Farmers’ Strategies to Climate Change and Urbanization: Potential of Ecosystem-Based Adaptation in Rural Chengdu, Southwest China

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is emerging as a cost-effective approach for helping people adapt to climate and non-climate changes. Nowadays, climate change and urbanization have affected agricultural systems, but it is not clear how rural communities have responded or adapted to those changes. Here, we chose two typical villages in the Chengdu Plain, southwest China, through sociological surveys on 90 local farmers with a semi-structured questionnaire, participatory observation, geospatial analysis of land use and land cover, and a literature review, to explore the local people’s perception of changes or disturbances and their adaptation strategies from the perspective of EbA. The results showed that climate change and urbanization had impacted agricultural systems dramatically in the last 40 years. In two case-study sites, climate change and urbanization were perceived by most local farmers as the main drivers impacting on agricultural production, but various resource-use models containing abundant traditional knowledge or practices as well as modern tools, such as information communication technology (ICT), were applied to adapt to these changes. Moreover, culture service through the adaptive decoration of rural landscapes is becoming a new perspective for implementing an EbA strategy. Finally, our findings highlighted the potential value of an EbA strategy for sustaining urban-rural integrated development and enhancing the resilience of agricultural systems.

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Local farmers’ experiences and perceptions of climate change in the Northern Savannah zone of Ghana

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management ◽

10.1108/ijccsm-05-2014-0066 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 327-347 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Joseph Kofi Teye ◽

Joseph Awetori Yaro ◽

Simon Bawakyillenuo

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Rural Communities ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Primary Data ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Content Type ◽

Climate Change And Variability ◽

Control Climate ◽

Savannah Zone ◽

Local Farmers

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the perceptions and experiences of climate change by local farmers in the Northern Savannah zone of Ghana. Although recent scholarship shows that local people’s perceptions of climate change is necessary for devising strategies to deal with the problem, only a few researchers have examined local knowledge of climate change in Africa. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were collected from six rural communities in the Northern Savannah zone of Ghana, using a questionnaire survey on a sample of 530 farmers, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyse variations in experience and perception of climate change. Findings – A majority of the farmers have noticed rising temperatures and declining rainfall. Their observations largely correspond with the evidence of changes recorded by weather monitoring stations. The perception of climate change is associated with locality of residence, gender and ownership of radio. The impacts of climate and variability include declining crop output, food insecurity and water stress. Respondents attributed changes in climatic parameters to economic activities and spiritual factors. It is recommended that environmental managers should actively involve local farmers in the design and implementation of policies to control climate change and variability. Originality/value – The methodology used demonstrates how multinomial logit models can be used to investigate perceptions of climate change. The research findings also provide very useful information that can be relied upon to design policies to deal with climate change and variability in Ghana.

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Adaptability of Mediterranean Agricultural Systems to Climate Change. The Example of the Sierra Mágina Olive-Growing Region (Andalusia, Spain). Part I: Past and Present

Weather Climate and Society ◽

10.1175/wcas-d-12-00043.1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 380-398 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Marianne Cohen ◽

Josyane Ronchail ◽

María Alonso-Roldán ◽

Céline Morcel ◽

Stéphane Angles ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Social Systems ◽

Interdisciplinary Approach ◽

Olive Tree ◽

Nongovernmental Organization ◽

Agricultural Systems ◽

The Past ◽

Cumulative Rainfall ◽

Local Stakeholders ◽

Local Farmers

Abstract This research focuses on the adaptability of olive-growing systems to climate change in the Sierra Mágina region of Andalusia. The authors combined a retrospective and prospective analysis, an interdisciplinary approach, collaboration among climatologists, geographers, and sociologists, and the participation of local farmers and stakeholders, all contributing their own knowledge. This paper assesses the adaptability of olive-growing systems to climate irregularities over the past 50 yr. First, a climatic study shows that rainfall decreased by 18% during the period 1955–2009. Water resource availability has declined 2 or 3 times more than rainfall, in part because of the expansion of irrigation, which ameliorated the effects of droughts and increased profitability. Second, relationships between rainfall and both irrigated and rainfed olive yields are assessed. These show that the cumulative rainfall of the 2 yr preceding the crop explains 41% of the variability of irrigated olive tree yields and 46% of rainfed yields; this result was unexpected for irrigated yields. Third, this study examines the perceptions of climate variability of 15 farmers, the views of 16 local stakeholders [developers, olive oil professionals, local authorities, a conservationist, and a representative of a local nongovernmental organization (NGO)]. The perceptions of the farmers are interpreted with respect to their socioeconomic status. All farmer and stakeholder interviewees know to a certain extent the climatic influence on olive yields, and most of them acknowledge the recent climatic changes. These findings will be valuable for future assessments of the adaptability of the agricultural and social systems to climate change.

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Reducing the Vulnerability of Uzbekistan's Agricultural Systems to Climate Change

10.1596/978-1-4648-0000-9 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

William R. Sutton ◽

Jitendra P. Srivastava ◽

James E. Neumann ◽

Peter Droogers ◽

Brent Boehlert

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Agricultural Systems

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Renewable Electricity Standards, Energy Efficiency, and Cost-Effective Climate-Change Policy

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.1434209 ◽

2009 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas M. Lenard

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Energy Efficiency ◽

Climate Change Policy ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Renewable Electricity ◽

Change Policy

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Climate change, cyclone and rural communities: Understanding people's perceptions and adaptations in rural eastern India

Materials Today Proceedings ◽

10.1016/j.matpr.2021.02.384 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Subhashree Mohapatra ◽

V.S.K.V. Harish ◽

Gaurav Dwivedi

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Rural Communities ◽

Eastern India ◽

People’S Perceptions

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The how tough is WASH framework for assessing the climate resilience of water and sanitation

npj Clean Water ◽

10.1038/s41545-021-00130-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Guy Howard ◽

Anisha Nijhawan ◽

Adrian Flint ◽

Manish Baidya ◽

Maria Pregnolato ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Rural Communities ◽

Universal Access ◽

Small Towns ◽

Water And Sanitation ◽

Middle Income ◽

Sanitation Services ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Measurement Framework ◽

Low And Middle Income

AbstractClimate change presents a major threat to water and sanitation services. There is an urgent need to understand and improve resilience, particularly in rural communities and small towns in low- and middle-income countries that already struggle to provide universal access to services and face increasing threats from climate change. To date, there is a lack of a simple framework to assess the resilience of water and sanitation services which hinders the development of strategies to improve services. An interdisciplinary team of engineers and environmental and social scientists were brought together to investigate the development of a resilience measurement framework for use in low- and middle-income countries. Six domains of interest were identified based on a literature review, expert opinion, and limited field assessments in two countries. A scoring system using a Likert scale is proposed to assess the resilience of services and allow analysis at local and national levels to support improvements in individual supplies, identifying systematic faults, and support prioritisation for action. This is a simple, multi-dimensional framework for assessing the resilience of rural and small-town water and sanitation services in LMICs. The framework is being further tested in Nepal and Ethiopia and future results will be reported on its application.

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Ethnobotanical biocultural diversity by rural communities in the Cuatrociénegas Valley, Coahuila; Mexico

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine ◽

10.1186/s13002-021-00445-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Eduardo Estrada-Castillón ◽

José Ángel Villarreal-Quintanilla ◽

Juan Antonio Encina-Domínguez ◽

Enrique Jurado-Ybarra ◽

Luis Gerardo Cuéllar-Rodríguez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rural Communities ◽

Exotic Species ◽

Protected Area ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Larrea Tridentata ◽

Biocultural Diversity ◽

Ethnobotanical Knowledge ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Biosphere Reserves ◽

Rural Landscapes

Abstract Background Cuatrociénegas, part of the Chihuahuan Desert, is a region of unique biological, geological, geographical, and evolutionary importance. Its current population is mestizo; nevertheless, it has high national historical, cultural, and touristic relevance in Mexico. It has been cataloged as nationally significant for its flora and fauna by Mexican law, as well as being designated a High Protection site by the World Wildlife Fund and UNESCO. Because of its diverse and complex biological and sociocultural characteristics, we considered it important to determine, identify, and analyze various aspects of the traditional ethnobotanical knowledge and practices in this region. Methods Between 2016 and 2019, seven field trips were made to document the knowledge and use of flora. Cuatrociénegas is a protected area, collecting botanical material is regulated, so specimens were photographed and collected in neighboring communities, and in public and private gardens. Later permission was obtained to complete the collection of specimens (2019–2020). The plants were identified and entered into the flora database of the state of Coahuila, and deposited in the Herbarium of the Faculty of Forest Sciences, Autonomous University of Nuevo León, Mexico. One hundred ten local residents (50 men and 60 women), aged between 27 and 91 years, were interviewed (semi-structured interviews). The cultural importance of ethnobotanical resources (cultural significance index) and its significance with respect to ethnobotanical richness in other Biosphere Reserves in Mexico (Mann-Whitney test), and similarities in the diversity of exotic species (Sørensen index) were studied. Results and discussion The ethnobotanical information registers 158 species and 132 genera in 57 vascular and non-vascular families, documenting a greater knowledge and use of cultivated species (84) with respect to wild species (74). The diversity of plants reported is compared to other ethnobotanical studies carried out in Mexican Biosphere Reserves. These results are highly relevant, in spite of unique exotic species. The people local pay special attention to medicinal and ornamental plants. The species that presented the highest use values are Larrea tridentata, Jatropha dioica, and Machaeranthera pinnatifida, three species characteristic of the desert region. Conclusions The particular diversity of wild flora in Cuatrociénegas Valley, combined with the varied introduced flora, is an important multifunctional resource. Special attention to introduced species is associated with harvesting use restrictions in the protected area as well as the high value of ornamental species that are difficult to maintain in desert areas. The extensive use of ethnobotanical knowledge is an example that biocultural diversity (at the conceptual level) is also strongly associated with socio-ecological systems incorporating mestizo groups and semi-urban rural landscapes, thus ceasing to be an exclusive focus of indigenous communities and regions.

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Assessment of Energy Transition Policy in Taiwan—A View of Sustainable Development Perspectives

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14154402 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (15) ◽

pp. 4402

Author(s):

Chun-Kai Wang ◽

Chien-Ming Lee ◽

Yue-Rong Hong ◽

Kan Cheng

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Power Generation ◽

Sustainable Development ◽

Energy Transition ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Adaptive Policy ◽

Electricity Saving ◽

Transition Policy ◽

Development Perspective

Energy transition has become a priority for adaptive policy and measures taken in response to climate change around the world. This is an opportunity and a challenge for the Taiwan government to establish a climate-resilient power generation mixed to ensure electricity security as well as climate change mitigation. This study adopted a sustainable development perspective and applied optimal control theory to establish a cost-effective model to evaluate a long-term (2050), climate-resilient power generation mix for Taiwan. Furthermore, this study applies the STIRPAT approach to predict the demand of electricity by 2050 for the demand side management. The results not only showed the share of various power generation mixed, but also recommended the trajectory of electricity saving by 2050.

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The Productive Landscape in the Desert Margin for the Sustainable Development of Rural Settlements: An Innovative Greenbelt for Maranjab Desert in Iran

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13042077 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 2077

Author(s):

Mahnaz Sarlak ◽

Laura Valeria Ferretti ◽

Rita Biasi

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Land Use ◽

Low Cost ◽

Agricultural Systems ◽

Rural Settlements ◽

Green Belt ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Research Questions ◽

New Form ◽

Low Levels

About two billion rural individuals depend on agricultural systems associated with a high amount of risk and low levels of yield in the drylands of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Human activities, climate change and natural extreme events are the most important drivers of desertification. This phenomenon has occurred in many regions of Iran, particularly in the villages in the periphery of the central desert of Iran, and has made living in the oases so difficult that the number of abandoned villages is increasing every year. Land abandonment and land-use change increase the risk of desertification. This study aims to respond to the research questions: (i) does the planning of green infrastructures on the desert margin affect the distribution and balance of the population? (ii) how should the green belt be designed to have the greatest impact on counteracting desertification?, and (iii) does the design of productive landscape provide the solution? Through a wide-ranging and comprehensive approach, this study develops different scenarios for designing a new form of green belt in order to sustainably manage the issues of environmental protection, agricultural tradition preservation and desertification counteraction. This study proposes a new-traditional greenbelt including small low-cost and low-tech projects adapted to rural scale.

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