The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Adaptation to Climate Change in the Northern Mountain of Vietnam

Abstract

Climate change has adversely affected the indigenous farmers in the mountainous regions not only in Vietnam but also in other countries. This chapter provides the indigenous farmer perception and use of indigenous knowledge to adapt to climate change. The authors reviewed many previous studies related to the indigenous farmer application of indigenous knowledge to adapt to climate change and combined with the data of 362 randomly selected indigenous farmers in Vietnam by using surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. They have found that indigenous farmers were aware of climate change and the negative impacts of climate change on their life both in Vietnam and in many other countries such as India, Bangladesh, and the USA. Furthermore, indigenous farmers have used different indigenous knowledge to adapt to climate change. This chapter also suggested that policymakers should consider indigenous farmer perceptions and indigenous knowledge when designing and formulating climate change policies for indigenous farmers in the future.