A Political Ecology of ‘Adaptation’

Critical perspectives on case studies in Taiwan and Vietnam

Abstract

The current global climate crisis, a result of the Anthropocene, has forced the global community to reconsider current notions of adaptation, vulnerability and resilience. This has especially been true for smallholder local and Indigenous farmers, who on the one hand have proven to be excellent at adapting to changing environmental conditions but on the other hand are also disproportionally affected by the global climate crisis. In this article, I will critically examine the concept of adaptation from a political ecology perspective, both conceptually and using examples from Taiwan and Vietnam. I argue that ‘adaptation’, as we know it, is often a neoliberal mechanism which puts the responsibility on individual farmers, instead of looking at the many structural barriers and power relations underlying unequal vulnerabilities and resiliencies. Instead of seeing adaptation, resilience and vulnerabilities as linear and causal processes, it would be better to reconsider these definitions from a critical perspective. On the one hand, we do need to prepare for the adverse effects of climate change, but on the other hand we need to be aware of what causes structural inequalities to co-exist. This awareness will then hopefully lead to better bottom-up strategies towards coping with the global climate crisis from smallholders’ perspectives, while tackling other inequalities and unequal power structures at the same time.