Abstract
Indigenous peoples across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) already perceive and experience negative effects of climate change and variability. Although the overall economic impact of climate change on gross domestic product (GDP) is significant, what is particularly problematic is that it falls disproportionately on the poor including indigenous peoples, who constitute about 6.5 percent of the population in the region and are among its poorest and most vulnerable (Hall and Patrinos 2006). This book examines the social implications of climate change and climatic variability for indigenous communities in LAC and the options for improving their resilience and adaptability to these phenomena. By social implications, the authors mean direct and indirect effects in the broad sense of the word social, including factors contributing to human well-being, health, livelihoods, human agency, social organization, and social justice. This book, much of which relies on new empirical research, addresses specifically the situation of indigenous communities because our research showed them to be among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. A companion book (Verner 2010) provides information on the broader social dimensions of climate change in LAC and on policy options for addressing them. This book will help to place these impacts higher on the climate-change agenda and guide efforts to enhance indigenous peoples' rights and opportunities, whether by governments, indigenous peoples' organizations and their leaders, or non-state representatives.
Highlights
Disorder in nature is a reflection of disorder in society. —Nonuya man interviewed in the Colombian Amazon Climate change is the defining development challenge of our time
Indian preserves total 247,000 km2, and national parks and reserves cover 58,840 km2.10 Taking into account the several overlaps between Indian resguardos and protected natural areas, more than 70 percent of Colombian Amazonia is in principle under some protection
Young people who stay at home, like some we interviewed in El Chairo, diversify into activities such as tourism and take less and less part in their families’ agricultural production, which is used for home consumption only
Summary
Disorder in nature is a reflection of disorder in society. —Nonuya man interviewed in the Colombian Amazon Climate change is the defining development challenge of our time. What sets indigenous peoples apart—and makes them especially vulnerable to climate change and variability—is the intimate ways in which they use and live off natural resources and their dependence on cultural cohesion To maintain their livelihood strategies, they depend heavily on cultural, human, and social assets, including traditional knowledge systems and institutions, that are under increased stress (Salick and Byg 2007).. Environmental degradation affects, for example, water availability and quality for human consumption (including domestic, agricultural, and industrial use plus power generation) and terrestrial and marine flora and fauna ecosystems This has social implications, as presented in step 2, affecting people’s livelihoods, food security, and health. Coral reefs and mangroves seriously threatened by warmer 1 sea surface temperature
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