Worldview-Specific Policy Stories in Participatory Climate Adaptation Processes: An Example from Regional Water Management

As climate change intensifies water-related risks, designing adaptation measures that are both effective and socially acceptable has become a major governance challenge, especially in sectors marked by complexity, uncertainty, and competing interests. This article analyzes the participatory development of climate adaptation strategies in the water sector through the lens of Cultural Theory (CT). Drawing on empirical data from the "KlimaRhön" project in Germany, it examines how hierarchical, individualistic, and egalitarian worldviews shape policy stories and influence negotiation processes. The analysis traces how these culturally embedded narratives manifest in the design of three key measures: water supplier mergers, progressive pricing, and a water availability indicator. Despite differing assumptions about human behavior and natural resources, consensus emerged through clumsy solutions that integrate competing worldviews. These compromise-based strategies reflect the political and institutional realities of water governance and offer insight into how diverse perspectives can be combined to foster socially robust and implementable adaptation pathways.