Climate Action 2010-2011

Ecosystem based adaptation
Today, studies in different parts of the world – from
the wetlands in the African Sahel to the coral reefs in
the Caribbean and the Andean highlands – have clearly
demonstrated that climate change affects farming and
fisheries, water flow regimes and carbon sequestration
processes, as well as human and wildlife migration, to
name but a few.
Healthy ecosystems provide drinking water, habitat,
shelter, food, raw and genetic materials, and natural
barriers against disasters – often at low or no cost. An
estimated two billion people who live on less than US$2
per day directly depend on these natural resources for their
wellbeing. These ecosystems are now facing greater pressure
because of climate change. However, if well-managed, they
can also offer a solution to people who depend on them.
Coping with a fresh water crunch
Water is at the centre of many climate change impacts.
The latest figures tell us that about 80 per cent of the
world’s population lives in areas where the fresh water
supply is not secure, and climate change will bring more
thirst. In many places around the world, water demand is
already outstripping supply.
There is little doubt that the climate in the Pangani River
basin, shared by Kenya and Tanzania, is changing fast.
Along the length of its 500km course, people talk of better
times, lodged in living memory, when there was more
water. The Pangani was higher and stronger, and flow was
guaranteed through the two dry seasons of every year.
However, the ice cap of Mount Kilimanjaro, which
provides much of the water for Pangani, has melted
considerably and may disappear altogether before the
end of the century. As a result, flows in the basin have
been drastically reduced, and conflict over the dwindling
resource now requires wise management.
Through the Pangani River Basin Management
Project, IUCN and partners are working on preparing the
different water users – farmers, hydropower, fishermen,
Conserving ecosystems can help build resilience in communities.
© IUCN/Daniele Perrot-Maître
residents – for future reductions in water availability while
also ensuring that enough water is left to sustain natural
infrastructure such as wetlands and estuary habitats.
One in three of the world’s 100 largest cities draw
some of their drinking water from forest protected areas.
For example, the Te Papanui Conservation Park in New
Zealand’s Lammermoor Range provides the Otago region
with water for free that would cost NZ$136 million to
bring in from elsewhere.
This is also the case of Colombia’s capital Bogotá,
which relies heavily on water provided by the extremely
fragile highland páramo ecosystems in the Andes – up to
half of which may disappear by 2050 if climate change
continues unchecked.
The city recognises its dependence on ecosystems and
the environmental value generated by protected areas.
To cope with these threats, Colombia is implementing
an Integrated National Adaptation Plan, which
promotes land-use types that might respond successfully
to climate change.
For example, agro-ecosystems have good water
regulation and carbon storage potential. That’s why
the project works with some 100 farms to encourage
organic farming, native tree planting, and soil and water
conservation practices. In fact, how the land is used and
will be used emerges as both the biggest cultural change
and the key adaptation measure in the long run.
Farming in times of climate change
Agriculture is the mainstay of livelihoods in some of the
world’s poorest countries. Farming in a drought-prone
region such as the African Sahel has always been risky
business but, with the onset of climate change, producing
enough crops to survive until the next harvest is an evergreater
challenge.
This is how an old farmer from Niger, a country often
making the headlines because of persistent droughts and
chronic famines, describes the observed changes: “We
used to wait with sowing our millet until we found the
soil had been wetted to the depth of our elbow when we
dug a hole by hand. Now, we sow when the soil has been
wetted only to the depth of our wrist. The way the rains
are now, we cannot afford to wait any longer than that.
We feel that drought periods during the rainy season are
also more common than they used to be.”
Farmer ingenuity notwithstanding, rains can be so
poor that the millet harvest is insufficient for a farming
family to make it to the next harvest, 12 months later.
And if all else fails, rural communities turn to wetlands
for subsistence, with activities ranging from fishing to
livestock grazing. It is estimated that the value of Niger’s
1,000-plus wetlands for livestock production alone is
around US$35 million per year.
During the dry season, wetlands are faced with
growing demands, not only from people, but also wildlife
– an estimated 1.8 million waterfowl come from Europe
and Asia to spend the winter in Niger. And with the
country’s population projected to triple by mid-century,
the pressures on natural resources will grow even without
the likely climate change impacts, such as decreases in
rainfall and soil productivity.
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