Conceptual definition and framework of climate change and dust storm adaptation: a qualitative study

Abstract

Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) is a complex, multi-disciplinary, and culture-dependent concept. This study aims to explore a conceptual definition, the subjective framework of CCA including its domains, attributes, and consequences. The approach of qualitative conventional content analysis was considered for the explanation of the subjective concept, and at the same time as the collection process, data analysis was performed using Zhang and Wildemuth’s method. The interview method was semi-structured and sampling was targeted and with maximum diversity. The interview was conducted with 22 qualified experts. The accuracy and validity of the data were ensured using Guba and Lincoln scientific accuracy criteria. Six main categories including “sustainability, productivity, stability, empowerment, transformation, and flexibility” were conceptualized in the theme of adaptation characteristics. “Sustainable development, life improvement, response coordination and integration, creativity and innovation, resilience promotion, vulnerability reduction, effective management, and independence” were the main categories in the theme of the adaptation consequences. According to the results, the following conceptual-functional definition can be presented for adaptation to climate change: “CCA refers to the ability of system instability, sustainability, empowerment, productivity, flexibility, and transformation to climate change through the optimal use of resources, resistance, and coping, capacity building and opportunity creation”. This definition is conceptual, it means that includes the main features of climate-adaptation and is also functional that is, includes adaptation strategies for climate change.

Introduction

Across the globe, climate change has been considered as one of the serious threats to sustainable development in various dimensions of health, economics, natural resources, infrastructure and food security [15, 39].

Over the past 20 years, natural hazards have been rising, among which the most important are the meteorological hazards and hydrological hazards [3].

In 2017, out of a total of 318 natural disasters and 122 affected countries, 9503 people were killed, 96 million affected and 314 billion US $ economic damage was imposed and this year, fewer deaths were reported while costs were rising and about 60% were flood-affected while 85% of economic damage was associated with storms [6].

Climate change is a natural phenomenon occurring on a scale of several thousand years but the recent climatic changes are much more severe compared to last two million years ago and in the last two decades, the earth warming have reached its maximum level [8].

The Middle East is no exception and it is predicted that by 2050, the average temperature will increase from 2.5 to 3.7 °C. This increases the duration of heat and drought in this area [27, 46]. Expansion of desertification and increasing dust are of the most important consequences of climate change [10, 35]. The study has been addressed a positive correlation between seasonal and annual maximum temperature and dust storm frequency [5].

Iran has suffered irreparable damage due to locating on the desert belt of the world and its warm and dry climate. The first massive dust storm in Iran occurred in 2003 which has had devastating environmental, health, economic and social consequences. Declining income, intensifying immigration, unemployment, reducing agricultural production, disruption to air transport and flight security, reducing individual and social efficiency, tourism stagnation, closure of educational and recreational centers have been other obvious examples of the destructive consequences of dust phenomenon in the affected provinces in recent decades [19].

In a study indicated that the total estimated damages of dust storms was about $ 2227 million in three western provinces of Iran over the period from 2006 to 2016[19]. Dust showed a positive correlation (p = 0.003) with respiratory mortality. [20].

Climate change is considered as one of the disaster risk factors in the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) between 2005 and 2015 and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR (in 2015–2030. The phrase “climate change” in the HFA is mentioned 13 times in 34 clauses and, 15 times in 50 clauses in the Sendai document for reducing the risk of disasters. This number of repetition indicates the importance of this phenomenon in the International documents [18].

Sendai document describes disaster risk reduction measures to reduce poverty, natural resource management, sustainable development, urban development, the environment, and CCA [18, 42].

On the other hand, one of the seven goals of sustainable development is the fight against climate change [39], which highlights the importance of the issue.

Conference of the Parties (COP(agreements is another important environmental protocol in the world. Its first conference was held in Berlin in 1995 and COP21 of Paris, was held by the United Nations on November 30–December 13, 2015. At COP21, negotiators came together from 200 countries from all over the world to reach a global agreement. The main objective of this agreement was to keep the Earth’s average temperature below 2 °C and try to limit the temperature to below 1.5 °C than its level before industrialization, and also to strengthen the coping and adaptation to climate change [40].

Local governments, as the first respondents to the effects of climate change, play an important role in implementing community-based vulnerability reduction strategies. A part of these strategies is related to “adaptation” measures. According to the definition of the United Nation International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) [41], adaptation is “The adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial”.

There are many definitions for CCA, but the important issue in all of them includes measures or strategies decreasing vulnerability caused by climate change [23].

The analysis of the content of Bassett and Fogelman’s research, showed that 70% of the approaches were based on “accommodation with adaptation “and 3% of the articles investigated “transformative adaptation” and 27% considered in line with expanding “reformist adaptation” through “development”. The results showed that continuity and change in the concept of adaptation should continue [2].

Another study has been pointed that there are two basic social responses to reduce risks including the decreased climate change rate and adaptation. It considered adaptation including targeted measures in the vulnerable system in response to real or expected stimuli in the climate with the aim of damage reduction [12].

Since adaptation is a complex, culture-dependent, and multi-disciplinary concept, the purpose of this study was to explore a conceptual definition, subjective framework of CCA including its domains, attributes, and consequences.

Method

Qualitative method is the most appropriate method for discovering a phenomenon. When there are not quantitative suitable tools available and the researcher does not know what concepts are important for the study, this method will be selected [7, 13, 33].

The approach of qualitative conventional content analysis was considered in 2018. In this study, content analysis was using Zhang and Wildemuth method in order to analyze the data [48].

After the interview, all interviews were recorded and transcribed then, the semantic and coding units were extracted, the codes were classified, concepts and characteristics of adaptation regarding the dust phenomenon and climate change in Iranian society were extracted and, accordingly, its conceptual framework was designed.

Selection of study participants

The participants include a wide variety of scientific and administrative experts, aware of climate change selected through a targeted sampling from different parts of Iran. Enough experience and information about the subject or phenomenon and work in this field for at least 3 years, the power to think and rethink, the ability to express experiences, having enough time, and willingness to participate in the research were of Inclusion criteria. Initially, the researcher along with the research team chose a list of people specializing in climate change from different sectors and interviewed 22 of the above 25 candidates. The research environment was mainly the workplace of the participants or the place they were selected and announced. In this research, the targeted sampling continued until data saturation when no other content or new data was added to the data. Demographic characteristics of the interviewees are presented in Table 1.

Table 1.

Demographic characteristics of the interviewees

Variable	Gender		Education level		Education Discipline
	Male	Female	Master	PhD	Water resource management and water and sewage sanitation	Environmental management	Environmental health and occupational health	Health in emergency and disasters	Psychologist and Social doctor	Managers of the National Project of Climate Change and fighting with dust	Meteorology and climate change
Number	14	8	2	20	2	3	5	3	3	4	2
Percent	%63.6	%36.4	%9.1	%90.9	%9.1	%13.6	%22.8	%13.6	%13.6	%18.2	%9.1
Total(Percent)	22(%100)

Data collection

Initially, questions and interview guides were developed in order to streamline the interview process and its validity was evaluated by experts and several first interviews were conducted under the supervision of one of the professors in qualitative studies.

With the ethical considerations, the researcher began interviewing after required coordination. Primary questions were about demographic information (age, education, etc.).Semi-structured interviews began with an open question based on the main question of the research, and progressed gradually on the basis of data analysis, deeper and more consistent questions about adaptation. The duration of the interviews varied from 40 to 60 min according to the participant conditions, and the average duration was 50 min. All the interviews were obviously and apparently recorded by the recorder and then typed word-by-word by allowance from the participants. Interviews continued until data saturation. The data collection lasted 6 months (October to March, 2018).

Data analysis

Qualitative content analysis attention was paid to unique contexts that describe the range of the meanings of the phenomenon rather than the statistical importance [48] and Zhang and Wildemuth’s method is a content analysis method. At the same time with the collection process, data analysis was performed using Zhang and Wildemuth’s method which includes 8 steps of data preparation, defining the analysis unit, expanding classes and encoding program, encoding testing on a sample of text, encoding the entire text, evaluating agreement on codes, concluding encoded data, reporting methods, and findings [48]. Their semantic units were identified and then open coding was conducted. In the next step, by categorizing similar codes, sub-category and then the main category were extracted, including the characteristics of CCA and the phenomenon of dust and its consequences. Guba and Lincoln scientific accuracy criteria [13] were used to ensure the accuracy and validity of the data. In order to achieve the accuracy of the data, the long-term phenomenon involvement method was used. Also, semantic findings from content analysis were seen and approved by research participants and were modified in the case of an incorrect impression (member check), which causes the credibility of data. The triangulation (Time) and diversity in the selection of samples was used for verification, and with respect to the researcher’s neutrality examination of the text of the interview and agreement on the codes extracted, the confirmation and determination were used by two faculty members (peer check) for data strength. Transferability or fitness of data was examined by interviewing with different experts and consulting with faculty members and providing direct quotes. Dependability of the data was determined by duplicating and using the views of colleagues (External check) and revising the entire data. For data trustworthiness, interviewing was conducted exactly to collect data. Concerning language considerations for analysis, some main part of meaning units and codes were given to the participants who were fluent to English.

Ethical considerations

The consent obtained from the participants was verbal. All interviews were recorded with the consent of the participants and it was explained to them that, they can be excluded from the research at any stage of the study. Interviews were done face-to-face and at the appointed time and place. At the beginning of each interview, the researcher introduced herself and explained the purpose of the research to the interviewees. At the beginning of the interview, having an ethical code of research (IR.TUMS.SPH.REC.1396.4171) and confidentiality of data was approved.

Results

The extracted primary codes were classified in the six main categories of “sustainability, productivity, stability, empowerment, transformation, and flexibility”.

In the analysis of data, a description of the concept and views of various experts has been addressed. According to the findings of the study, the main category of “sustainability” included two sub categories of “continuity and foresight”, and the other main category “productivity”, included three sub categories of “resource management, saving resources, and proper use of resources” and the main category “stability” included the subcategories “resistance, patience, coping and tolerance”. Also, the main category of “ empowerment “ included “opportunism - the use of existing opportunities, opportunity creation, capacity building” and the main category of “transformation”, included the sub categories of “re-emerging and regeneration” and the last major category of “flexibility” also included “bending and reversibility” and the details of the subcategories and their codes have been shown in Table 2:

Table 2.

Codes, subcategories, main categories in the concept of adaptation

Codes	Sub category	Category
Continuity of society life	Continuity	Sustainability
Continue to work despite the problems
Continue normal life in existing conditions
Persistence of life
No serious disorder in everyday life issues
Thinking of future	Foresight
Predicting future evolutions
Planning for the future
Reasonable and appropriate consumption	Resource management	Productivity
Understanding the existing conditions
Environmental protection
Appropriate behavior with the environment
Less consumption	Saving
Right and proper consumption
Economic thinking
Having tact (wisdom)
Optimal resource consumption	Proper use of resources
Managing your perimeter environment
Standing on your feet	Resistance	Stability
Fight for better conditions
Stay steady
Indifferent to the existing conditions
Do not move with no wind
Persistence
Being strong and robustness
Resolute decision for endurance
Patience and not huffing	Patience
Own and community management
Patience in hardship
Reaching peace
More adaptation to existing conditions	Coping
Adaptation to the environment
Cope with the environment
Trying to fix the hardships
Accepting while acting to improve the situation
Acceptance of the phenomenon as part of the life process
Compromise	Tolerance
Enduring
Gameness against problems
Identifying opportunities	Opportunism- the use of existing opportunities	Empowerment
Planning to take advantage of opportunities
Benefit from the opportunities created
Pay attention to the positive aspects	Opportunity creation
Positive thinking
Positive attitude to environmental changes
Turning threats into opportunities
Ability to create opportunity
Create new opportunities
Increase opportunities
Planning for the use of capacities	Capacity building
Identifying capacities
Attention to internal capacity
Attention to existing capacities
Empowerment
Empowering individuals and systems
Create new conditions	Re-emerging	Transformation
Rebuilt
Not giving up
Disapproval of existing conditions
Improving the current and future conditions
Going to improve
Transform from state to another
Improving the situation
Modifying the status quo
Fundamental change	Regeneration
Revolution in the current situation
Change the existing conditions
Change within the community
Change in lifestyle
Not breaking under pressure	Bending	Flexibility
Modifiable
Elasticity
Not being ruined in hardship
Not breaking despite bending
Get back to better mode	Reversibility
Return to previous state
Bending and returning
Back to the initial state
Time to return to initial state
Reversibility method

Sustainability

Sustainability is the resistance combined with continuity obtained from the main category in this study and its subcategories are “continuity and foresight”. The principles of good adaptation measures include integrity, sustainability, and effective cooperation.

Continuity

Participants in the study believed that “continuity” is an important feature of adaptation and have been the continuation and continuity of life:

"In adaptation which is related to dust phenomenon, we have continuity of life, that is, it has no serious disorder in our everyday lives. In other words, staying the people and did not mean escape from the position they were in that, now depending on the type of risk, the duration of the adaptation is different. Adaptation means that if there is dust, there will not be a serious problem in your everyday life by changing the time of the activity or changing the diet" [P13]

Foresight

The foresight is almost equivalent to the word of future policy. Policy means measuring the benefits and examining the consequences of things and acting accordingly. In times of drought or dust which are long-term can be overcome by prospecting and planning for the future:

"Adaptation means not sacrificing the present and future, expanding the visibility and in the present, seeing the future, which results in thinking and having plans for possible events like dust, for example, dust in Iran began around 2003. If there was suitable construction, for example, considering wind direction or speed, considering how to plant trees, such as not blocking the wind direction, scientific research before the dam construction, changes in the type of cultivation and management of the right planning and looking at the future, the situation was better"[P2]

Productivity

The term productivity means profitability and usefulness. In productivity, continuous efforts are being made to adapt economic activities to changing conditions and to apply new methods. According to the experts in this study, resource management, saving and proper use of resources lead to efficiency.

Resource management

Management is known as an art and manager, is the person who plays the role of coordinator and controller of collective activities to achieve the desired goal with maximum efficiency. Among the objectives of environmental resource management, prevention and identification of threats, protection and improvement of existing resources and promotion of quality of biological resources are mentioned.

"The correct management is of the effective adaptation characteristics, and people alone cannot fight the dust, but, managers and management has an important role in adaptation, one of the most important aspects of which are appropriate management and maintaining resources which is obtained by recognition of the state, the rational use and the protection and the right behavior with the environment, and adaptation of our coordinated relationship with the environment" [P20]

Saving

Economize resources means use new methods to use the limited resources optimally:

"When we said “saving” a few years ago, people thought that we should definitely consume less but now saving is right and proper consumption and consuming resources or goods to meet basic needs, and when we modify our consumption pattern, we save"[P22]

Proper use of resources

One of the most important tasks of human beings is to preserve natural resources and wealth, and in this context it is necessary to have a proper pattern of consumption, namely, optimal and timely resource consumption to obtain the appropriate result:

"Adaptation is reasonable and affordable. Using anything wisely means to use correctly and consume optimally which is effective in adaptation, and has wide implications for energy, water resources and health, especially in the dust phenomenon "[P3]

Stability

One of the characteristics of adaptation is stability. Stability means perseverance, continuity, tolerance and certain decision and it requires resistance, patience, coping, and tolerance.

Resistance

One of the important characteristics of adaptation while maintaining its function is resistance of a system or adaptation to stresses and shocks, such as weather effects:

"Adaptation means robustness that is, no wind can move it, leaving the person or community on his own foot and changing and then resisting the important people. Adaptation is the result of the resistance of the people. Depending on the type and severity of the event and hazard, adaptation can need to time, such as the dust that we should not escape, but should try to improve the situation "[P8]

Patience

Patience is a dynamic force that empowers human against all kinds of afflictions. These afflictions include environmental problems, such as climate change. The one who waits has the ability and ways for change, but the way of patience is mixed with it, and patience is in fact optional:

"Adaptation refers to resistance to against hardships and not losing the patience and here, it is concerned with the environmental problem, like dust. Patient people think and act in a timely manner when they encounter a problem and avoid harmful practices"[P16]

Coping

Adaptation guides activities that enable the community to achieve and maintain an acceptable level of performance and structure in facing potential hazards:

"Any action for the inevitable part imposed to the society to counteract the effects of climate change is the adaptation, and coping with and continuing life at the acceptable performance level, and efforts to eliminate the hardships is considered, and sometimes coping takes time. For example, when we enter the tropics from a cold region, our body performs a series of coping measures, and we must achieve a series of things with our work"[P19]

Tolerance

When one has to live in a particular situation and does not have the full consent of those conditions in fact, he tolerates the conditions and the tolerance threshold of people is different, and tolerance is indeed compulsory:

"Since there is a negative effect of dust, good adaptation with dust and dust may not be achieved, or it will need a long time. For example, in the drought and after that, the dust has exacerbated the melting of the snow and there is water regime change, and we must tolerate somewhat. It's easier to tolerate if we accept this condition as part of the process of our lives"[P17]

Empowerment

The issue of physical and subjective empowerment causes positive adaptation for hardship, or incompatibility. Interpretation of adaptation is resilience and capability, and the ability of people to cope with an accident and increase the resilience and virtually increasing adaptation, especially in long-term natural phenomena such as drought and dust.

Opportunism/use of existing opportunities

Adaptation is an active process of preparation and regulation of climate change, which has both negative effects and potential opportunities. Any threat or risk with regard to its duration and type is an opportunity for the development of society:

"Adaptation is an opportunity, and dust phenomenon should be used as a new situation, however, it is difficult but it is achievable and time- consuming, for example, the region which is dry became a tourist destination and source" [P9]"

Opportunity creation

Adaptation to climate change means the ability of a community to generate new opportunities or to replace conditions which have more effect by people. This means that in a harsh environment, such as the dust, the community can create new conditions by generating opportunities and replacing new systems and innovations. Opportunities are out system:

"The opportunities in the strategic plan are transient and low-profile cases, and threats are usually long- lasting, and resistant. Opportunities are not permanent and there is the ability to generate new opportunities, for example, through synergy or innovating new systems. In the dust phenomenon, we can create new opportunities by using new technologies "[P7]

Capacity building

Adaptation capacity is the ability of the system or individuals to adapt to climate change in order to reduce damages or to cope with its consequences. Since the adaptation is Multidisciplinary and Inter-disciplinary performance, any action in order to reduce the effects or adaptation should be based on the capacities and domestic capabilities of each country and capacities are intra-system:

"Adaptation capacity refers to all capabilities of a country or region to make effective adaptive measures. The adaptation process requires the capacity to learn from past experiences and the use of lessons learned to deal with the changing climate of the future and the pattern of adaptation in each region varies according to its capacities and capabilities" [P21]

Transformation

In the word, it means changing the situation and evolution. Now this transformation can include the reemerging and reformation or regeneration in the sense of the fundamental revolution.

Re-emerging

One of the most important features of transformation is re-emerging. Re-emerging is reform, or using previously forgotten ones:

"In adaptation concerning with the dust, there would be more recurrence to something that has already existed but was lost or washed out and the community can return it again. For example, people have habits to deal with the heat but they are forgotten gradually. One of the characteristics of adaptation is to reform and restore the previous mechanisms" [P12]

Regeneration

Adaptation is a change in the behavior or processes of thought that enables the person to accept adaptive strategies, changes in the environment, or their abilities. In fact, fundamental change occurs, and in other words, a revolution and a great transformation occur, and society uses new mechanisms:

"Regeneration occurs when a mechanism disappears and an adaptive society can produce them in another way. In other words, the reproduction is deeper and more serious than the re-emerging, and by switching to the adaptation side, we have added the change item. Changing type of activity and lifestyle to reduce the effects and benefit from it, such as changing the way of cultivating the plants "[P14]

Flexibility

Flexibility is a process, the ability or the consequence of successful adaptation to threatening conditions that creates positive adjustment despite the existence of damaging experiences in the individual.

Bending

Bending means to change the mechanism when there is pressure on a community. For example, in terms of climate change, the community has deregulating mechanisms for managing droughts and it guides the issue for the community without causing a problem:

"We need to have alternatives in the system facing the event of an impairment, to ensure performance and lack of impairment in works. That is, we should plan beforehand, similar to the drought management programs; we should have plans for other incidents like dust" [P1]

Reversibility

Reversibility means that when pressure is removed from society, society does not repeat the previous methods again, but with the lessons learned from the situation, it tries to improve its condition:

"In reversibility, one does not return to the previous state, but rather better than before. If one day the problem of dehydration was resolved in our country, we should not be profuse again and live like before, but we must think that difficult conditions may be restored. So, using lessons learned in times of dehydration, we make living conditions better than before, in other words, positive changes are institutionalized in society"[P5]

Consequences of adaptation to climate change and dust phenomena

Experts consider the implications of adaptation as sustainable development, improved living conditions, integrated and coordinated response, and independence.

Sustainable development

Sustainable development can be explained as the management of ecosystem relations with human systems, which itself leads to sustainable use of resources for the present and future prosperity of ecosystems and humans:

"Sustainable development improves conditions and progress, and we need to change the use of resources to meet the needs of today without compromising the capabilities of future generations, while not harming the environment"[P5]

Life improvement

The result of adaptation to climate change is the satisfaction of people along with the increase in their quality of life, which we will reach to a sustainable style with, an environmentally adaptation lifestyle:

"We feel happy when we adapt to the environment in environmental problems such as drought, flood, or dust with our environment and peaceful coexistence. The more we get closer to standards in environmental management, our quality of life increases" [P18]

Response coordination and integration

One of the results of effective adaptation is proportionality and integrity:

"Using adaptation, we can respond to the problems which are caused by dust in a coordinated and planned manner, and one of the important results of a good adaptation is intersectional and interdisciplinary coordination which will display all coordinated and planned responses. This means that the result of a good adaptation is the coordinated response and cooperation of all sectors and vice versa"[P11]

Creativity and innovation

Adaptation creates new opportunities or using it result in creativity. Innovation means “An idea, a new method, or a process of presenting something new”. Innovation has an important role in increasing the power of adaptability:

"In many countries facing climate problems, adaptability led to creativity and the emergence of new ways of life. Perhaps digging the aqueduct is one of the best examples. Since people did not have water, they devised a new way to access water "[P6]

Resilience promotion

Adaptation is one of the components of the general concepts of resilience, that is to say, society must be adapted to change first and then to be resilient:

"In fact, adaptation is part of the resilience. In resilience, in addition to adjustment capacities, which are the same as adaptability, are the capacities which are used to prepare for and respond to acute and immediate disasters, and they mean a lot"[P12]

Vulnerability reduction

Adaptable communities naturally see less damage to disasters and accidents. Decreased vulnerability is one of the results of adaptation to climate change:

"Adaptation is a social response to climate change. In chronic hazards such as dust, when there are effective management strategies for adaptation, we definitely reduce the vulnerability"[P15]

Effective management

The goals in effective management are clearly defined and subsequent effective decisions are made and finally there are change management and problem solution:

"In an adapted society, society, including governments must create changes in their management processes and methods to respond appropriately to threats and hazards, including environmental problems. Therefore, the result of an efficient adaptation is effective management and vice versa" [P4]

Independence

Independence means the ability to think and act without relying on others, at the level of society. Adaptation leads to the empowerment of individuals so that the society becomes independent:

"When the society becomes adaptable, it feels independence, when the community has new ideas and uses its opportunities and capacities and looking for the solution, its dependence decreases and becomes non-dependence" [P10]

Discussion

In this section, according to the findings of this study and the interviews with the experts, two main themes were extracted including adaptation attributes and its implications. In the theme of adaptation attributes, six main categories were conceptualized including “sustainability, productivity, stability, empowerment, transformation, and flexibility”. The main categories in the theme of the adaptation consequences were “sustainable development, life improvement, response coordination and integration, creativity and innovation, resilience promotion, vulnerability reduction, effective management and independence”.

In another study, the inferred domains of adaptation from the viewpoint of experts, the social and cultural, economic, natural, physical, and governance domains in the Iranian society were obtained. Accordingly, the results of this and other study on domains can provide a new conceptual model for better understanding of adaptation. This conceptual framework and the consequences of adaptation are presented schematically in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

Adaptation conceptual framework

According to the results of this recent study, the following conceptual-functional definition presents for adaptation to climate change:

“CCA refers to the ability of a system in stability, sustainability, empowerment, productivity, flexibility, and transformation to climate change through the optimal use of resources, resistance, coping, capacity building, and opportunity creation”.

The proposed definition is also conceptual, it means that includes the main features of climate-adaptation and is also functional that is, includes adaptation strategies for climate change. The comparison of this definition with the definition of UNISDR [41] shows that the definition of this study is a more comprehensive because it emphasizes the main characteristics of adaptation.

Sustainability included two subcategories of “Continuity and foresight”. In sustainability, we have continuity and non- impairment in our lives which should be accompanied by foresight and policy, taking into account the consequences of actions and looking at the future. The concept of sustainability in adaptation was also raised by [9, 47].

Productivity as an adaptation specification, includes the multiplication product of effectiveness and efficiency and it means “properly doing the right thing”, which refers to as “resource management and saving” in efficiency and “proper use of resources” in the effectiveness. The efficiency is to “work correctly” and characteristics related to work and resources are defined in it and the effectiveness means “doing the right thing” and there are time-based planning-related characteristics associated with it and necessarily both efficiency and effectiveness together lead to productivity [17].

Stability is necessary to achieve adaptation, which is combined with certain decision and endurance, patience and resistance with patience to change which has coping and tolerance with itself. Ribot [31] has introduced adjustment as one of the characteristics of adaptation.

UNDP describes adaptation as a process by which strategies are developed and implemented for balance, coping and productivity from the climatic event consequences [26].

The nature of the adaptation is associated with change. The difference between compromise and adaptation is that adaptation means not giving up and fighting to create better conditions. These conditions can be natural and environmental hazards such as dust. In addition to accepting conditions in adaptation, improving the current and future conditions is a turning point for new developments. Adaptation is an effective measure. In both cases of the reduction of effects and adaptation, effective and timely measures should be along with non-compromise conditions [28].

Another characteristic of adaptation is “empowerment,” which involves the use of “existing opportunities and opportunity creation and capacity building”. In addition to negative effects, climate change can create new opportunities.

In the use of opportunities, identifying and planning, and taking advantage of opportunities are important, and in the opportunity creation, it is important to pay attention to the positive thinking with the positive perception, in addition to utilizing community opportunities, individuals can generate new opportunities and turn threats into opportunities. Opportunity creation in this sense of adaptation refers to the use of existing opportunities and the creation of new opportunities. Capacity building also involves the use of existing capacity in the system and the creation of new capacity.

The concepts of “capacity building” and “use of opportunities” have been expressed in other definitions of adaptation [14, 38, 41], but what is important in adaptation, is “opportunity creation “. Opportunities act as an out system issue and capacities are intra-system.

“Transformation” as another characteristic of adaptation is associated with evolution and change. Transformation involves “re-emerging and regeneration “. Re-emerging refers to the reform or use of previously forgotten mechanisms, while regeneration is accompanied by a massive revolution and transformation and its concept is deeper than the re-emerging. In regeneration, we have an item of change in ourselves and in the environment [30].

“Flexibility” in adaptation refers to “bending and reversibility”. In bending, elasticity and not breaking while bending is considered and in the reversibility, returning to a previous or better state of the past is discussed [30] where, the time and method of reversibility should also be considered. In reversibility by taking pressure from society, the community tries to use lessons learned without repeating the previous method and improving conditions.

Until the third climate change assessment report from the International Panel [44], experts were paying great attention to reducing climate change and then attention was paid to adaptation. Adaptation has been known as “targeted adjustment” in natural hazards.

Since climate change is a threat to sustainable development [39], adaptation to climate change which is an important consequence of adaptation will lead to sustainable development by improving the economic, social and environmental conditions and meeting the needs of today, taking into account future needs. Ribot [31] has referred to the sustainable development in adaptation. Higher adaptation is associated with resource management, disaster preparedness and sustainable development programs [32].

Another consequence of adaptation is life improvement, which is associated with the sense of community’s usefulness and the achievement of a consistent lifestyle with increased quality. Folkman considers adaptation as an attempt to inhibit (including tolerance, reduction, or minimization and domination) of internal demands and environment beyond personal resources [11]. On the other hand, according to the World Health Organization, quality of life is the perception of individuals of their own position in terms of culture, value system, goals, expectations, priorities and standards [4, 21, 45]. Therefore, it can be expected that increased adaptation will increase the quality of life.

Response coordination and integration is the result of successful adaptation, which is associated with Inter-disciplinary and planned coordination. On the other hand, we can achieve adaptation with the coordination and planning that is a two-way relationship. Other meaning of adaptation is agreement and coordination [37], and the result of a good and effective adaptation can be the coordination and integrity of the response as the integrated coordination leads to adaptation.

Creativity means using subjective abilities in order to create a new thought and innovation so that making the ideas functional, has been gained from creativity [1]. In adaptation, by creation or use of new opportunities, the other consequence of creativity and innovation can be achieved by inventing and applying new ideas, the capacity adaptation has increased, where adaptation capacity also includes measures such as optimal use of opportunities and controlling their outcomes [34]. For example, environmentally friendly innovation investigates innovative processes and products that reduce environmental damage [16]. Another consequence of adaptation is resilience promotion. Adaptation is a component of the concepts of resilience, and the more compatible the society becomes, the more resilient it will be. Community resilience refers to how communities are adapted to risks, or to improve conditions or adapt to it [25].

The resilience has described as the continuing adaptation in the future and reflection of the ability of society to adapt to hazards [25] which indicate the important fact that adaptation is a part of the resilience. In the qualitative research entitled “The Concept of resilience in disasters in Iran,” it is mentioned by Ostadtaghizadeh in his study, that adaptation is part of the resilience definition. Taghizadeh says that two words of coexistence and adaptation are used in the literature but in his view, the word of adaptation with the risks is more practical which means coping with difficult conditions in a successful and effective manner [29].

Vulnerability reduction has been discussed as another consequence of adaptation and suggests that communities with higher adaptation are less vulnerable. The European Climate Action Plan considers adaptation as a process or result of a process that reduces damage or achieve the benefits of climate change [38]. Smit and Wendel in their study on the concept of adaptation to climate change, point out that adaptation in human societies is strongly dependent on the capacity of community adaptation and its vulnerability [32]. Therefore, the role of reducing vulnerability in adaptation is confirmed.

“Effective management” is ultimately accompanied by a change and a program for solving problems. Changes in management practices must be made for adaptation. The result of an effective adaptation is effective management and effective management also leads to adaptation, i.e., a two-way relationship. Effective management focuses on the success of the community [22].

Adaptation, leads to “independence” by generating empowerment in society, and the society rely on itself and then decreased dependency is observed and, using the ideas, opportunities and new capacities and finding the right solutions, the society becomes non-dependent. The main component of independence is selection [36]. When individuals feel self-governing, their action has the message of freedom and independence [43].

Conclusion

Climate change is one of the present challenges of the world which can have extensive effects on human health and lives. Adaptation with this phenomenon is one of the strategies that can reduce its effects. Identifying the concept, attributes, factors, consequences, and adaptation methods with climate change can be a guidance and base of planning to CCA in each society. This research referred to the discovering of the definition, the conceptual framework of adaptation and identifying its consequences and attributes. Regarding this research, “CCA refers to the ability of a system in stability, sustainability, and empowerment “. Comparing this definition to the previous one shows that, the definition includes the main characteristics and the general policies of adaptation accomplishment with climate change. The adaptation attributes include stability which means resistance with permanence (including continuity, foresight), productivity which means profitability and usefulness (including resources management, saving, proper use of resources), stability which means resistance with resolute resolve associated with patience (including resistance, patience, coping, and tolerance), empowerment which means enabling (including opportunism, use of existing opportunities, opportunity creation, capacity building), transformation which means changing the condition (including re-emerging and regeneration), flexibility which means recession and turning back to the better condition (including bending, reversibility).

Planning to CCA can improve life condition, integrated and coordinated response, creativity and innovation, resilience promotion, vulnerability reduction, effective management and independence of a society and finally sustainable development.

It is suggested to conduct other studies to identify factors, agents, and adaptation experiences with climate changes to plan and execute policies of adaptation promotion with climate change in a society. In addition, it seems that evaluating the condition and people adaptation with climate change and monitoring its changes in the correct planning can be proper to promote CCA.

Ethical code of research

At the beginning of the interview, having an ethical code of research (IR.TUMS.SPH.REC.1396.4171) by Tehran University of Medical Sciences was confirmed.

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.