Obstacles and opportunities for implementing a policy-mix for ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change in Brazil's Caatinga

Abstract

The Brazilian Semiarid historically suffers from droughts and environmental degradation. It is dominated by Caatinga, the world’s most diverse seasonally dry forest and home to 59% of Brazilians in extreme poverty, most in rural areas under water scarcity. Land use and climate changes are expected to exacerbate socio-economic vulnerability, making it a top climate change adaptation priority. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is a mix of policies, more cost-effective when promoting adaptation. Through a systematic review, we investigated the political context percolating EbA and climate change adaptation in the Caatinga. Unlike the political history, land use policies in Caatinga should support sustainable agriculture and ecosystem conservation to promote adaptation. We discuss obstacles and opportunities for implementing EbA in the region and present a novel EbA policy-mix framework integrated with the Coexistence with the Semi-aridity paradigm. This includes contextualized education, capacity development, social technologies, well planned and climate resilient protected areas, and land title grants.