Visualizing connections: Mapping the landscape of adaptation research and practice through weADAPT

The CAMA project combined weADAPT's semantic tagging with Gephi visualization software to analyze the landscape of climate adaptation. By mapping relationships between organizations, keywords, and geography, the project identified 'hot topics', research gaps, and the role of bridging networks like SUMERNET in Southeast Asia. The analysis demonstrated how ICT tools can reveal patterns in complex datasets to inform strategic planning and identify potential collaborations for the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) in Africa and Asia.

• The project identified several highly active organizations on the weADAPT platform, including the Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) at the University of Cape Town, ENDA Tiers-monde, START, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and AfricaAdapt, which are characterized by their high degree centrality and use of common keywords such as "social vulnerability", "vulnerability" and "risk".
• Geographic analysis of the weADAPT dataset as of April 2014 revealed a high proportion of community-based adaptation case studies globally, with a concentration of adaptation decision-making projects in the UK, and a notable lack of case studies from North America, Australia, and Russia.
• In Southeast Asia, the Sustainable Mekong Research Network (SUMERNET) acts as a critical bridging network for SEI, facilitating connections to countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam that SEI would otherwise not reach through direct engagement, and opening research areas in forestry and flooding.
• SEI's adaptation research in East Africa is characterized by distinct focal areas by country: Tanzania shows a high volume of research on biophysical issues through partnerships with IUCN and WWF, while Kenya's focus is on health and disease modelling, coastal adaptation, rural institutions, fisheries, and forced migration.
• The project demonstrated that repeated mapping over time can reveal evolving research dynamics; for example, a niche community using agent-based modelling grew between 2013 and 2014 to include new organizations in Bangladesh and further work from the University of Oxford.
• The authors conclude that while visualization tools can reveal complex patterns and identify collaborative opportunities, the process is not neutral and is limited by the quality of metadata and tagging, requiring clear research questions and regular feedback from boundary partners to be effective.

APA

Bharwani, S., Rastall, M., Smith, B., Salamanca, A., Nugroho, A., Nguyen, H., Yila, O., & Noel, S. (2015). Visualizing connections: Mapping the landscape of adaptation research and practice through weADAPT. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-WP-2015-08-CAMA-weADAPT-visualization.pdf

Chicago

Bharwani, Sukaina, Michael Rastall, Ben Smith, Albert Salamanca, Agus Nugroho, Ha Nguyen, Othniel Yila, and Stacey Noel. Visualizing connections: Mapping the landscape of adaptation research and practice through weADAPT. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2015. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-WP-2015-08-CAMA-weADAPT-visualization.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bharwani |first1=Sukaina |last2=Rastall |first2=Michael |last3=Smith |first3=Ben |last4=Salamanca |first4=Albert |last5=Nugroho |first5=Agus |last6=Nguyen |first6=Ha |last7=Yila |first7=Othniel |last8=Noel |first8=Stacey |title=Visualizing connections: Mapping the landscape of adaptation research and practice through weADAPT |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=September 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-WP-2015-08-CAMA-weADAPT-visualization.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bharwani2015visualizing, author = {Bharwani, Sukaina and Rastall, Michael and Smith, Ben and Salamanca, Albert and Nugroho, Agus and Nguyen, Ha and Yila, Othniel and Noel, Stacey}, title = {{Visualizing connections: Mapping the landscape of adaptation research and practice through weADAPT}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = sep, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-WP-2015-08-CAMA-weADAPT-visualization.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }