How Does Knowledge Translation Involving (Non)Humans Influence the Adoption of Climate Change Solutions? The Case of Nature-Dependent Prosumers

Abstract

In this article we use actor-network theory to advance understandings of how nature-dependent “prosumers” adopt climate change solutions. Based on interviews with members from two subsistence farming communities in Colombia, we illustrate how knowledge about climate change and climate change solutions flows across intervention and response networks, formed by human and nonhuman actors, in a dialectical way—sometimes supporting and other times resulting in contradictions/betrayals that limit prosumers’ adoption of sustainable practices. These findings contribute to theories about the diffusion of innovations related to climate change, capturing how knowledge translations processes involves bureaucratic and grassroots knowledge from intervention networks that interacts with reflected knowledge from response networks. It also highlights the key role of nonhuman actors. Our findings offer insights for practitioners by illuminating multiple sources of knowledge and how their interaction can result in supportive versus detracting conditions that can affect whether consumers adopt climate change solutions.