Landscape narratives in practice: implications for climate change adaptation

Abstract

Research on the societal dynamics of climate change adaptation has advanced during recent years from merely focusing on technical and economic factors to taking into consideration people's individual perspectives and personal values. Within this context a growing literature on the relationship between people's place attachment and climate change adaptation has emerged. This literature seeks to explain how individuals’ relationships with the places in which they live influence current and potential future responses to climate change at the local scale. Nevertheless, critical limitations are evident in the conceptualisation of place and people–place relationships within this literature. In particular, differences between individual place constructions and their possible implications for landscape management are given insufficient attention. To address these shortcomings, we mobilise research on the societal construction of landscapes to uncover how actors in landscape management perceive ‘their’ places and changes to them. Drawing on qualitative interviews with key actors in landscape management in Cornwall (UK), we present four contrasting narratives about local landscapes and climate change and highlight their potential implications for climate change adaptation.