Abstract

Human vulnerability and adaptation to the impacts of climate change depends on a complex set of circumstances. Those societies most at risk include those least likely to adapt, in part due to limitations on relevant knowledge, skills and/or the capacity for educational resources. This report presents a framework to build local and regional human resource capacity for climate change adaptation education. The framework was structured on a model for approaching complex contemporary issues that are linked to multidisciplinary bodies of knowledge. It is designed to meet local needs while addressing the sustainable development goals of international and national obligations. A qualitative methodology was designed to validate a process for determining climate change education and training needs by way of a pilot study. The pilot study identified the local climate change-related knowledge, skills and expertise within tertiary institutions, government and private environmental professions. The study tested the framework and methodology within three Large Ocean States, one of them a Least Developed Country. The outcomes of the study demonstrated that the framework-based methodology provided substantive data to enable ongoing collaborative approaches to education. Key findings are that in the case of multi-dimensional, politicised and/or rapidly evolving processes or concerns, such as climate change adaptation, qualitative methodology and case studies are valuable to discern specific contexts within and among disparate societies. The findings are relevant within developing countries and states, as well as more broadly in the context of human resource capacity building through education.