Framing climate vulnerability and adaptation at multiple levels: Addressing climate risks or institutional barriers in Lesotho?

Adaptation to climate change occurs largely through action at the local level, which is influenced by international and national levels of political and social organization. This article explores the impact of discourse at the international level on adaptation policy at the national and local level. Discourse defines which knowledge claims, methods and rationalities are accepted and reproduced by actors as a basis for policy development and implementation; this is called 'framing'. Scientific literature defines adaptation and vulnerability in a general way and so accommodates different framings. This article reviews the history of the concepts of adaptation and vulnerability in the literature and their relation to development. Evidence is presented for the presence of two framings of CCIAV in the literature: the 'decision-analytic' and the 'institutional-analytic'. Wetlands and climate-related projects in Lesotho are analysed and evidence is presented for the reproduction of the two framings. A decision-analytic framing favours projects focusing on technological solutions and reducing projected impacts. Conversely, institutional-analytic framing tends to produce projects that more explicitly include governance issues. It is concluded that framings exert a significant influence on policy when linked to, for example, sources of funding for adaptation. It is argued that methods linked to the 'decision-analytic' framing risk limiting the scope of effective adaptations. © 2010 Earthscan.