scholarly journals Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Climate Change Adaptation: The Sa’ban experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (14) ◽  
pp. 63-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadzirah Hosen ◽  
Hitoshi Nakamura ◽  
Amran Hamzah

Indigenous people often rely on natural resources for their livelihoods. This reliance increases their vulnerability towards the impacts of climate change, and coping with increased climate variability is a significant challenge for such communities. This research, conducted among the Sa’ban tribe of Long Banga in interior Sarawak, Malaysia, explored observations of local climate change, climate change impacts and tribal adaptation strategies. The results show that drought, wildfires and uncertain weather conditions are the Sa’ban’s primary concerns. However, the tribe have demonstrated their adaptation strategies through the use of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). Keywords: indigenous people, traditional ecological knowledge, adaptive capacity, climate change adaptation eISSN 2514-7528 ©2019 The Authors. Published for AMER, ABRA & cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/jabs.v4i14.339

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Nadzirah Hosen ◽  
Hitoshi Nakamura ◽  
Amran Hamzah

Indigenous people often rely on natural resources for their livelihoods. This reliance increases their vulnerability towards the impacts of climate change, and coping with increased climate variability is a significant challenge for such communities. This research, conducted among the Sa’ban tribe of Long Banga in interior Sarawak, Malaysia, explored observations of local climate change, climate change impacts and tribal adaptation strategies. The results show that drought, wildfires and uncertain weather conditions are the Sa’ban’s primary concerns. However, the tribe have demonstrated their adaptation strategies through the use of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK).Keywords: indigenous people, traditional ecological knowledge, adaptive capacity, climate change adaptationeISSN: 2398-4287 © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v4i11.1716


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (13) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Nadzirah Hosen ◽  
Hitoshi Nakamura

The scale of climate change put indigenous people at higher risk than the others. Nonetheless, due to their intimate knowledge of their land, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) held by the indigenous peoples may be the key to combating climate change. This article aims to explain the role that TEK plays in adapting to climate change. Document review included grey literature alongside peer-reviewed literature and project websites related to indigenous knowledge in climate change adaptation. The findings show that TEK not only helps indigenous people cope with environmental and climate pressures, but the knowledge system fosters resilience of socio-ecological systems.Keywords: climate change adaptation;  traditional knowledge; traditional ecological knowledge; resilienceeISSN: 2398-4287 © 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v5i13.2059


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (19) ◽  
pp. 59-71
Author(s):  
Nadzirah Hosen ◽  
Hitoshi Nakamura

Climate change puts indigenous people at greater risk than others. Nevertheless, because of their intimate knowledge of their land, indigenous peoples' traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) could be the answer to fighting climate change. This paper aims to explain the role that TEK plays in responding to climate change. Document analysis included grey literature as well as peer-reviewed literature and project websites linked to indigenous climate change adaptation knowledge. The findings show that TEK not only helps indigenous people cope with environmental and climate pressures, but also promotes socio-ecological system resilience. Keywords: climate change adaptation; traditional knowledge; traditional ecological knowledge; resilience eISSN 2398-4295 ©2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers (AMER); Association of  Behavioural Researchers on Asians / Africans / Arabians (ABRA); Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies (cE-Bs), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ajbes.v5i19.194


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Inamara ◽  
Verena Thomas

Pacific Island communities are increasingly experiencing the impacts of climate change. Inaccessibility to relevant information about contemporary climate change adaptation strategies at the community level presents challenges. At the same time, indigenous strategies to adapt to climate changes have been overlooked in both local and global climate change debates. This article discusses a project undertaken with a community on Andra Island, Manus Province, Papua New Guinea. Climate change impacts and adaptation strategies were explored through photo essays developed by community members, engaging in approaches of visual participatory action research and indigenous research approaches. The collaboration with the Andra Island community created a space for reflective dialogue about challenges posed by climate change as well as how photo essays can be used to promote Indigenous Knowledge (IK) as a viable capital for community-based adaptation (CBA). Within this context, this article demonstrates how climate change is both a natural and cultural process of change which poses socio-economic challenges. These challenges can compel people to engage in unsustainable practices that might exacerbate natural climate change impacts. The article highlights that building community capacity in participatory media can be an important tool to forge collective synergy, dialogue and ownership in local climate change initiatives. In particular, the authors demonstrate how participatory media can be harnessed to integrate indigenous knowledge in community-based climate change adaptation.


Author(s):  
V. A. Tanimonure

AbstractThe impact of climate change, especially on agricultural sector, calls for a global and more localized strategies such as cultivation of underutilized indigenous vegetables (UIVs) which adapt better to local climate change. This chapter, therefore, examines the perception of UIVs farmers to climate change, their experiences of UIVs’ responses to climate change, adaptation strategies employed, and the determinants of the decision to adopt them in Southwest Nigeria. The study uses quantitative and qualitative primary household data from 191 UIVs farmers, 8 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and secondary climate data from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency. Descriptive and econometric analyses are employed in the data analyses. The results show that farmers’ perceptions of climate change are high temperature and a high variability in rainfall pattern that has affected the yield, increased insects, pests, and diseases infestations, and reduced soil fertility. The results further show that the responses of UIVs to these resultant effects differ as such, and adaptation strategies farmers adopt are UIVs-specific. The adaptation strategies mostly employed by the UIVs farmers are cultivating UIVs along the river bank and the least is agroforestry and perennial plantation. The determinants of the decision to adopt adaptation strategies include UIVs revenue, age, years of experience, access to climate information, climate change awareness, agro ecological zone, and access to credit. Thus, promotion of UIVs business is advocated and provision of information on climate change essential and will encourage farmers to adopt appropriate climate change adaptation strategies to boost UIVs business.


Subject The impact of climate change on Maghreb countries. Significance The Maghreb is one of the world's most water-scarce regions. Global warming will exacerbate the ecological, social and economic challenges it already faces. Impacts Water misuse will exacerbate the effects of climate change on the region’s water supplies. Renewable energies will not only help ease climate change impacts, but also diversify regional economies and create employment. Unless climate change adaptation strategies accelerate, Maghreb countries will see a deterioration in living conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 7030
Author(s):  
Daniel O’Toole ◽  
Leslie A. Brandt ◽  
Maria K. Janowiak ◽  
Kristen M. Schmitt ◽  
P. Danielle Shannon ◽  
...  

Climate change will alter opportunities and demand for outdoor recreation through altered winter weather conditions and season length, climate-driven changes in user preferences, and damage to recreational infrastructure, among other factors. To ensure that outdoor recreation remains sustainable in the face of these challenges, natural resource managers may need to adapt their recreation management. One of the major challenges of adapting recreation to climate change is translating broad concepts into specific, tangible actions. Using a combination of in-depth interviews of recreational managers and a review of peer-reviewed literature and government reports, we developed a synthesis of impacts, strategies, and approaches, and a tiered structure that organizes this information. Six broad climate adaptation strategies and 25 more specific approaches were identified and organized into a “recreation menu”. The recreation menu was tested with two national forests in the US in multi-day workshops designed to integrate these concepts into real-world projects that were at the beginning stages of the planning process. We found that the recreation menu was broad yet specific enough to be applied to recreation-focused projects with different objectives and climate change impacts. These strategies and approaches serve as stepping stones to enable natural resource and recreation managers to translate broad concepts into targeted and prescriptive actions for implementing adaptation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadzirah Hosen ◽  
Hitoshi Nakamura ◽  
Amran Hamzah

The traditional knowledge of indigenous people is often neglected despite its significance in combating climate change. This study uncovers the potential of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) from the perspective of indigenous communities in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, and explores how TEK helps them to observe and respond to local climate change. Data were collected through interviews and field work observations and analysed using thematic analysis based on the TEK framework. The results indicated that these communities have observed a significant increase in temperature, with uncertain weather and seasons. Consequently, drought and wildfires have had a substantial impact on their livelihoods. However, they have responded to this by managing their customary land and resources to ensure food and resource security, which provides a respectable example of the sustainable management of terrestrial and inland ecosystems. The social networks and institutions of indigenous communities enable collective action which strengthens the reciprocal relationships that they rely on when calamity strikes. Accordingly, the communities maintain their TEK through cultural festivals and oral traditions passed from one generation to another. TEK is a practical tool that helps indigenous communities adapt to climate risks and promotes socio-ecological resilience, which upholds social empowerment and sustainable resource management.


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