Patterns in Reported Adaptation Constraints: Insights from Peer-Reviewed Literature on Flood and Sea-Level Rise

Understanding which climate change adaptation constraints manifest for different actors – governments, communities, individuals and households – is essential, as adaptation is turning into a matter of survival. Though rich qualitative research reveals constraints for diverse cases, methods to consolidate knowledge and elicit patterns in adaptation constraints for various actors and hazards are scarce. We fill this gap by analyzing associations between different adaptations and actors’ constraints in adaptation to climate-induced floods and sea-level rise. Our novel approach derives textual data from peer-reviewed articles (published before February 2024) by using natural language processing, supervised learning, thematic coding books, and network analysis. Results show that social capital, economic factors, and government support are constraints shared among all actors. With respect to adaptation types, communities are frequently associated with maladaptation, while individuals and households are frequently associated with transformational adaptation.