Papers by Christine Wamsler
Revolutionising sustainability leadership and education: addressing the human dimension to support flourishing, culture and system transformation
Climatic Change, Dec 18, 2023
Environmental Science & Policy, Sep 1, 2017
To address increasing climatic variability and extremes, cities are gradually forced to develop c... more To address increasing climatic variability and extremes, cities are gradually forced to develop climate change adaptation strategies that can ensure a continuous and transformative adaptation process. There is widespread consensus that the sustainable establishment of such strategies requires transdisciplinary approaches, that is, the involvement of internal and external stakeholders (state, civil society and market actors) to become part of the change and find innovative ways to unite their efforts and capacities. However, there is little research and hardly any empirical evidence on the process of stakeholder involvement and co-production in the development of municipal adaptation strategies. Against this background, this paper examines the factors that influence how and why different stakeholders are involved (or excluded) during the processes of developing adaptation strategies, and how this gets reflected in process outcomes. Based on applied participatory analysis of two pioneering municipalities in Germany and Sweden, the paper identifies and contrasts existing patterns to feed back into both theory and practice. Synergies, mismatches, barriers and driving forces for adaptation co-production are identified and contrasted with current adaptation discourses. The results highlight how the level of internal and external stakeholder involvement is conditional on (changes in) the broader governance context, and the associated power constellations in which stakeholders act (e.g., standing of departments, proximity to the decisionmaking body, changes in [or constellations of] political parties, contractual arrangements for staff, individual champions, progress in mainstreaming). On this basis, conclusions are drawn regarding how to foster sustainable and transformative adaptation through increased stakeholder involvement. The results and conclusions are crucial to advance theory on adaptation co-production, providing a basis for further analyses, research and action. They inform how existing theory, policies and/or guidelines for strategic adaptation planning need to be revisited to support change across current risk governance.
Education for sustainability: Sourcing inner qualities and capacities for transformation (forthcoming)
City dwellers’ own ways to reduce and adapt to urban risk
Evaluation of the Development of the Sustainable City Approach
Encyclopedia of the UN sustainable development goals, 2020
Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to identify and manage one's own emotions, as w... more Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to identify and manage one's own emotions, as well as the emotions of others (Goleman 1995). The concept comprises four personal and interpersonal capacities or skills: (1) Self-awareness is the capacity to tune into one's emotions and feelings and recognize how they influence us and others, i.e., our thoughts, bodily sensations, actions, and interactions at any given moment. This domain is the keystone of EI. (2) Self-management includes self-regulation and motivation. Self-regulation is the ability to keep disruptive emotions and associated automatic reactions in check before acting, allowing the construction of trusting environments, resilience, and effectiveness, even under stressful or hostile conditions. Motivation concerns the drive to pursue goals with persistence, not for external rewards but through intrinsic drive. (3) Social awareness is the ability to sense the emotions and perspectives of other individuals and groups (empathy) and understand associated patterns, such as power relationships. (4) Relationship management (also called social skills) is the capacity to build social relationships, develop networks and common ground, inspire others, and jointly accomplish goals, while efficiently managing conflicts. The fourth capacity is also considered an outcome of the others. The concept of emotional intelligencesometimes also referred to as emotional quotient (EQ), emotional intelligence quotient (EIQ), or emotional leadership (EL)has gained wide acceptance in fields such as psychology, education, health, and business management, and approaches to develop, support, and measure the associated cognitive/emotional and relational capacities have been applied and tested over the past 20 years in various contexts .
Climatic Change, Nov 28, 2019
Sustainability philosophers claim that we are at an impasse of stories, finding ourselves in a bl... more Sustainability philosophers claim that we are at an impasse of stories, finding ourselves in a blank chapter between the old and the new. The old story, characterized by separation, technological dominance and human superiority over nature, is unfolding in an ecological crisis giving space for a new narrative defined by inter-being, cooperation and balance. It has been put forward that this crisis is climate change, a phenomenon that epitomizes the old, while holding the potential to act as a bridge to the new. Our study shows the benefits of framing climate change as a problem of story and how the dominant story we have told about climate change can be changed. Based on an approach called “Rising strong”, we address the question of how sustainability students relate to the story on climate change, how they conceptualize and situate it within a bigger narrative, and identify barriers and catalysts for authorship. The results show a clear lack of personal authorship, a feeling of dis...
Sustainability Science, Jan 4, 2018
It is becoming clear that increasingly complex global challenges cannot simply be solved by new t... more It is becoming clear that increasingly complex global challenges cannot simply be solved by new technology or governments alone. We also need to develop new social practices and encourage a broader cultural shift towards sustainability. Against this background, this paper explores the role of mindfulness in adapting to increasing risk and climate change. Based on a literature review, it assesses current research on 'mindful climate adaptation', and explores how individual mindfulness is linked to climate adaptation. While in practice mindfulness-based approaches to climate adaptation have gained widespread recognition (e.g., by the United Nations), the results show that related research is scarce and fragmented. There is almost no research into the role of mindfulness in climate adaptation. At the same time, new scientific domains are opening up in cognate fields that illuminate the mindfulness-adaptation nexus from certain perspectives. These fields include: (1) disaster management; (2) individual well-being; (3) organisational management; (4) environmental behaviour; (5) social justice; and (6) knowledge production. As new concepts and approaches emerge, they require critical construct validation and empirical testing. The importance of further investigation is supported by a complementary empirical study, which shows that individual mindfulness disposition coincides with increased motivation to take (or support) climate adaptation actions. The paper concludes that mindfulness has the potential to facilitate adaptation at all scales (through cognitive, managerial, structural, ontological, and epistemological change processes) and should, therefore, become a core element in climate and associated sustainability research. Finally, it sketches the conceptual trajectories of the mindfulness-adaptation nexus and presents a pioneering, comprehensive framework for 'mindful climate adaptation'.
Governance of densification and climate change adaptation: How can conflicting demands for housing and greening in cities be reconciled?
Land Use Policy, May 1, 2023
Sorting out the conceptual ‘jungle’ associated with urban risk reduction and adaptation
Environmental Science & Policy, Jul 1, 2018
This paper examines whether or not specific forms of adaptation governance that involve city admi... more This paper examines whether or not specific forms of adaptation governance that involve city administrations and citizens can help (or hinder) creating a foundation for more sustainable climate adaptation and transformation. Based on the analysis of recurring patterns of social adaptation dilemmas (caused by the interdependencies between adaptation providers and beneficiaries), associated actor constellations, policy approaches, and gaps, this paper presents principles for supporting city-citizen commoning for climate adaptation (i.e. joint actions needed to create systems to manage, shared, adaptation resources). The presented principles can assist in facilitating the management of public goods for adaptation, including privately-provided adaptation goods, and relate to four strategic aims: i) the effective management of collective and individual resources; ii) comprehensive risk reduction; iii) sustained local-institutional linkages (mainstreaming); and iv) matching different actors' views, efforts and capacities. The principles synthesise and extend the literature by considering, and providing space for, a comprehensive understanding of risk and its root causes, and for alternative rationalities or ('nonrational') behaviors intended to address them. The latter takes account of the subjectivities (e.g. emotional attachments to resources and seascapes), which are as important as power structures with respect to how climate adaptation is managed. In fact, subjectivities are central to the operation of city administrations as they are an integral part of how people understand their relationship to others. In an adaptation context, this means focusing on practices and interactions that are required for taking adaptation actions, and how they can both promote and frustrate attempts to collaborate. We conclude that the developed principles can support more sustainable climate adaptation and transformation by holistically addressing existing adaptation dilemmas, actor constellations, and the associated policy gaps that make current approaches ineffective.
Institutionalizing climate change mitigation and adaptation through city advisory committees: Lessons learned and policy futures
City and environment interactions, Sep 1, 2019
Municipal advisory committees are becoming increasingly influential in guiding decision-making pr... more Municipal advisory committees are becoming increasingly influential in guiding decision-making processes that address climatic issues. According to the Adaptigation Institutionalization Framework (included in the recent IPCC report), the implementation of such participatory structures is vital for the effective, joint institutionalization of climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence to support this claim. Against this background, this paper tests the Adaptigation Framework using the example of municipal advisory committees in Germany. Based on a review of 107 cities, and social network analyses of 20 cities, we develop a typology of advisory committees, examine their stakeholder constellations, and assess how they influence municipalities’ capacity to institutionalize joint mitigation and adaptation goals in sector policy and planning. Our results and the developed social network analysis approach can be used by cities worldwide to systematically analyze and enhance participation structures to address climate change more effectively. We conclude with some recommendations for future research and policy (Less)
Editorial: Managing Urban Disasters
Open House International, Mar 1, 2006
Imagine, for a moment, human settlements that are organised to overcome and withstand earthquakes... more Imagine, for a moment, human settlements that are organised to overcome and withstand earthquakes or hurricanes, infrastructures that reinforce themselves and seal cracks of their own accord, or buildings that elevate themselves during flooding. Imagine settlements that provide information systems that warn when a tsunami is approaching, or when houses are overburdened and may be liable to imminent collapse due to landslides, fire or other hazards. Such human settlements would secure the livelihood of all their inhabitants, empowering them to cope and deal with natural threats. As with a living organism, these settlements would adjust their social, political and economic systems in such a rapid way that they can account for damage, effect repairs, learn from experience, and retire - urbanely - once they can no longer fulfil their protective and defensible function.
Mindfulness, Education, and the Sustainable Development Goals
Encyclopedia of the UN sustainable development goals, 2019
Contemplative Sustainable Futures: The Role of Individual Inner Dimensions and Transformation in Sustainability Research and Education
Springer eBooks, Aug 23, 2018
Humanity is facing increasingly complex sustainability challenges. It is now clear that they cann... more Humanity is facing increasingly complex sustainability challenges. It is now clear that they cannot be resolved by new technology, policy or governance approaches alone. They require a broader, cultural shift. Consequently, the role of human beings’ “inner dimensions” (e.g., their mindsets, worldviews, beliefs, social values, and motivations) and their potential “inner transformation” (embodied in notions such as mindfulness and compassion) are increasingly attracting attention from practitioners and researchers alike. As a result, in 2015, the “Contemplative Sustainable Futures Program” was set up at the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies to explore the role of inner dimensions and transformation for sustainability. It aims to create space and opportunities for learning, networking, and knowledge development on this topic, which entails the creation of closer linkages between sustainability and the humanities (e.g., philosophy, theology, spirituality). The Program consists of different building blocks, including research and teaching activities. This chapter presents the outcomes, as well as the institutional and academic challenges encountered in setting up the Program. The outcomes so far include the establishment of (i) a new Masters-level course on “Sustainability and Inner Transformation”, (ii) an Experimental Learning Lab on mindfulness in sustainability science, practice, and teaching, (iii) a professional knowledge database and network, and (iv) different research studies and resultant frameworks for future, more integrated research. Finally, the lessons learned, ongoing gaps, and the future work needed to overcome these gaps are presented.
Education: Key to climate change adaptation?
Swedish Research on Climate Change Governance and Planning [Svensk forskning om klimatanpassning inom styrning och planering]
Sedan klimat- och sarbarhetsutredningen presenterade sitt betankande ar 2007 har omfattande samha... more Sedan klimat- och sarbarhetsutredningen presenterade sitt betankande ar 2007 har omfattande samhallsvetenskapliga forskningsinsatser riktats mot hur offentliga aktorer och myndigheter styr, planerar och arbetar med klimatanpassning och klimatomstallning. Analytisk kompetens inom flera for klimatanpassning centrala omraden har byggts upp vid ett flertal larosaten och inom flera sektorsmyndigheter.Det ar alltfor tidskravande att gora en heltackande och rattvisande bild av dessa forskningsaktiviteter, men denna inlaga fran Centrum for klimatpolitisk forskning, CSPR, vid Linkopings universitet i samarbete med Lunds universitets centrum for studier av uthallig samhallsutveckling, LUCSUS, gor valda nedslag inom tre huvudomraden i vilka kunskapen okats genom svensk anpassningsforskning. De tre huvudomradena for kunskapsokning ar: Klimatanpassning pa offentliga aktorers agenda, Verktyg for att stimulera och stodja klimatanpassning och Klimatanpassning och stadsplanering.Det ar var forhoppning att detta ger en tillrackligt god bild av hur kunskapslaget okar snabbt och att vi ser tecken pa att okningstakten tilltar. Vi vill ocksa pa forhand be om ursakt for de texter och den forskning som vi pa grund av begransade resurser inte fick med i var framstallning.
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Papers by Christine Wamsler