2 minute read
Adaptation for the long run
The following examples of adaptation strategies suggest a range of measures that can help countries reduce their risks related to energy, food and water security.
Adaptation options: energy security and flood risk
risk to infrastructure property loss and damage protection prevention and nature-based solutions relocation
dam safety improvements more robust and climate-smart design
In the near term, governments can reduce the risks to infrastructure with protective measures such as dam safety improvements that can prevent catastrophic flooding and the damage to property that flooding brings. Longer-term nature-based solutions such as afforestation, which may take years to reach maturity, will provide protection indefinitely. The relocation of houses and other buildings is a costly solution, but in the long run is likely to be less expensive and more effective than rebuilding every time a flood occurs.
Coping with extreme weather and improving food security
impacts on cash crops and income crop failure, food security concerns protection diversification agro-biodiversity, long-term planning
climate-smart pathway, resource efficiency
Extreme weather can cause crop failures that have immediate effects on household income for the farm families suffering the loss, and widespread and persistent extreme weather — multi-year droughts, for example — can jeopardize the food security for a country or region. Farm-level shortterm options include taking inexpensive protection measures such as providing shelter for livestock and introducing greenhouses. In the mid-term, farmers can diversify their crops, and select what to grow in light of the changing climate. Adopting agroforestry or climate-smart practices will offer more protections in the long run.
Climate impacts on water resources
water reserves
water deficit, unreliable supply robust water supply
water-saving technologies nature-based solutions
Rising temperatures and droughts threaten the reliability of water resources, while disrupted precipitation and changes in the timing of river flows add to the uncertainties. The World Bank global study “High and Dry” (2016) finds that Central Asia is the region most to lose or win from adaptation of agriculture, particularly irrigation, to climate change. Rainwater collection and water conservation practices such as drip irrigation can improve the situation at the farm or household level, and the widespread adoption of these practices can make a difference more broadly. Community-based water reservoirs can improve water security, and nature-based solutions together with climate-smart development offer longer-term adaptation.
