“Follow the Spiders”: Ecosystems as Early Warnings - Reducing Disaster: Early Warning Systems for Climate Change - page 339

Burger ( 2009 ) suggests including a broad range of actors in bioindicator
development and selection. Stakeholders should be asked how they believe they can
contribute to the development of indicators, should be invited to participate in the
selection of possible bioindicators, and should then be asked to assist the collection
of specimens or data for analysis. They may also wish to assist long-term monitor-
ing, bioindicator study, and refi nement.

18.5 Steps Forward

The role of ecosystems in disaster reduction is well documented. Forests, for exam-
ple, can prevent fl oods by providing fl ood attenuation and by preventing soil loss. In
the European Alps, forests protect against avalanches and rock fall, while in the
Bolivian Altiplano region, community-based reforestation and forest management
has helped reduce erosion and landslide frequency (PEDRR 2010 ). Coastal wet-
lands and coral reefs absorb low-magnitude wave energy, reducing wave height and
subsequent erosion and losses from storm surges or hurricanes (PEDRR 2010 ;
UNEP 2010 ). The economic value of such ecosystem services can be substantial. In
the United States, the value of coastal wetlands for storm mitigation is estimated to
be US$ 23.2 billion dollars per year. Globally coral reefs may contribute US$
189,000 (per hectare per year) toward hazard mitigation (PEDRR 2010 ).
While the role of ecosystems in disaster risk reduction is evident, the potential
utility of ecosystems, or their biological components, in early warning system
design is less clear. Bioindicator research has focused narrowly on certain environ-
mental changes, such as chemical pollution. Greater study of hazard bioindicators
is needed.
This preliminary review suggests that bioindicators for climate-related hazards
have several potential benefi ts for early warning systems. First, they are socially
relevant. Unlike meteorological predictions, bioindicators offer “predictions” that
are specifi c to individual communities. Indigenous bioindicators are closely linked
to both cultural and environmental contexts. They may thus be more easily under-
stood than complex probabilistic warnings issued by national meteorological agen-
cies. Bioindicators can be used to encourage stakeholder participation in early
warning system development and maintenance. Furthermore, use of bioindicators
could theoretically help address gender gaps in early warning delivery (see Chap. 14 )
as women often hold extensive traditional knowledge (Briggs 2005 ).
Second, hazard bioindicators are potentially practical and methodologically rel-
evant. Identifi cation and verifi cation of biological indicators in each community
will be costly and time-consuming. However, bioindicators are far less expensive
than infrastructure or technology used in current warning systems. Bioindicators
can be easy to monitor and an inexpensive way to collect data, especially if local
communities are involved (e.g., see the Royal Society for Protection of Birds
(RSPB) “Big Garden Birdwatch”).