Governments all over the world are struggling with the question of how to adapt to climate change. They need information not only about the issue and its possible consequences, but also about feasible governance strategies and instruments to combat it. At the same time, scientists from different social disciplines are trying to understand the dynamics and peculiarities of the governance of climate change adaptation. This book demonstrates how action-oriented research methods can be used to satisfy the need for both policy-relevant information and scientific knowledge. Bringing together eight case studies that show inspiring practices of action research from around the world, including Australia, Denmark, Vietnam and the Netherlands, the book covers a rich variety of action-research applications, running from participatory observation to serious games and role-playing exercises. It explores many adaptation challenges, from flood-risk safety to heat stress and freshwater availability, and draws out valuable lessons about the conditions that make action research successful, demonstrating how scientific and academic knowledge can be used in a practical context to reach useful and applicable insights. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of climate change, environmental policy, politics and governance.

Within the last decade, climate change adaptation has become a main governance strategy for dealing with the problems of global environmental change. The development of scientific knowledge is crucial given the uncertainties and complexity of climate adaption measures, but given the imperative to tackle climate change impacts, this knowledge has to be actionable as well. This book presents a diverse range of case studies in action-research methods used to support the governance of climate adaptation, examining the reasons for using action research in this particular policy domain, its main pitfalls and problems, as well as the advantages and results.

The book discusses the question of why action research and the governance of climate adaptation are an obvious combination and presents the main principles and appearances of action research in the field of governance studies and public management. The book offers not only a valuable overview of what action research can contribute to the governance of climate adaptation, but also provides international examples of the application of action research in the domain of climate adaptation, including Germany, Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands.

The development of possible adaptation measures and adequate governance arrangements for climate adaptation takes place in the midst of many uncertainties, diverging interests and budget cuts; this book demonstrates how scientific and academic knowledge can be used in a practical context to reach useful and applicable insights. The collection should be of interest to scholars and students of climate change, environmental policy, politics and governance.