A rights-based perspective on adaptive capacity

The authors argue that current development modes often ignore the socio-political contexts that constrain climate adaptation. To remedy this, they introduce a tool based on human rights principles—focusing on equality, transparency, accountability, and empowerment—to identify the institutional barriers and processes of marginalization that create disparities in adaptive capacity.

• Current development approaches frequently overlook or fail to challenge the socio-political contexts that limit a community's capacity to adapt to climate change.
• The authors developed an analytical tool for communities based on human rights principles, specifically focusing on four pillars: equality, transparency, accountability, and empowerment.
• Applying a rights-based framing allows for the identification of specific processes of marginalization and exclusion that cause differences in adaptive capacity, while highlighting concrete actions for development support.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2015). A rights-based perspective on adaptive capacity. https://www.sei.org/publications/a-rights-based-perspective-on-adaptive-capacity/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. A rights-based perspective on adaptive capacity. 2015. https://www.sei.org/publications/a-rights-based-perspective-on-adaptive-capacity/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=A rights-based perspective on adaptive capacity |date=12 January 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/a-rights-based-perspective-on-adaptive-capacity/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2015rightsbased, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{A rights-based perspective on adaptive capacity}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/a-rights-based-perspective-on-adaptive-capacity/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }