Existing case studies use varying criteria for assessing effectiveness, complicating comparisons. Judgements regarding successful adaptation are contingent on the chosen scale and perspective   and on the level of risk, that is increasing climate risks may cause previously successful adaptation to become insufficient. Rather than a binary outcome , adaptation can be viewed on a continuum from successful adaptation to maladaptation . Assessments of adaptation success need to account for distributional effects and differential vulnerability, as well as consider connections across different scales and complex interactions with other change processes . Recent literature has begun to identify how adaptation can better achieve its intended objectives . For instance, inclusive M&E can legitimise and validate M&E and foster commitment and learning.
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report