Developing a typology of adaptive learning within coastal institutions affected by extreme events related to climate change

This paper reviews the literature on adaptive learning applicable to climate change extreme event management to develop a typology of adaptive learning that has the potential to inform decision-making within coastal institutions. Testing and evaluating this typology within a range of coastal organisations will assist improved understanding of how coastal institutions learn, adapt and respond to extreme events related to climate change. This paper draws from research linked to the Enabling Science Uptake in Coastal Zone Management Cluster, based in the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship and closely associated with the Climate Adaptation Flagship. Adaptive learning is an emerging area of enquiry and increasingly considered important in the general field of sustainable resource management, and specifically coastal management. Yet, there is limited understanding of the particular elements and processes for successfully embedding this type of learning within organisational structures to achieve effective responses to priority socio-ecological issues. Nevertheless, coastal organisations responsible for the adaptive management of current and anticipated climate events require the competencies and capacity to deal with dynamic, complex and transitional social-ecological systems, characterised by either incremental and/or rapid rates of change. In contrast to incremental climatic events, the nature of extreme climatic event management suggests that adaptive learning will be characterised by different spatial and temporal factors. For example, the requirements for learning are likely to be rapid and experiential in nature. By reviewing the adaptive learning literature and associated areas of social, sustainability and experiential learning, this paper develops a typology of adaptive learning specifically focussed on institutional response to extreme events in coastal areas affected by climate change. The application of this typology has the potential to contribute to a more rapid response to scientific knowledge and other forms of learning and knowledge in climate change extreme event management and decision making. While this research is focused primarily on coastal systems in an Australian context, the outcomes are likely to hold relevance to scientists and decision makers at an international level across a range of contexts wherever rapid responses to extreme events are required