Climate Change Resilience Research Articles

Agricultural innovation to increase climate change resilience in Tapin Regency

Agriculture is one of top best-selling non-oil-and-gas products. However, environmental-related purposes for production, based on the Regulation of Forestry Ministry of Republic of Indonesia No P50/Menhut-II/2010 for the Right to Exploit, not meet the Ecosystem Reforestation Rights. Land degradation means loss of the productive capacity of the soils that has huge risk to food insecurity, loss of ecosystem biodiversity and climate change. In Tapin, one of the most productive agriculture in South Kalimantan Province, dramatic decline in the productivity of croplands can be one of the most important contributors of climate change. The action of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by adapting innovation has been a solution of reducing vulnerability and increase climate change resilience to combat rising demands for agriculture product and the agricultural production system. Smallholder farmers and rural community need to intensify the production of food for sustainable agriculture and food security, as mentioned in Sustainable Develompent Goals (SDGs) Goals 15.

Climate change anxiety in China, India, Japan, and the United States

Climate change anxiety is becoming recognized as a way in which climate change affects mental health. It is not only observed in populations that suffer the most from the direct impacts of climate change but also can be trigged by the mere thought and perception about such impacts. Although climate change is a global problem that is a cause for concern around the world, research on climate anxiety has only recently utilized validated measures, and it has mostly been conducted in Western and developed societies. In response to this research gap, we conducted a cross-national study of climate change anxiety using the Climate Change Anxiety Scale, with participants (N = 4000) from four of the top emitters in the world (China, India, Japan, and the U.S.) which vary in their climate change vulnerabilities and resilience. We demonstrated that the widely adopted measure of climate change anxiety exhibited configural and metric invariance in the four countries. Climate change anxiety was apparently higher in the Chinese and Indian populations than in the Japanese and American populations. There were some demographic correlates of climate change anxiety, but the pattern was not always consistent across the countries. Climate change anxiety was positively associated with engagement in climate action in all four countries, but apparently more so for sustainable diet and climate activism than resource conservation and support for climate policy. The effect was driven more robustly by the cognitive-emotional impairment dimension than the functional impairment dimension of climate change anxiety. Taken together, these observations suggest that the Climate Change Anxiety Scale can be used to assess climate change anxiety across countries, and that there are both similarities and variations across different societal contexts with respect to the experience of climate change anxiety. Future research must take these complexities into consideration.

English

Soil degradation is increasingly becoming a problem for agricultural production due to poor production practices. The search for solutions to this phenomenon has led producers to adopt sustainable land management (SLM) strategies proposed by projects and programs. This study aims to evaluate the effect of SLM measures on the economic efficiency of maize producers who are beneficiaries of the Projet de Résiliences aux effets des ChangementsClimatiquespar la Gestion Durable des Terres au Nord Bénin (Project of Climate Change Resilience through Sustainable Land Management in Northern Benin PRCC-GDT). Economic efficiency was estimated using stochastic frontier models and dual cost function with the Cobb-Douglas specification, respectively. Socio-economic data were collected through a survey of a random sample of 152 producers, including 73 beneficiaries and 79 non-beneficiaries in the communes of Kouandé and Malanville. The results obtained show that pigeon pea, mucuna, soil fertility management, crop association, crop rotation, direct seeding, perpendicular plowing, the use of improved plants, and the use of drought-tolerant seeds are the measures most applied in maize production. The technical, allocative, and economic efficiencies are respectively on average 0.4419; 0.9887 and 0.4369 for the PRCC-GDT beneficiaries and 0.4110; 0.9887 and 0.4059 for the non-beneficiaries. Pigeon pea, crop rotation, mucuna, and the use of drought-tolerant seeds are the measures that ensure the economic efficiency of beneficiaries. Agricultural policies must be put in place to promote the adoption of SLM measures that are most effective in ensuring sustainable agriculture. Key words: Efficiency, sustainable management, maize production, Benin.

Financial Crises and Climate Change.

Climate change is a big challenge of our time. While there is a bourgeoning literature on the economic impact of climate change, research on how financial crises affect climate change is limited. We empirically use the local projection method to empirically study the impact of past financial crises on climate change vulnerability and resilience indices. Using a dataset covering 178 countries over the period 1995-2019, we observe that resilience to climate change shocks has been increasing and that advanced economies are the least vulnerable. Our econometric results suggest that financial crises (particularly systematic banking ones) tend to lead to a short-run deterioration in a country's resilience to climate change. This effect is more pronounced in developing economies. In downturns, if an economy is hit by a financial crisis, vulnerability to climate change increases.

Effects of biodynamic preparations 500 and 501 on vine and berry physiology, pedology and the soil microbiome

In the pursuit of increasing sustainability, climate change resiliency and independence of synthetic pesticides in agriculture, the interest of consumers and producers in organic and biodynamic farming has been steadily increasing in recent decennia. This is, in particular, the case for the vitivinicultural industry in Europe, where more and more producers are converting from organic to biodynamic farming. However, clear scientific evidence showing that biodynamic farming improves vine physiology, vine stress resilience, soil quality related parameters and berry or wine quality is still lacking, despite the growing number of research studies on this issue. To investigate whether biodynamic farming methods have an impact on vine physiology, berry quality and the environment, a five-year experiment was set up in 2016 in a commercial vineyard in Switzerland. In this trial, the two main biodynamic preparations 500 and 501 were applied and compared to an organic control. Vine and berry physiology (net photosynthesis, vigour, sugar, organic acids, berry weight, yield) were assessed from 2016 to 2020. Soil physical properties (soil bulk density, water holding capacity, soil structural stability, macropore volume) were analysed from 2017-2020, and, soil fungal communities were analysed by DNA-sequencing in the last year of the experiment (2020). None of the parameters related to vine and berry physiology showed significant differences throughout the duration of the experiments, except photosynthesis, which was higher when biodynamic preparations were applied at one time point. Similarly, the soil’s physical properties were not influenced by the application of the two biodynamic preparations in all years. Regarding the soil microbiome, the preparations 500 and 501 neither led to significant differences in fungal diversity nor seemed to impact the soil fungal communities. The present study confirms previous findings of different research teams that did not observe significant differences between organic and biodynamic farming methods in terms of observed soil and vine parameters.

Natural and human-made nesting habitat use by Bank Swallow (<i>Riparia riparia</i>) in Canada

Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) is a Threatened migratory bird in Canada that nests colonially in burrows excavated in both human-made and natural banks. Until the mid-20th century, nest record cards reported 60% of Bank Swallows in Canada nested in human-made habitats. Here we provide an update on the proportion of Bank Swallow nesting colonies in natural and human-made habitats in Canada’s provinces and territories based on data from a variety of sources including breeding bird atlases and eBird. Bank Swallow nesting colonies reported from 2001 to 2017 throughout Canada indicate a reversal in the dominant type of habitat used for nesting, with a 56% probability that nesting occurrences are now found in natural habitats. We discuss possible mechanisms responsible for the apparent reversal and recommend that natural nesting habitat be formally protected and restored where it has been altered, especially where co-benefits include climate change resiliency. With the support of landowners and industry, active colonies in human-made habitats will likely make an important contribution to a resilient Bank Swallow population, the majority of which presently appears to nest in natural habitats across the country.

Community perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices linked to urban tree plantings

The planting of trees in streets and parks is critical for urban greening efforts that seek to improve climate-change resilience in cities around the world. Ecosystem services provided by urban trees range from mitigating urban heat island effects to enhancing human well-being and conserving native biodiversity. At the same time, such tree services trade off with disservices that include risk to human safety from falling branches and infrastructure damage from root growth. Here, we performed a survey of residents of a sub-tropical region in eastern Australia to determine community perceptions of the ecosystem services and disservices linked to urban tree plantings. Our aim was to better understand the diverse perceptions of the community, prior to on-the-ground implementation of urban greening, to help guide planting programs in streets and parklands that are vulnerable to UHI effects in the region. We found strong evidence for a high level of public awareness about the beneficial ecosystem services that urban trees can provide. A broad spectrum of beneficial tree services were valued highly by the community in their urban environment including the planting of native trees that can attract and provide food for preferred wildlife; provide shade and reduce heat; allow for a strong connection with nature; have the potential to store carbon to mitigate climate change; provide a level of protection from bushfires; have aesthetically pleasing properties; and produce food for people. At the same time, however, community concerns about tree disservices were concentrated primarily on root damage to infrastructure as well as property damage and injury from falling branches. Our elicitation of community attitudes to tree services and disservices will allow for residents’ most important values and strongest concerns about trees to be explicitly taken into account when establishing a community-inclusive approach to urban tree planting.

The role of biodiversity in adaptation to climate change: a review

Biodiversity and well-functioning ecosystems provide natural solutions that foster resilience, thereby assisting society in adapting to the negative effects of climate change. Through conducting a thorough review on maintaining and restoring native ecosystems, agrobiodiversity, landscape connectivity, and protected areas, this project aims to achieve its objective. Biodiversity is the variety of all living organisms on the planet. To examine the role of biodiversity in climate change adaptation, 55 distinct sources, including 50 peer-reviewed publications and 5 books, were utilized. The current analysis identifies sustainable management of biodiversity as an essential climate change adaptation strategy because species and genetically diverse ecosystems have a greater capacity to adjust to climate change. Furthermore, such measures boost the climate change resilience of ecosystems. So that they can continue to provide ecosystem services, hence facilitating the supply of alternate means of subsistence in the face of climate change. Many of these studies assume that biodiversity and climate change are tightly interconnected due to their mutual impacts. For instance, human-induced climate change poses a threat to biodiversity, but biodiversity resources can mitigate the effects of climate change on populations and ecosystems. However, a large number of research also point to context-dependent adaptation techniques that can be either positive or harmful depending on the circumstances. The majority of research has been undertaken on the poorest or most vulnerable households, with a primary focus on small islands and mountains, whereas other ecosystem products have been mostly neglected. Consequently, an essential strategy for conserving biodiversity and human well-being entails measures that are kept flexible in order to better adapt human societies to climate change, as well as biodiversity education and training activities that are superior at distributing innovative techniques.

New challenges for the sustainable development of the rare-earth metals sector in Russia: Transforming industrial policies

Rare-earth metals (REMs) have become an integral part of modern economics and technological advances. The current climate agenda and sustainable development trends have made the global community focus on these valuable and critical materials. Today, they are strategically important for green technologies, modern electronics, the aerospace industry, the military-industrial complex, and so forth. The increasing demand for these metals provides great opportunities for new competitors in the international market. REMs are controversial: while they contribute to the achievement of global goals regarding sustainable development and climate change resilience, their mining and extraction can cause disastrous consequences for the natural environment. Thus, a balance should be found in the process of their production. Russia has considerable REM reserves that can turn the country into a truly global supplier, which makes the issues of the industry's transformation particularly relevant and important. However, despite the government's ambitious targets and priorities concerning this sector, new deposits are not being exploited, and the country is not self-sufficient throughout the production chain as the level of import dependence reaches 80–90%. The goal of the study is to design an industrial policy for the sustainable development of Russia's REM industry. The study is based on the standard research methods of analysis, synthesis, and decomposition, also using strategic analysis, planning tools, and roadmapping techniques. The study analyzes Russia's REM industry along with its challenges, threats, and opportunities and proposes a novel vision of its long-term sustainable development based on four pillars, namely economics, R&D, ecology, and society. As a result, the key goals and principles of the industrial policy are formulated, and an industrial policy roadmap for the sustainable development of Russia's REM industry is suggested. The paper provides a taxonomy of REM projects to analyze government support measures and ensure the industry's sustainable growth and development.

For whom the bell tolls: Climate change and income inequality

Climate change is the defining challenge of our time with complex and evolving dynamics. The effects of climate change on economic output and financial stability have received considerable attention, but there has been much less focus on the relationship between climate change and income inequality. In this paper, we provide new evidence on the association between climate change and income inequality, using a large panel of 158 countries during the period 1995–2019. We find that an increase in climate change vulnerability is positively associated with rising income inequality. More interestingly, splitting the sample into country groups reveals a considerable contrast in the impact of climate change on income inequality. While climate change vulnerability has no statistically significant effect on income distribution in advanced economies, the coefficient on climate change vulnerability is seven times greater and statistically highly significant in the case of developing countries due largely to weaker capacity for climate change adaptation and mitigation. These findings are robust with alternative estimation methods and measures of income inequality, but it should be noted that the appropriate measurement of climate change vulnerability and resilience remains a challenge that imposes limits on empirical analysis.

Predicting The Great Lakes Wetlands' Resilience to Climate Change in Response to Phragmites australis subsp. australis Removal

Phragmites australis subsp. australis (hereon Phargmites), has become a dominating threat to the Great Lakes wetlands at a time when climate change pressures are also compromising the integrity of the native habitat. Understanding the role this invader plays in climate change resiliency is crucial in order to improve management decisions to protect and restore wetlands. This literature review was conducted to predict if the Great Lakes wetland’s resiliency to climate change effects could improve in absence of Phragmites. Peer-reviewed articles were analyzed to determine the overall impact of Phragmites on the Great Lakes wetlands by drawing connections between study findings and how this invader may influence the wetland’s ability to mitigate climate change. Evaluation of Phragmites invasion impacts included effects on floral and faunal species diversity, richness and composition, methane and carbon emissions, nutrient availability, and water levels and quality. This examination of studies showed floral, avian, and turtle species diversity to be negatively related to Phragmites invasion, with no clear impacts on frogs and macroinvertebrates. Studies also showed that Phragmites-dominated wetlands increased carbon sequestration, but also increased methane emissions which has greater radiative forcing power, resulting in a net source of greenhouse gases. Soil nutrient availability was found to be negatively impacted by this invader, and effects on water levels and quality were inconclusive due to insufficient available evidence. Overall, this information provides indication that the Great Lakes wetlands could benefit from Phragmites removal, likely enhancing the wetland’s ability to resist climate change effects.

Research Trend on Climate Change Mitigation and Resilience: Bibliometric Analysis for the Period 2011-2022

There are primarily two policy perspectives to global warming: “climate change mitigation” and “adaptation.” Both the approaches are distinct. ‘Climate change mitigation’ seeks to prevent further global climate change, whereas climate change adaptation seeks to adapt to local climate change. It is an intriguing discovery that adaptation and its corelative “resilience” in the context of climate change are a developing field of study. This paper reflects on the statistical data collected on the research publications carried out on the concepts of ‘climate change ‘mitigation’ and ‘resilience’. The analysis has been done by using the bibliometric method for the time span from 2011-2022. The data of 193 documents has been retrieved from the Scopus database in the subject area by using the keywords “climate resilience and mitigation”. For studying the global trend and establishing the connections between the subfields, sources, affiliations, and for authorship collaboration VOS viewer software has been used. The present work investigates the quantum of research performed on the concepts of climate change mitigation and resilience. The analysis demonstrates the publications in various subfields of climate change mitigation and resilience, in various sources and under different affiliations. It focuses on the global trend on this crucial issue relating to the environment protection and sustainable development.

Urban Green Spaces in Brazil: challenges and opportunities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, urban green spaces were considered less prone to contagion, and thus people adopted them as alternative sites for improving mental health. The One Health concept advocated by health organizations worldwide supports the idea that the well-being of urban residents is strongly linked with physical activity in green areas. As the world grapples with the physical and mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes clearer that access to urban green spaces is a human rights issue. This study compared previously-mapped urban green spaces in five metropolitan regions in Brazil with the results of an extensive survey of municipal managers concerning possible increase in demand of population for green spaces. Urban green spaces of over 625 m2 were mapped in 117 municipalities, the total area of 4170 km2 representing 37.4% of the urban spaces analyzed in the five metropolitan regions. Out of these 117 municipalities, 49 had data available concerning demands of green spaces in the pandemic context. Overall, 20 municipalities (representing all five metropolitan regions) stated that there was an increase in visitation in urban green spaces, and 13 more indirectly suggested possible demands. When sustainability transitions are understood as geographical processes that happen in concrete places, urban green spaces then represent real locations where sustainable transitions can begin. The unequal distribution of these spaces also brings into consideration a social justice perspective, as well as aspects of public health that involve climate change resilience and epidemiological risk (SDG 11).

Prospects for Governance and Climate Change Resilience in Peatland Management in Indonesia

Southeast Asia has the most significant tropical peat/peat carbon storage area in the world, with Indonesia being the primary location for much of it. Anthropogenic changes to peatlands have resulted in a threat to these endangered ecosystems; policies that have favored industrial and elite interests above those of local communities have resulted in severe consequences for the environment and public health, not only in Indonesia and its region, but for the world community in terms of contributions to climate change. Decentralization has been seen as a means of sharing authority and accountability with lower government levels and providing additional opportunities for shared governance. Still, there is reason to question the means of these approaches and the results of such efforts. The research question is: What can be learned about the administration’s role in leading stakeholder involvement from the case of Indonesian peatland management? The authors utilize outcome additionality as a framework connected to the resilience of peatlands.

Institutionalizing urban climate governance in the global South? Evidence from Tehran urban management, Iran

ABSTRACT Local governments across the world have an increasingly significant role to play in climate change resiliency at both community and city levels. Urban climate governance has been increasingly a popular concept and framework for building capacity towards urban resiliency. Nevertheless, and despite the considerable vulnerability of Iranian cities and on top of that the capital, Tehran, to climate change threats, few studies have evaluated the barriers and challenges of the city’s local governments for enhancing the capacity of climate governance. This paper assesses the urban climate governance capacity in Tehran urban management system. Methodologically, this study uses previous successfully deployed analytical frameworks, developed by Tanner et al. (Urban governance for adaptation: Assessing climate change resilience in Ten Asian cities (IDS Working Paper 315). Institute of Development Studies, 2009) and updated the variables through various newly released research on urban climate governance in developing countries, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. The results show that, through the lens of assessing variables, Tehran municipality faces a handful of problems in institutionalizing urban climate governance in its setting due to the unintegrated urban management structure as well as the unwillingness of the local body (Islamic City Council) along with urban branches of the national government to function in an integrated way in term of urban climate policy.

Integrated analysis of potential microbial consortia, soil nutritional status, and agro-climatic datasets to modulate P nutrient uptake and yield effectiveness of wheat under climate change resilience.

Climate change has a devastating effect on wheat production; therefore, crop production might decline by 2030. Phosphorus (P) nutrient deficiency is another main limiting factor of reduced yield. Hence, there is a dire need to judiciously consider wheat yield, so that human requirements and nutrition balance can be sustained efficiently. Despite the great significance of biostimulants in sustainable agriculture, there is still a lack of integrated technology encompassing the successful competitiveness of inoculated phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) in agricultural systems in the context of climatic conditions/meteorological factors and soil nutritional status. Therefore, the present study reveals the modulation of an integrated P nutrient management approach to develop potential PSB consortia for recommended wheat varieties by considering the respective soil health and agro-climatic conditions. The designed consortia were found to maintain adequate viability for up to 9 months, verified through field emission scanning electron microscopy and viable count. Furthermore, a significant increase in grain yield (5%-8%) and seed P (4%) content was observed in consortia-inoculated wheat plants with 20% reduced Diammonium phosphate (DAP) application under net house conditions. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of roots and amplification of the gcd gene of Ochrobactrum sp. SSR indicated the survival and rhizosphere competency of the inoculated PSB. Categorical principal component analysis (CAT-PCA) showed a positive correlation of inoculated field-grown wheat varieties in native soils to grain yield, soil P content, and precipitation for sites belonging to irrigated plains and seed P content, soil organic matter, and number of tillers for sites belonging to Northern dry mountains. However, the impact of inoculation at sites belonging to the Indus delta was found significantly correlated to soil potassium (K) content, electrical conductivity (EC), and temperature. Additionally, a significant increase in grain yield (15%) and seed P (14%) content was observed in inoculated wheat plants. Thus, the present study demonstrates for the first time the need to integrate soil biological health and agro-climatic conditions for consistent performance of augmented PSB and enhanced P nutrient uptake to curtail soil pollution caused by the extensive use of agrochemicals. This study provides innovative insights and identifies key questions for future research on PSB to promote its successful implementation in agriculture.

Climate change and coastal resiliency of Suva, Fiji: a holistic approach for measuring climate risk using the climate and ocean risk vulnerability index (CORVI).

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11027-022-10043-4.

Geospatial assessment of intrinsic resilience to the climate change for the central coast of Bangladesh

Climate change resilience not only depends on the physiographic properties, but also the socio-economic status of the people. Considering climate change resilience as a socio-ecological construct, few attempts have been taken to measure resilience across the space, especially at national and community scales. There is a paucity of research that contributes to the spatial understanding of climate change resilience at local level from the system approach. This study aims to provide an assessable means through an analytical geospatial exercise of intrinsic resilience of a socio-ecological system in the context of climate change scenario. Due to the unique physiographic and geomorphological characteristics, the central coast of Bangladesh has already been termed as one of the most climate change vulnerable hotspots by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Therefore, it demands a comprehensive assessment in terms of climate change vulnerability, adaptive capacity and resilience. We investigated the intrinsic resilience of this region by adopting Climate Change Resilience of Place (C-CROP) model. This study is the first attempt to the implication of the C-CROP model in real world scenario. Remote Sensing based earth observation, census, and ancillary data were in the centre of the investigation while Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was employed to select and weigh bottom level indicators. 20 adaptive capacity indicators and 17 vulnerability indicators were selected in this regard. Using PCA, 37 indicators are reduced to 5 adaptive capacity and 3 vulnerability principal components which explain 73.81% and 79.17% variance in the data respectively. Quantification and mapping of intrinsic resilience through geospatial approach using Google Earth Engine (GEE) provide useful data that show how intrinsic resilience is spatially distributed in the most vulnerable hotspot in the climate change context. The findings of the study can contribute to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction programs to sustainably allocate limited resources and set priority interventions in order to build vulnerable communities resilient in changing climatic scenario.

A Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Design Framework: The Case of Small-scale Farmers in Western Honduras

Climate change is now affecting every known society. Small-scale farmers in low-income countries are especially vulnerable to climate change because they depend heavily on rain, seasonality patterns, and known temperature ranges. Prioritizing the efforts of building climate change resilience and adaptive capacity for small-scale farmers is essential in achieving Sustainable Development Goals 13, 1, and 2. An important first step towards those efforts is to assess the climate change vulnerability among the population. We propose a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Framework Design Framework (CCVA-DF) to guide the design of innovative digital CCVA solutions to enhance the adaptive capacity and climate change resilience of small-scale farmers. The framework outlines modern methods for vulnerability data collection and processing through Remote Sensing and GIS, advanced spatial analysis and modeling for measuring vulnerabilities, and visual analytics to support decision-making in the planning and implementation of suitable interventions. The framework is instantiated into a web application that is used by a real-world organization for transforming household resilience in Western Honduras. The CCVA-DF showcases novel measures of vulnerability using geospatial technology. It provides guidelines to design digital vulnerability assessment tools that can be used by researchers and practitioners worldwide to tackle climate change challenges.

The Status of Vegetables Research in Malawi, Capacity, Progress, Gaps, and Way Forward—A Scoping Review

Vegetables are key to nutrition and economic security, especially for developing societies. Research in vegetables has been historically key. From early domestication efforts to modern-day breeding and value addition, research has enabled vegetable productivity to support the nutritional and economic needs of societies. Impactful research, however, requires competent research capacity and a guiding framework, in a continuously changing socio-climatic world. Vegetable research appraisal in Malawi, especially regarding capacity, focus, and a guiding framework, is lacking. By using 5 search engines and 506 analyzed publications, this review sought to first examine the existing research capacity in Malawi and assess the vegetable research focus in terms of both value chain analysis themes and specific vegetable tax. This approach allowed for the isolation and flagging out of key emerging issues from existing research that positively contextualize future vegetable research direction in Malawi. It has been found that Malawi has adequate institutional and expertise capacity to further vegetable research. The identified challenges include local funding and infrastructural capacity to leverage donor funding. Three key emerging issues of climate change, modeling, and biofortification in vegetable crops have been identified. It is suggested that, with Malawi facing the climate change challenge, research focus in these areas, will enhance not only nutritional and economic security, but also overall climate change readiness. Key to climate change readiness is the involvement of indigenous vegetable production. As a package, vegetable cultivation can play a critical role in contributing to the achievement of pillar 1 of the Malawi vision 2063, which seeks to leverage agricultural productivity and commercialization with a focus on climate change resilience.