Climate change – scoping the issues

3. Adapting to Climate Change:

Adaptation to climate change is a necessary strategy to complement climate change mitigation effects. Adaptation often produces benefits as well as forming a basis for coping with future climate change. However, experience demonstrates that there are constraints to achieving the full measure of potential adaptation. There are many instances of, maladaptation, such as promoting development in risk-prone locations, which can occur due to decisions based on short-term considerations. The ability of human systems to adapt to and cope with climate change depends on factors such as wealth, technology, education, information, skills, infrastructure, access to resources and management capabilities.²²

There are already a number of documented case studies and examples where indigenous peoples have responded to climate change in innovative ways. Some case studies and examples are listed below according to the UNPFII’s seven indigenous regions:

(i) Africa
Indigenous knowledge is the basis for local level decision-making in many rural communities of Africa. Its value is not only for the culture in which it evolves, but also for scientists and planners striving to improve conditions in rural localities. Incorporating indigenous knowledge into climate change policies can lead to the development of effective adaptation strategies that are cost-effective, participatory and sustainable.
African communities and farmers have always coped with changing environments. They have the knowledge and practices to cope with adverse environments. The enhancement of indigenous peoples’ capacity is a key to the empowerment of local communities and their effective participation in development processes. Local farmers in several parts of Africa have been known to conserve carbon in soils through the use of zero-tilling practices in cultivation, mulching, and other soil-management techniques. Natural mulches, moderate soil temperatures do suppress diseases and harmful pests and conserve soil moisture. The widespread use of indigenous plant materials such as agrochemicals to combat pests that normally attack food crops, has also been reported among small-scale farmers. It is likely that climate change will alter the ecology of disease vectors, and indigenous practices of pest management would be useful adaptation strategies. Other indigenous strategies that are adopted by local farmers include controlled bush clearing; using tall grasses for fixing soil surface nutrients which have been washed away by runoff; erosion-control to reduce the effects of runoff; restoring lands by using green manure; constructing stone dykes; managing low-lying lands and protecting river banks.²³

Adaptation strategies that are applied by pastoralists in times of drought include the use of emergency fodder, culling of weak livestock for food, and multi-species composition of herds to survive climate extremes. During drought periods, pastoralists change from cattle to sheep and goat husbandry, as their feed requirements are lower. The pastoralists’ nomadic mobility reduces the pressure on low-capacity grazing areas through their cyclic movements from the dry northern areas to the wetter southern areas of the Sahel. African women are particularly known to possess indigenous knowledge which helps to maintain household food security, particularly in times of drought and famine. They often rely on indigenous plants that are more tolerant to droughts and pests, providing a reserve for extended periods of economic hardships. For example, in southern Sudan, women are directly responsible for the selection of all sorghum seeds saved for planting each year. They preserve a variety of seeds that will ensure resistance to the range of conditions that may arise in any given growing season.²⁴