This paper explores the trans-disciplinary aspects of risk management, and establishes the importance of risk management as a critical tool to strengthen adaptation to climate change. The paper discusses the challenges that traditional risk management is confronted with. It presents three emerging issues in the field of risk management in relation to climate change adaptation:

the need for greater stakeholder engagement and participation
the need for co-creation of knowledge and shared learning
the need to promote networks of adaptive governance

In this context, the paper also highlights the need for appropriate governance mechanisms for socio-ecological and socio-technical systems, rather than focusing exclusively on technical solutions. In order to address this need, the paper proposes a hybrid approach - Adaptive Collaborative Risk Management (ACRM). This approach, it is argued, enriches conventional risk management with the critical features of adaptive co-management, i.e., collaboration and adaptation. ACRM, the authors assert, overcomes some of the challenges with conventional risk management, builds upon and complements other approaches to community climate change adaptation, and innovatively addresses both technical and governance concerns in a single integrated process.