Critical adaptation to hurricanes in the Mexican Caribbean: Development visions, governance structures, and coping strategies David Manuel-Navarrete *, Mark Pelling 1 , Michael Redclift 2 Department of Geography, King’s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom 1. Introduction International organizations and governments usually conceive adaptation to climate hazards in terms of expert-led risk management; that is, as managerial strategies to cope with hazards (Burton and Van Aalst, 2004; UNDP, 2005). Typical examples include: increasing the robustness of infrastructures, enhancing the protective functions of ecosystems, incorporating climatic risks in development planning, market solutions, estab- lishing emergency funds, improving societal awareness and preparedness, reducing institutional fragmentation, and creating policy frameworks for disaster management (King, 2004; Klein and Tol, 1997; UN/ISDR, 2004). These are coping strategies to reduce the likelihood of negative impacts on populations and economies. An emphasis on this type of strategy encourages research informed by ‘‘problem-solving theories’’ which take the existing order as the given framework for action (Cox, 1981). Accordingly, adaptation is uncritically framed within existing governance structures and ongoing development policy (Simon, 2006; Yapa et al., 1995). Coping strategies can then be conceptualized against an enabling context of governance and development. An alternative approach focused on reducing the vulnerability of the poor through development is broadly popular amongst academics and non- governmental organizations (NGOs), and gaining currency amongst international organizations (Schipper, 2007). By empha- sizing the central role of socio-economic inequality this approach typically advocates modifications of governance structures to- wards increasing inclusiveness, responsiveness and accountability in decision-making. For instance, governance can be improved through effective multi-stakeholder engagement and participatory policy-making (Bulkeley, 2007). Such engagement, however, is not instrumentally circumscribed to better coordinate risk Global Environmental Change 21 (2011) 249–258 ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 12 July 2009 Received in revised form 16 September 2010 Accepted 21 September 2010 Available online 27 October 2010 Keywords: Climate adaptation Quintana Roo Mass tourism Hurricane coping Post-development Critical political ecology ABSTRACT The need to tackle climate hazards and development efforts simultaneously is widely acknowledged. However, the possibility of alternative visions of development is seldom contemplated. Instead, adaptation research usually assumes monolithic claims about development constructed from the status quo of global capitalism. This paper outlines a critical approach to adaptation and explores the interplay between visions of development, governance structures, and strategies to cope with hurricanes in the Mexican Caribbean, a region at the ‘front line’ of both globalization and climatic extreme phenomena. Critical adaptation formulates the experiencing of hazards as essentially political and tied to contingent development paths, which may eventually become hegemonic. Over a hundred semi-structured and open interviews were held in Cancun, Mahahual, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum including academics, businesspeople, bureaucrats, journalists, non-governmental organizations and tourism workers in order to characterize development visions in the Mexican Caribbean. Findings show a prevalent hegemonic vision supporting mass tourism growth which encourages hurricane coping strategies based on effective evacuation and attracting investments for rapid economic recovery. The actual implementation of this vision increases social inequalities, degrades ecosystems, and amplifies overall exposure to extreme events. Mass tourism is enforced by undemocratic governance structures sustained by a coalition of government and tourism corporations (a government-capital bloc in Gramsci’s sense). Some weak signs of counter-hegemony were identified in Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Mahahual. These isolated episodes of resistance might have triggered alternative coping strategies despite having little effect in altering the overall course of development. Further critical research is needed to unveil the socio-political foundations of development visions and their influence on capacities to cope with climatic extreme events. ß 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 (0) 20 7848 2462; fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 2287. E-mail addresses: david.manuel-navarrete@kcl.ac.uk (D. Manuel-Navarrete), mark.pelling@kcl.ac.uk (M. Pelling), michael.r.redclift@kcl.ac.uk (M. Redclift). 1 Tel.: +44 (0) 20 7848 2462. 2 Tel.: +44 (0) 20 7 848 1755. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Global Environmental Change journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gloenvcha 0959-3780/$ – see front matter ß 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2010.09.009