Building Adaptive Strategies for Environmental Change in River Catchments
Status: Ongoing
Type of Project: Research Report
Principal Investigator: Professor Rachel Pain, Durham University (Email)
Objectives
Agricultural practices will need to change if we are to achieve more sustainable environmental futures. Research is already addressing this, and investigating the role played by rural land management in delivering the ecosystem services necessary to reduce climate change impacts.
However, scientific prescriptions concerning environmental issues do not in themselves effect behavioural changes within agricultural environments. Indeed, the sector is heavily reliant upon relatively crude and expensive financial instruments to convert long-term goals into changes in practice, and on subsequent regulatory regimes to deliver compliance.
This research takes an alternative focus by seeking to understand the ways in which the working practices of rural land managers frame climate change. It aims to develop new forms of engagement, using Participatory Action Research (PAR) as a means of creating adaptation strategies for environmental change. The research will:
- Review how engagement is being done with farming communities by organisations such as the Environment Agency, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, National Farmers’ Union and rivers trusts;
- Explore how novel forms of PAR can be used to build networks and capacity for rural land management;
- Provide guidance on how PAR can re-frame critical policy issues in ways that better reflect the experiences and aspirations of land managers.