In Part 2 of our conversation with Professor Lisa Schipper, we confront the harder question: what happens when climate adaptation itself creates new problems? From flooded villages "protected" by seawalls to crop insurance that destroys social networks, Lisa exposes how well-meaning projects can backfire, and why the politics of labeling, funding, and local ownership determine whether a project helps or harms.
Time Stamps
02:30 - What Is Maladaptation? Beyond "Good vs. Bad"
06:15 - The Fiji Seawall: When Protection Creates Flooding
08:00 - Irrigation & Insurance: Shifting Risk, Eroding Resilience
10:00 - Who Decides What's "Maladaptive"? The Power to Label
13:30 - The Politics of Maladaptation: Why Global South Governments Fear the Word
15:00 - The Reporting Gap: Why We Don't Know How Much Maladaptation Exists
18:20 - Explaining Adaptation to a 20-Year-Old
We dive deep into:
👉🏻 Why maladaptation isn't just "failed adaptation" it's adaptation that actively increases vulnerability
👉🏻 The Fiji seawall: how a coastal "protection" project ended up flooding the community it was meant to save
👉🏻 Irrigation and crop insurance: when technical fixes erode social networks and simply shift risk downstream
👉🏻 Who has the right to call something "maladaptive"? Why academics sitting at computers may be unfair to communities with limited options
👉🏻 The politics of the label: why Global South governments fear "maladaptation" will become an excuse to cut funding
👉🏻 Why mitigation is still the "most important adaptation" and why limits are coming fast regardless of investment
Lisa turns the lens inward on the adaptation industry itself. She forces us to ask: are we solving problems, or just moving them around? Essential viewing for anyone designing projects, funding them, or living with their consequences.
This is Part Two of our conversation. Watch Part 1 here: https://youtu.be/IhCI2nIDkTg
🎙️ Host: Alberto Troccoli | Let's Climunicate
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📅 Episode recorded on - 17/04/2026
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