Climate Change Adaptation strategies

• Adjustments in human and natural systems in response to actual or expected climate stimuli or their impacts that moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities (IPCC 2007e) is called adaptation.
• There are several options for adaptation to climate change that can safeguard agricultural production, one is to enhance existing production systems by using different practices (e.g. changing sowing patterns) and new technologies (e.g. irrigation systems, adapted varieties). Another option is to use a different production system that is better suited to the changed climatic and environmental conditions. That presupposes using new or existing varieties that are adapted to extreme environmental conditions. They also provide the genetic material agricultural research needs to develop technical innovations. A further option is to promote agro-biodiversity, i.e. the genetic resources for food and agriculture, support natural ecosystems capacity to mitigate the impact of extreme events (e.g. inclusion of woodlots, protection of water resources, or wetlands).
• It is also important to explore market demands and ensure there are opportunities for marketing the produce. Researching and utilising existing local varieties that are adapted to extreme environmental conditions is another important measure.
• Agro-biodiversity conservation should form a basic component of adaptation strategies and biodiversity-friendly farming practices. The ex situ conservation of seeds, involving storage in refrigerated banks or botanical garden is essential.
• Technical infrastructure, cropping patterns and water management measures must be geared to allow for flexible operations. This enables quick and easy adjustments in water availability by adding water (irrigation) or draining as part of an adaptive water management system.
• In coastal areas, for example, salt water intrusion due to the rise of the sea level will cause salinization and necessitate adapted production systems with plants that have a higher salt tolerance.
• Maintain the extent of forests involve first of all reducing deforestation and enhancing forest cover through afforestation and reforestation, that is establishing forests in areas where there was no forest before or re-establishing it where deforestation has taken place.
• Adaptive co-management between forest authorities and local communities. Policies and regulations must be sufficiently flexible to allow for adaptive co-management to take place.
• Introducing anticipatory planting according to projected climate change at a given latitude altitude and using plantation species better adapted to future climate conditions than traditional ones; making use of plantations to supply an increasing demand for wood, but being aware of changes to groundwater levels caused by new plantations.
• Agroforestry can contribute to carbon sequestration in trees and soil and at the same time reduce the vulnerability of communities to climate change by diversifying livelihoods, e.g. through tree-based non-timber forest products.
• Coastal mangrove plantations can sequester carbon in trees and soil while providing protection to coastal areas from sea water intrusion.
• Sustainable agricultural practices involving organic manure, mulching, soil and water conservation practices, and multiple cropping: they can not only enhance soil organic carbon sequestration, but also reduce the vulnerability of crops to moisture stress and drought, thus impacting positively on yields.
• Innovation based on both traditional knowledge and latest scientific findings is of high importance. The in-depth knowledge of indigenous communities must be seen as a precious source for new adaptation measures required to face climate change impacts. The need to adapt to climate change has, for example, often led to a revival of traditional practices in agriculture and of land-management techniques. This applies especially to stress-prone environments.
• Watershed management is the rational utilisation of land and water resources for optimum production with minimum hazard to natural resources Watershed management aims to manage water supply, water quality, drainage water runoff and water rights. It also incorporates overall planning processes for watersheds. It comprises the planned, coordinated and sustainable use of water resources, agricultural resources, grazing land, forests and areas with other uses (domestic water supply, irrigation, industrial water use, navigation).
• One of the major options for increasing the availability of water lies in the expansion of water storage facilities to balance out the discrepancies between periods of peak supply and peak demand. However, such strategies need to take a new and broader view of water storage. Apart from the ‘large dam option’ – which, with its high economic, social and environmental costs, will come under more severe scrutiny in the future – the whole gamut of water storage options needs to be explored and better utilised. These options range from improved agricultural practices to enhanced water retention in the soil, small water storage tanks and other means of water harvesting, and reconstruction and rehabilitation of traditional tanks that were in use in India for centuries.
• Disaster risk management (DRM) aims to reduce disaster risk, prevent the emergence of new risks and decrease a society’s vulnerability. The focus is therefore on reducing the vulnerability of the population to events such as earthquakes, floods and storms; or even averting the impacts of new hazards, such as landslides caused by inappropriate land use or deforestation.
• DRM and adaptation to climate change both pursue similar aims in terms of seeking to build resilience in the face of hazards and to reduce or avert social and economic consequences.
• Community-based disaster risk management aims at combining the objectives of decreasing the occurrence of disasters and reducing losses and costs if disasters do occur.
• In India, the 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1993 institutionalises three tiers of local government at district (usually called Zila Parishad), block and village (Gram Panchayat) levels, collectively called Panchayati Raj institutions. Gram Panchayats have been vested, among other things, with the responsibility for preparing plans for managing and developing natural resources within their boundaries. This system of devolved natural resource management has key and significant potential for disaster risk reduction and management strategies at field levels.