Climate information services for adaptation: what does it mean to know the context?. (27th May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Guido, Zack; Knudson, Chris; Campbell, Donovan; Tomlinson, Jhannel
• Is Part Of: Climate and development. Volume 12:Number 5(2020)
• Page Start: 395
• Page End: 407
• Publication Date: 2020-05-27
• Subjects: Climatic changes -- Periodicals; Climatic changes -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Climatic changes -- Economic aspects -- Periodicals; Global temperature changes -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; 363.7387405
• DOI: 10.1080/17565529.2019.1630352
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1756-5529

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Climate information services (CIS) can reduce climate vulnerability by enhancing information access, knowledge exchanges, and networks. Central to CIS is the need to understand the social and environmental context in which information is used. While researchers have identified many influential dimensions, there lacks rigorous analysis of all the dimensions salient to a CIS case study as well as a model to help CIS implementers design and evolve their CIS in its course. This research addresses these gaps by analysing a CIS we developed for coffee farmers in Jamaica that introduced new weather and climate information in workshops, text messages, and interviews. We identify nine dimensions related to the information providers, users, and their union, and we show how each influenced the design and evolution of our CIS. We further show their dynamic relations in an analytical model. We argue that the context is emergent, requiring flexible CIS, and that assessing the providers is as important as a focus on the users, which is often the emphasis in CIS scholarship. This study is a demonstration of how varied contextual dimensions affect the design, implementation, and use of a CIS, while also providing empirical detail about a coffee farming and climate context.