”

63. See note 6 above.

64. Heyd, “Climate Change, Individual Responsibilities.”

65. Mitchell, “The Hazards of One’s Faith”; Bankoff, “In the Eye of the Storm”; Taylor, “A Green Future for Religion?”; Schipper, “Religion as an Integral”; Chester, Duncan, and Sangster, “Religious Interpretations of Disaster.”

66. See note 61 above.

67. Statistics South Africa, 2015.

68. See note 65 above.

69. Schipper, “Religion as an Integral”; Haluza-Delay, “Religion and Climate Change.”

70. Moser and Dilling, “Toward the Social Tipping Point.”

71. Schipper, “Religion as an Integral”; Haluza-Delay, “Religion and Climate Change.”

72. See note 6 above.

73. Heyd, “Climate Change, Individual Responsibilities.”

74. Ibid.

75. Schipper, Religion as Integral.

76. Swidler, “Culture in Action”; Moser and Dilling, “Toward the Social Tipping Point.”

77. de Silva, “The Tsunami and Its Aftermath”; Hutton and Haque, “Patterns of Coping and Adaptation.”

78. Swidler, “Culture in Action”; Heyd, “Climate Change, Individual Responsibilities.”

79. Magistro and Roncoli, “Anthropological Perspectives.”

80. See note 76 above.

81. Ibid.

82. Swidler, “Culture in Action,” 277.

83. Robbins, Political Ecology.

84. See note 7 above.

85. Schipper, “Understanding the Role of Culture,” 2.

86. Ensor and Berger, “Community Based Adaptation,” 230.

87. Swidler, “Culture in Action”; Heyd, “Climate Change, Individual Responsibilities.”

88. Leach et al., Understanding Governance, 5.

89. National Climate Change Response, 30.

90. Statistics South Africa, 2015.

91. See note 7 above.

92. Ibid.

93. Haluza-Delay, “Religion and Climate Change.”

94. WDR, World Disasters Report.

95. See note 6 above.

96. Ibid.

97. Ibid.

98. See note 6 above.

99. See note 7 above.

100. Schipper, “Religion as an Integral”; Haluza-Delay, “Religion and Climate Change.”

101. Wisner, “Untapped Potential; Schipper, “Religion as an Integral”; Krüger et al., Cultures and Disasters.

102. Leonard et al., “The Role of Culture.”