Adaptations & Progress... that’s up for debate!

In the coming decades, adapting to climate change will be vital for the survival of plant and animal species, including the human race. What kind of adaptation do we want to pursue? Is the question of adaptation being framed correctly in terms of human well-being and societal progress? The concepts of adaptation and the developmental dynamics of species—including that of humans—and their interdependencies appear to be confused and poorly understood by opinion leaders, public decision-makers and the general public. The authors propose three perspectives on the common understanding of adaptation in Western society: bio-adaptation, compensation and adaptation. These three meanings help to reposition humans as biological beings and an animal species living in relation to other domestic and wild species. In the context of our development dynamics in urban and peri-urban areas, this insight also helps to open up the debate on the actual capabilities of species to respond to the vagaries of climate change.