Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
depending on the scale, context and approach. The scale of adaption may
be local, national or regional; the context of the adaptation will determine
the type of adaptation (e.g., new farming practices in a rural context or
water demand management in an urban context); and the approach to ad-
aptation may focus on general poverty alleviation, enhanced transparency
in decision making, or the empowerment of women, among other things.
Structural inequalities that make adaptation by poor people more difficult
will need to be leveled. It is important to note that poor and marginalized
people already face all of the difficulties that we usually associate with
climate change. This is nothing new to them. They are already facing poor
health, susceptibility to floods and landslides and a lack of adequate shel-
ter, food and water. While they do need climate change adaptation they
need poverty alleviation even more.
China and India's rapid economic development which has been mov-
ing many tens of thousands of people out of poverty every day, may also
provide the best way to handle a changing world. It should be noted that
much of the adaptation to climate change will be found outside the sphere
of natural sciences. For example, to focus only on flood-safe housing or
new types of pest-resistant crops is not enough. The focus must include
enhanced capacity to adopt (implying a comprehensive approach) new
adaptation strategies. “An adaptation strategy to reduce vulnerability to
future climate change needs to be incorporated in regulatory procedures,
integrated natural resources management and other development planning
procedures” (UNDP-GEF, 2007). As poverty is widespread in the Hima-
layan region, the empowerment of poor people to adapt to climate change
is critical.
Examples of adaptation at different levels may include good gover-
nance to mainstream climate change into development and institutional
reform (Mirza, 2007), general political reform and associated openness
(ibid), health education programs (WHO, 2005) and the development of
early warning systems for floods, flash floods and droughts.
19.10.6 LACK OF KNOWLEDGE - UNKNOWN
DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS
The impact of climate change on the Himalayan cryosphere is not un-
derstood sufficiently to be able to estimate the full scale of the down-
