The Relevance of Landscape Perception for Climate Change Adaptation - - PDF document

The Relevance of Landscape Perception for Climate Change Adaptation in Coastal Regions

(Vera Köpsel, PhD candidate – University of Hamburg, Germany)

In times of a changing climate, many coastal landscapes are being changed by physical impacts such as inland or sea flooding, coastal erosion, storms or heavy rainfall (AGYEMAN ET AL. 2009, ADGER ET AL. 2013). To the local population of affected areas, such changing landscapes are lived spaces and places

• f everyday life, valued for cultural heritage and personal attachments (BRACE & GEOGHEGAN 2010,

ADGER ET AL. 2011, DEVINE-WRIGHT 2014). In recent years, the focus of climate change adaptation research within and beyond the field of human geography has taken on a more individual and values- based view by investigating the role of personal understandings, beliefs and attachments regarding climate change (ADGER ET AL. 2009, BARNETT 2010). One facet of such personal views are people’s relationships with the places where they live (DEVINE-WRIGHT 2014). To focus more on the ground, literally, on which climate change happens, new research has recently emerged which investigates how people make sense of the global phenomenon of climate change through changes in the familiar landscapes they live and work in (BRACE & GEOGHEGAN 2010, GEOGHEGAN & LEYSHON 2012). Building on this work and taking it a step forward, the PhD project underlying this paper explores which impacts different perceptions of a certain landscape have on how the people living and working in it choose to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. Landscapes as societal constructs In this paper, landscapes are understood from a constructivist perspective as societal constructs individually and collectively constructed mentally on the basis of a physical space. Rooted in a Sociology of Knowledge perspective by BERGER & LUCKMANN (1966), constructivist landscape research conceptualizes landscapes as the result of the interactions between collective construction processes; individual perceptions of landscapes, and societal actions (re-)shaping the physical-material spaces which are the basis of landscape constructions (INGOLD 2010, GAILING 2012, KÜHNE 2013). Based on this theoretical underpinning, the research questions of the PhD project underlying this paper are: How do different actors in environmental management construct ‘their’ local landscape? How do they perceive climate change in relation to this landscape and what new challenges arise for landscape management? And how do such different landscape perceptions manifest in physical-material climate change adaptation measures? These questions were approached qualitatively through 31 semi- structured and walking interviews with actors in landscape management in the case study area of Godrevy in Cornwall (UK). Additionally, official documents such as adaptation strategies and management plans by the involved organizations were analyzed. The Case Study: Godrevy, Cornwall (UK) Godrevy is a coastal headland located at the northwest coast Cornwall (UK). The area is characterized by a large dune system (Cornish: towans) and maritime grassland in the south, a steep cliff coastline, long beaches, and an active farm in the center of the headland. The popular site has been owned and managed by the National Trust since the 1930s and has recently seen over 300,000 visitors per year from locally and abroad (NATIONAL TRUST 2016). There is no settlement on the headland; however, the infrastructure at Godrevy in form of an access road and car parks is threatened by the quickly accelerating erosion affecting sections of the soft coast. Therefore, the National Trust is planning to relocate the current road and headland car park away from the cliff edge to adapt to the changing

climate and erosion processes (NATIONAL TRUST 2015). The National Trust is the main land manager at Godrevy, however, there is also a variety of other organizations involved in the area: the Cornwall AONB Partnership, Natural England looking after a SSSI site, Cornwall Wildlife Trust with a Local Nature Reserve, the Towans Partnership managing the local dune system, as well as a tenant farmer. This variety of actors and interests at Godrevy makes the site especially interesting for researching the implications of diverging landscape constructions for climate change adaptation. In dialogue with actors from landscape management, three competing constructions of the Godrevy landscape were uncovered: the landscape as human-environment interaction, as wildlife and habitats, and as natural beauty. These three are not the only viewpoints on the area, and they are not mutually exclusive or absolutely distinct from each other. They do, however, highlight how differently the same landscape is being perceived from different perspectives. From the human-environment interaction perspective represented by the National Trust, the Godrevy landscape is an intermediate result of the interplay between the natural environment and human activity. Despite highlighting the interrelations between the natural and the human, the focus here lies on people. Godrevy is understood as unique heritage to which people have long-standing attachments, and the aim of landscape management is to maintain access to it for future generations. The National Trust frames coastal erosion clearly as an impact of climate change and as a threat to cherished landscapes and properties. The focus of adaptation lies on letting natural processes occur and managing retreat from the cliff edge while maintaining access to the landscape and its natural beauty. From the wildlife and habitats perspective (e.g. Natural England, Towans Partnership), however, Godrevy is understood as a nationally significant dune and grassland system and important habitat for rare species. Therefore, the landscape management aim is habitat connectivity and wildlife protection as well as maintaining a healthy dune ecosystem. This stance obviously comes with a very different

• pinion on access to the landscape for large numbers of people and cars. Climate change and coastal

erosion from this perspective are understood as natural processes which–even if accelerated by human activity–are inevitable and positive. Therefore regarding adaptation, not much urgency is seen

• ther than controlling invasive plant species in the dunes. Coastal erosion is not seen as a threat, but as

a natural process that should be supported. Lastly, from the natural beauty perspective on the landscape Godrevy is a place of local distinctiveness and natural beauty with a dramatic coastline, dunes, and a ‘wild’ and untouched

• atmosphere. The focus here lies on the aesthetics of the landscape and on the potential economic

benefits it can provide. Coastal erosion is understood as an impact of climate change and a threat to places where infrastructure or properties are affected, e.g. in local communities; the main focus of adaptation is to let natural processes occur and to not negatively impact on the natural beauty through visible, built, engineered adaptation measures. Against the background of these different landscape constructions, the question of how to manage the Godrevy landscape in times of a changing climate manifests in a number of local debates. The most central discussion is the one around access. For the National Trust, the largest challenge regarding adaptation is to ensure access to the landscape for locals, visitors and their cars, whereas

• rganizations which see Godrevy from a wildlife and habitat perspective are very critical of

encouraging access for people. Thus, the proceeding coastal erosion and need for relocation sparks a much larger debate about what the landscape is, what it shall be and for whom it should be managed. Secondly, the different actors involved at Godrevy have very different time horizons when it comes to planning for adaptation. The National Trust with its slogan of managing the landscape ‘Forever, for everyone’ has a very long-term focus with a view on the future of 50 to 100 years. The Towans Partnership, on the other hand, are very reactive in their management around beach access and

climate change and merely take up action when complaints accumulate. Concerning the adaptation activities, these different time horizons obviously carry large potential for conflict and mismanagement of measures. Thirdly, there are very different views on how to communicate current and future changes to locals and visitors. The National Trust–while framing coastal erosion and the relocation activities clearly around climate change–is very hesitant to put up any visible signage in the

• landscape. The Towans Partnership, on the other hand, are currently drafting large information boards

to be placed in the dunes to inform visitors about the local ecosystem and changes to it. They do not, however, mention climate change in any of their explanations at all. Through my research in Cornwall I uncovered very different, sometimes even competing constructions of one and the same physical place which lead to contrasting perspectives on its management, changes to it and the effects of climate change. These perspectives on the landscape manifest in a number of local debates around the topics of access, the time span of planning, and communication of change. Regarding the physical-material relocation activities planned at Godrevy, the different landscape constructions result in quite contrasting positions on where the new road and car park shall be built and why. I could thus show that uncovering the unspoken constructions of places and landscapes affected by climate change can help to bring to light the roots of conflicts about their management and explain different actors’ approaches to adaptation. Especially in a place like Cornwall where many different organizations are concerned with landscape management and adaptation to climate change, my research is an important step to better understand the societal processes of climate change adaptation, the different perspectives of the involved actors, and to illuminate the local context and debates in which adaptation activities take place – literally and figuratively. References ADGER, W. N., BARNETT, J., BROWN, K., MARSHALL, N. & K. O'BRIEN (2013): Cultural dimensions of climate change impacts and adaptation. In: Nature Climate Change, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 112–117. ADGER, W. N., BARNETT, J., CHAPIN III, F. S. & H. ELLEMOR (2011): This Must Be the Place: Underrepresentation of Identity and Meaning in Climate Change Decision-Making. In: Global Environmental Politics, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 1–25. ADGER, W. N., DESSAI, S., GOULDEN, M., HULME, M., LORENZONI, I., NELSON, D. R., NAESS, L.-O., WOLF, J. & A. WREFORD (2009): Are there social limits to adaptation to climate change? In: Climatic Change, Vol. 93,

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