Nature-Society Relationships Influence Household Adaptation to the Impacts of Climate Change

Individuals can adapt to the impacts of climate change by acting in anticipation of or in response to change, but what motivates households to act? This research draws on human-environment geographies to examine if social-ecological processes influence the amount of adaptation practices that are implemented by households. Results suggest that the amount of adaptation practices implemented by households in this study were motivated primarily by their (1) feelings of concern for the future of local areas and their place identity, (2) situated knowledge of local ecological histories, and (3) high valuation of regional provisioning ecosystem services.