The Ethics of Early Warning Systems for Climate Change - Reducing Disaster: Early Warning Systems for Climate Change - page 289

EWS like LEAP show practical approaches that improve the capacity of vulnerable
populations in these impoverished agrarian societies to adapt and mitigate resource
poor environments and also give an indication of how integrated risk management
approaches can help to forewarn vulnerable people. These are clear examples of
how EWS can help and protect the safety, well-being and dignity of vulnerable
people and reduce the burdens of climate change. Concepts such as the latter need
to be continually tested in order to ensure that they are culturally appropriate to the
many communities which they infl uence. As vulnerability increases as a result of
climate change, resilience will become increasingly important, and EWS may be
even more of a critical instrument in the response to transitory food security in these
agrarian societies.

15.13 Indigenous Populations

The term indigenous refers to individuals in sovereign countries whose social, polit-
ical, cultural and economic conditions are distinct from mainstream society on
account of their ancestry and genealogical linkages to the populations which inhab-
ited the country (Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 1989 ). Indigenous
populations are presently some of the most vulnerable groups of people in the
world. The terms 'vulnerability' and 'indigenous' have a variety of interpretations,
but these populations are particularly affected by climate change impacts due to
their close relationship with the environment as well as interrelated realities of mar-
ginalization, lack of political voice and access to rights, health and nutrition (Macchi
et al. 2008 ). The changes in the frequency of hazard events brought on by climate
change are already increasing the burdens on indigenous societies.
Indigenous knowledge is the basis for community decision making and has value
not only for the culture from which it develops but also external members such as
scientists and planners striving to improve conditions in rural localities (Mundy and
Compton 1991 ). Knowledge is enriched through the observations and experiences
of each generation and provides a connection to one's ancestors and environment
and the changes that occur within it, including climate change (Woodley 1991 ). To
this end, indigenous knowledge systems have been applied in weather forecasting,
vulnerability assessment and implementation of adaptation strategies.
The ability of indigenous populations to interpret and react to climate change
impacts in both novel and creative ways is a vital but greatly underused resource
(Mercer et al. 2010 ). Therefore, it is imperative that indigenous knowledge related
to disaster risk reduction be increasingly identifi ed and recognized. However,
although the need to integrate indigenous knowledge with scientifi c knowledge in
relation to EWS is growing in recognition, a method by which to integrate the two
remains to be developed (Mercer et al. 2010 ).
In the Sahel, a region characterized by strong climatic variations and highly irreg-
ular rainfall, local farmers have developed intricate systems of gathering, prediction,