Adapting to Change: Community-Driven Solutions in the Face of Climate Crisis

  The effects of climate change, such as ocean acidification and sea level rise, can be seen through the social impacts it has through forestry, agriculture, and public health. Different actions have tried to combat these effects. Approaches such as mitigation seek to alleviate the problem or lessen its severity, for instance, through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by improving energy efficiency. However, not all communities can afford an adequate infrastructure to start those practices nor could all the nations unanimously agree to set up maximal levels of emissions. Therefore, a viable alternative where communities could participate are adaptive measures to combat climate change. This approach pursues strategies to minimize its impact or reduce vulnerability to the harmful effects. Most of these adaptive measures would depend on the sector of impact. For example, in the case of sea level rise, it is possible to apply technology and build a seawall. Another example to reduce the impact of climate change in the agriculture sector is to adjust farming practices to cope with drought. Therefore, to apply these measures it is also necessary to understand the background process of water systems from the top to the bottom. This allows to understand, for instance, unexpected effects of droughts or continuous rains. 

 Developing adaptation measures of climate change through the analysis of hydrology systems involves the understanding of relevant variables such as evaporation, relative humidity, precipitation, and identifying areas where the changes are more pronounced. As Luce (2018) reports, for the case of the Northern Rockies, climate change is affecting the hydrological system by altering timing and availability of water supply. Specifically, it is affecting snowpack and glaciers, changes on streamflow, and precipitation projections both for summer and winter seasons. For instance, estimated values suggest that many glaciers will disappear by the 2030s due to increasing temperatures. Particularly for the case of  Northern Rockies, the precipitation in both seasons will affect the melt rate. On the other side, the effect of climate change on streamflow not only affects the timing for water supply, but also will affect peak flow magnitudes which can threaten water management facilities. 

The adaptive strategies developed to reduce the impact of climate change on water resources depend on land managers who are concerned about the effects on its infrastructure. For instance, one adaptive measure is increasing the resilience of roads and infrastructure to flooding by improving road drainage or relocating campgrounds. The strategies will depend also on the knowledge of the community to recognize important aspects of climate change planning. For example, community observations and knowledge helps to track any disturbance or change of pattern in the weather, plants or animals. As 

Reid et al., 2014 report, the climate adaptation planning process developed at the Gitga'at Nation, located in northern coastal British Columbia, Canada, considered the community´s deep knowledge and observations of the biophysical world to evaluate alternatives for future climate change impacts. 

Risk management of climate change effects through adaptive measures can take into account both social and scientific approaches. Scientific approaches help to make robust projections on streamflow and precipitation, while social approaches, such as values-based processes, help communities to participate in decision-making. Moreover, this last approach helps to contextualize the impact of climate change on emigration or livelihood strategies changes. 

Bibliography 

Reid, M., Hamilton, C., & Reid, S. (2014). Indigenous Climate Change Adapatation Planning Using a Values-Focused Approach: A case study with the Gitga´At Nation. Journal of Ethnobiology, 401-424. 

Luce, C. (2018). Effects of climate change on Snowpack, Glaciers, and Water Resource in the Northen Rockies. In Climate Change and Rocky Mountain Ecosystems (pp. 25-36). Seattle, USA: Springer International Publishing.