Abstract
Climate change impacts especially the Global South. Humanitarian/development organizations are therefore incorporating a climate change dimension into their work. New concepts are introduced and old concepts used in new ways, potentially changing organizational discourse and thus development issues and goals. To elucidate the possible direction of the new discourse, this chapter examines, on the basis of interviews with developers, concepts employed when discussing climate change, focusing on ‘resilience.’ Resilience has the potential of including a dimension of local agency, thus involving local communities that have been largely ignored in climate change mitigation initiatives. Many definitions of resilience in relation to climate change exist since it is a complex subject matter approached from different sectors and a politicized issue that has become a central concern only recently. Official definitions are still being negotiated and several organizations have not yet determined an operational definition of resilience. A discussion of definitions and their implications for local agency is therefore timely.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Question of Resilience : Social Responses to Climate Change |
| Editors | Kirsten Hastrup |
| Place of Publication | Copenhagen |
| Publisher | Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab |
| Publication date | 2009 |
| Pages | 314-335 |
| Chapter | 15 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-87-7304-350-9 |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 |
| Externally published | Yes |