scholarly journals Contributions of Nature-Based Solutions to Reduce Peoples’ Vulnerabilities to Climate Change across the Rural Global South

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Woroniecki ◽  
Femke Anna Spiegelenberg ◽  
Alexandre Chausson ◽  
Beth Turner ◽  
Isabel Key ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Global South ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Systematic Map ◽  
Vulnerability Reduction ◽  
Ecosystem Sensitivity

Nature-based solutions (NbS) —i.e. working with and enhancing nature to address societal challenges— feature with increasing prominence in responses to climate change, including in the adaptation plans of the most vulnerable nations. Although evidence for the effectiveness of NbS for adaptation is growing, there is less evidence on whether and how NbS reduce vulnerability to climate change in the Global South, despite this region being home to most of the world’s most climate-vulnerable people. To address this, we analysed the vulnerability-reduction outcomes of 85 nature-based interventions in rural areas across the Global South, and factors mediating their effectiveness, based on a systematic map of peer-reviewed studies encompassing a wide diversity of ecosystems, climate impacts, intervention types and institutions. We applied an analytical framework based on social-ecological systems and climate change vulnerability, coding studies with respect to six pathways of vulnerability reduction: social and ecological exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. We find widespread effectiveness of NbS in the dataset with 95% providing positive outcomes for climate change adaptation. Overall, nature-based interventions reduced vulnerability primarily by lowering ecosystem sensitivity to climate impacts (73% of interventions), followed by reducing social sensitivity (43%), reducing ecological exposure (37%), and/or increasing social adaptive capacity (34%), ecological adaptive capacity (18%) and reducing social exposure (12%). With an analysis of mediating factors, we show that vulnerability-reduction effectiveness was affected as much by social and political factors as by technical considerations. Indeed configurations of existing and introduced formal and informal institutions appear central to the efficacy and distributive effects of the studied interventions. We conclude that attention to the distinct pathways through which vulnerability is reduced can help maximise the benefits of NbS and that to be successful, careful consideration is required on their applicability to particular circumstances as well as their social dimensions.

scholarly journals Climate Change in Hungarian Rural Society: Assessment of Adaptive Capacity

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-116
Author(s):  
Judit Pappné Vancsó ◽  
Mónika Hoschek ◽  
Ferenc Jankó
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social System ◽  
Rural Society ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Accurate Calculation ◽  
Drought Frequency ◽  
Expected Increase

Abstract Beside sustainable development, vulnerability might be the most frequently used expression in environmental studies. Vulnerability depends on the intensity of the impacts on a natural or social system as well as on its adaptive capacity. Appropriate adaptation warrants successful survival of the system even under high impact, when its vulnerability is significantly reduced; therefore, measuring adaptive capacity should have an established place in the methodology of impact – adaptation – vulnerability research. The main problem is to find relevant data that are required to establish indicators. In our study, the focus was laid on measuring adaptive capacity within vulnerability research, and on identifying possibilities for accurate calculation of adaptation. An attempt was made to determine the adaptive capacity to droughts in the micro-regions of Zala County. It could be established that the adaptive capacity of the population in the rural areas of Zala County to the expected increase in drought frequency is very low, which can be primarily explained by the lack of knowledge about adaptive agriculture.

The closed city as a strategy to reduce vulnerability of urban areas for climate change

2007 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 165-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.E. de Graaf ◽  
N.C. van de Giesen ◽  
F.H.M. van de Ven
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Coping Capacity ◽  
Recovery Capacity ◽  
Alternative Water ◽  
Vulnerability Framework

Urbanization, land subsidence and sea level rise will increase vulnerability to droughts in the urbanized low-lying areas in the western part of the Netherlands. In this paper a possibility is explored to decrease vulnerability of urban areas by implementing an alternative water supply option. A four component vulnerability framework is presented that includes threshold capacity, coping capacity, recovery capacity and adaptive capacity. By using the vulnerability framework it is elaborated that current water supply strategies in the Netherlands mainly focus on increasing threshold capacity by constructing improved water storage and delivery infrastructure. A complete vulnerability decreasing strategy requires measures that include all four components. Adaptive capacity can be developed by starting experiments with new modes of water supply. A concept which is symbolically called ‘the closed city’ uses local urban rainfall as the only source of water supply. The ‘closed city’ can decrease the water dependence of urban areas on (1) the surrounding rural areas that are diminishing in size and that are increasingly under strain and (2) river water resources that will probably be less constant and reliable as a result of climate change.

scholarly journals Rural Drinking Water Safety under Climate Change: The Importance of Addressing Physical, Social, and Environmental Dimensions

Resources ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Jeremy Kohlitz ◽  
Joanne Chong ◽  
Juliet Willetts
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Water Access ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Drinking Water Safety ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Infrastructure Design

This paper explores the physical, social, and environmental dimensions of how climate change impacts affect drinking water safety in a rural context in developing countries. Climate impacts, such as contamination or the reduced availability of preferred drinking water sources due to climate-related hazards, threaten water safety in rural areas and these impacts will likely worsen as climate change accelerates. We qualitatively examined these impacts in a community in rural Vanuatu using three approaches side-by-side: adaptation, vulnerability, and resilience. We employed a mixed methods case study methodology that combined semi-structured interviews, technological and environmental surveys, and observations. We demonstrate the influence of physical infrastructure design, social structures mediating water access, and the availability of multiple sustainable water resources on water safety with respect to climate impacts. We also show how the initial problematization of how climate affects water safety can influence subsequent actions to address, or overlook, issues of infrastructure design and maintenance, social equity, and natural resource management for water access. Improvements to rural drinking water safety management in the context of climate change should take a pluralistic approach, informed by different conceptualizations of climate impacts, to account for the varied causal pathways of reduced water safety for different members of a community.

Long Chile drought raises profile of climate impacts

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Energy Matrix ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Irrigation Projects ◽  
The Future ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Subject Drought and agriculture. Significance In the last three months, emergency decrees prompted by lack of water have been issued in more than one-third of the country’s 16 regions as a result of the ten-year drought, which has worsened in 2019. The emergency decrees are focused on ensuring access to drinking water for people in rural areas, providing fodder and water for livestock, and implementing irrigation projects for small and medium-sized farms. Impacts Hydropower represents about 30% of Chile’s energy matrix but there is sufficient backup from other sources to avoid outages. The drought has raised public awareness on the future impacts of climate change on Chile. A warmer and drier future may lead to migration to the country’s south in the longer term.

Climate impacts on nutrition and labor supply disentangled – an analysis for rural areas of Uganda

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Antonelli ◽  
Manuela Coromaldi ◽  
Shouro Dasgupta ◽  
Johannes Emmerling ◽  
Soheil Shayegh
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Labor Supply ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Calorie Intake ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Agricultural Labor ◽  
Variable Approach

Abstract The entire agricultural supply chain, from crop production to food consumption, is expected to suffer significant damages from climate change. This paper empirically investigates the effects of warming on agricultural labor supply through variation in dietary intake in rural Uganda. We examine labor supply, food consumption, and overall social welfare under various climate change scenarios. First, we combine nationally representative longitudinal survey data with high-resolution climatic data using an instrumental variable approach. Controlling for calorie intake, our study shows that warming has a non-linear impact on agricultural labor supply, with the number of hours worked being optimized at an optimal temperature of 21.3°C. Using these econometric estimates to parametrize an overlapping generations model, we find that under RCP8.5, output per adult decreases by 20 per cent by the end of the century due to the combined effect of climate change on food consumption and labor supply.

Climate Change Discourse and Adaptation Narrative

2017 ◽  
pp. 6-14
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Climate Extremes ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Learning Science ◽  
Climate Risks ◽  
Discussion Threads ◽  
Climate Change Community

This chapter defines the dominant climate change discourse and the adaptation narrative linking the latter with mainstream social sciences. As commonly observed, the current discourse on climate change adaptation is rich and dynamic. However, because of the diversity of disciplines engaged in it, the narrative at times would lack coherence as seen in discussion threads on vulnerability, awareness and resilience. The climate change community submits that one's exposure to climate threats, sensitivity to climate extremes and adaptive capacity to climate impacts determine vulnerability to climate risks. Furthermore, the community uses the terms awareness and knowledge interchangeably when the behavioral and learning science traditions make clear distinctions and differentiations between the two. The current discourse also pays emphasis on the words resilience and sustainability and highlights the transdisciplinary nature of each. The authors present their arguments on how these discussion threads should be effectively treated.

scholarly journals Habitat Climate Change Vulnerability Index Applied to Major Vegetation Types of the Western Interior United States

Land ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Comer ◽  
Jon C. Hak ◽  
Marion S. Reid ◽  
Stephanie L. Auer ◽  
Keith A. Schulz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Ecosystem Sensitivity ◽  
Climate Change Vulnerability ◽  
Climate Exposure

We applied a framework to assess climate change vulnerability of 52 major vegetation types in the Western United States to provide a spatially explicit input to adaptive management decisions. The framework addressed climate exposure and ecosystem resilience; the latter derived from analyses of ecosystem sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Measures of climate change exposure used observed climate change (1981–2014) and then climate projections for the mid-21st century (2040–2069 RCP 4.5). Measures of resilience included (under ecosystem sensitivity) landscape intactness, invasive species, fire regime alteration, and forest insect and disease risk, and (under adaptive capacity), measures for topo-climate variability, diversity within functional species groups, and vulnerability of any keystone species. Outputs are generated per 100 km2 hexagonal area for each type. As of 2014, moderate climate change vulnerability was indicated for >50% of the area of 50 of 52 types. By the mid-21st century, all but 19 types face high or very high vulnerability with >50% of the area scoring in these categories. Measures for resilience explain most components of vulnerability as of 2014, with most targeted vegetation scoring low in adaptive capacity measures and variably for specific sensitivity measures. Elevated climate exposure explains increases in vulnerability between the current and mid-century time periods.

Emerging heat extremes, adaptation and the speed of socio-economic development

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl-Friedrich Schleussner ◽  
Martha M. Vogel ◽  
Peter Pfleiderer ◽  
Marina Andrijevic ◽  
Friederike E. Otto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Integrated Assessment ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Extreme Heat ◽  
Climate Change Signal ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
Heat Extremes

<p>Heat extremes are among the most pertinent extreme weather hazards. At the same time, adaptation to the impacts of extreme heat can be very effective. The ability of societies to effectively adapt to climate change hazards such as extreme heat, however, critically depends on their level of socio-economic development. Examining the risks posed by future heat extremes to human societies requires to link socio-economic development trajectories with emerging heat extremes. Such an integrated assessment can also provide insights into whether or not it is indeed plausible for societies to “outgrow” climate change by increasing adaptive capacity faster than climate impacts emerge -  a narrative that underlies many policy decisions that prioritize economic development over climate action still today.</p><p> </p><p>Here we provide such an integrated assessment by combining a novel approach to project the continuous emergence of heat extremes over the 21<sup>st</sup> century under different concentration pathways and the pace of socio-economic development under the shared socio-economic pathways accounting for continuous autonomous adaptation. We find that even under the most optimistic scenarios of future development, countries may not be able to outpace unmitigated climate change. Only Paris-Agreement compatible concentration pathways allow for human development to keep up with or even outpace the emerging climate change signal in vulnerable countries in the near future. A similar picture emerges when comparing heat day emergence with future evolution of governance as a proxy for adaptive capacity. Our findings underscore the critical importance of achieving the Paris Agreement goals to enable climate-resilient, sustainable development.</p>

Integration of social protection and climate change adaptation in Brazil

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (12) ◽  
pp. 3030-3043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia S. Mesquita ◽  
Marcel Bursztyn
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Government Documents ◽  
Social Vulnerabilities ◽  
Desk Review

Purpose Social protection (SP) and climate change adaptation (CCA) are two subjects highly debated when discussing social vulnerabilities and food insecurity in rural areas of developing countries. Both fields address matters related to socioeconomic vulnerabilities and thus present opportunities for integration. However, many studies have stated the lack of interaction within the study areas. When dealing with CCA and SP in Brazil, the two offer an opportunity for integration since some SP programmes (such as food-based safety nets) can both affect adaptation and be impacted by expected changes in climate. Impacts from CC are projected to be extreme in the Brazilian semi-arid Northeast, a region where social programmes of assistance and aid are historically crucial during periods of drought. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to address the interaction of CCA and SP in a conceptual level on policies and programmes in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach A desk review of government documents (policies, plans, decrees) related to food security, food-based programmes and CC. Findings Based on the results the authors highlight the limited integration between CC and SP in Brazil and the potential for interaction in many of the programmes already in place. Originality/value The authors attribute findings to the segmented governmental structure and the weak interaction between sectors, and the only recent discussion of linkages between CC and poverty, development and food insecurity. Discussion on the challenges and benefits of this interaction are provided in a context of CC in Brazil, still not very debated in the academic literature.

scholarly journals Communicating climate change findings from IPCC reports: insights from outreach events in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 168 (3-4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Minal Pathak ◽  
Joyashree Roy ◽  
Shaurya Patel ◽  
Shreya Some ◽  
Purvi Vyas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Open Discussion ◽  
Diverse Audience ◽  
Adaptation And Mitigation ◽  
Local Languages ◽  
Background Prior

AbstractIn recent years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been collaborating with Indian institutions to organise outreach events. This essay draws on the perspective of participants, speakers and organisers of 17 in-person outreach events conducted across India in 2018 and 2020, to share insights and recommendations for future IPCC events in India and other developing country contexts. The formats analysed in this essay range from panel events with very large public audiences to more focused workshops, meetings and seminars. Target audiences covered both academic and non-academic audiences and included researchers, teachers, students, industry and NGOs. The events, while achieving their main objective of communicating the findings of IPCC reports, also provided a platform for open discussion of localised climate impacts and good practices in adaptation and mitigation. There are, however, notable challenges to public outreach in India, specifically in terms of attracting an adequate number of participants, experts’ availability, communicating to a diverse audience and translation into local languages. The biggest challenge faced by speakers was a lack of knowledge about the number of attendees and the composition of the audience prior to an event. It is our recommendation that future outreach events in India are designed to be interactive, tailored to the regional context and complemented by simplified communication materials. Speakers should be provided with audience information and background prior to the event, and greater reach into rural areas, including school children, could be achieved with material in local languages. Additionally, event organisers often require logistical and operational support to host outreach events.

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