Table 1
The JustAdapt framework for UCAP scholars and practitioners
| FORM OF JUSTICE | KEY WORDS | DEFINITION | CONSIDERATIONS | OPPORTUNITY | QUESTIONS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Equitable process and participation | An adaptation process that centers equity. Equity-denied populations are included, their needs for participation are respected, and they have decision-making power in the planning process. The process includes iteration based on integrated feedback. | Participation Power Reflection | Center the process | Who is involved in the adaptation process? Who has been left out or systematically excluded, or lacks capacity to participate? Who has power to make decisions and who does not? How have moments of reflection and iteration been built into the planning process? Who has led the reflection? |
| Distributive | Equitable spatial distribution of adaptation burdens & outcomes | Adaptation decision-making that ensures the burden of adapting to climate change is distributed equitably across coastal communities and action is taken to address inequities. Outcomes for equity-denied populations are improved over time. | Space Time Access | Balance the burden | Where are the adaptation actions located? Who is impacted by these adaptation actions over time and how? Who benefits? Who is harmed? How do the adaptation actions address equitable outcomes? |
| Recognitional | Acknowledgment of past, present, and future harm | Acknowledgment of the past, present, and future harms that are exacerbated by climate change, especially harms impacting equity-denied populations. Justice could include attempts to mend or repair through changed actions and accountability. | Historic, present, and future harm Misrecognition Accountability/repair | Recognize harm | How have historic and present harm been recognized and addressed in the planning process and adaptation actions? How has the potential for future harm been addressed in the planning process and adaptation actions? What mechanisms of accountability have been included in the planning process to foster transparency and repair and reduce inequities? How have people or institutions who hold power acknowledged their positionality and the harm they’ve caused, contributed to, or represent? |
| Intergenerational | Planning guided by generational thinking | Adaptation decision-making and actions that consider past, present, and future beings (human and more-than-human). Decisions are made intergenerationally so that future generations can thrive and build upon the knowledge and experiences of past generations. | Right to future Temporal care Intergenerational trauma | Think across generations | How have elders/seniors and youth been involved in the planning process and the design and development of proposed adaptation actions? How do the adaptation actions and outcomes address impacts to future generations and their quality of life? How have existing power dynamics and stereotypes about elders/seniors and youth been remedied or accounted for in the planning process? |
| Epistemic | Knowledge respected and valued | Knowledges and lived experiences of Indigenous peoples and other equity-denied populations that are valued, respected, and centered within an adaptation process. Multiple ways of knowing and being are woven into planning and scholars and practitioners respect boundaries around knowledge-sharing. | Knowledge Language and culture Spiritual and cultural harm | Honor different ways of knowing and being | How have multiple ways of knowing and being shaping the adaptation process? Whose knowledges have been prioritized and whose have been devalued? How have lived experiences, language, and culture been valued and incorporated into the adaptation process? Do adaptation actions focus on local relationships to land, waters, and more-than-human beings? Do they account for spiritual and cultural impacts and loss? |
Table 2
A six-step process of incorporating equitable evaluation practices into a UCAP process
| STEP | KEY ACTIONS |
|---|---|
| a) Pre-work | Organize and attend trainings on equity, justice, decolonization, and other related concepts important for individual team members to understand. |
| b) Visioning | Apply opportunities for justice (see Table 1 – Opportunity column) to develop a collective vision, guiding principles, and goals for the planning process for a team and project. |
| c) Make a plan | Commit to centering equity and working towards justice in the process. Identify evaluation practices to use throughout the process. This could include the JustAdapt framework (see Table 1). Design for flexibility in timeline, scope, and partnerships. Incorporate equity and justice into any contracts or application processes (e.g., request for proposals (RFP), terms of reference, community partnership agreements) to ensure that equity and justice principles and expectations are being practiced throughout all levels and groups engaged in the planning process. Identify moments for participants from different stakeholder groups to meet each other, collaborate, and learn together. |
| d) Process in motion | Implement the planning process with equity in mind. Utilize skills developed in steps 1 and 2 when engaging with project partners, First Nations, equity-denied communities, etc. Listen and stay flexible as a team and adapting to changing needs, questions, and calls for accountability. |
| e) Monitoring and iteration | Apply equitable evaluation practices, such as JustAdapt (see Table 1). Engage in rigorous, honest dialogue on challenges and opportunities for improving the process and desired outcomes. Make changes based on learnings from JustAdapt. |
| f) Reflection and evaluation | Apply JustAdapt (see Table 1) to evaluate how equity and justice were incorporated into the UCAP process. Invite participants from different stakeholder groups to share their reflections and lessons learned, with particular focus on equity and justice. Seek to understand the impact of the planning process, regardless of the intended outcomes. Embrace discomfort and ask the difficult questions to make sense of any harm caused. Reflect on the opportunities for justice and the project’s visions, goals, and guiding principles and identify areas of success and improvement. Make a plan for accountability, repair, and healing and then follow through. |