Search results for "climate change adaptation"

Habitat associations drive species vulnerability to climate change in boreal forests

2016

Species climate change vulnerability, their predisposition to be adversely affected, has been assessed for a limited portion of biodiversity. Our knowledge of climate change impacts is often based only on exposure, the magnitude of climatic variation in the area occupied by the species, even if species sensitivity, the species ability to tolerate climatic variations determined by traits, plays a key role in determining vulnerability. We analyse the role of species’ habitat associations, a proxy for sensitivity, in explaining vulnerability for two poorly-known but species-rich taxa in boreal forest, saproxylic beetles and fungi, using three IPCC emissions scenarios. Towards the end of the 21…

Helices of disaster memory: How forgetting and remembering influence tropical cyclone response in Mauritius

2020

Abstract Tropical cyclones have had a considerable impact on Mauritius. Large cyclones are relatively rare, and in popular imagination are thought to hit Mauritius every 15 years. Yet it has been over 25 years since the last cyclone widely considered as ‘significant’. Critically, there is little known about the role of memory in responses to cyclones and details regarding responses to past cyclones in Mauritian history are scant. This article examines past experiences and impacts of cyclones in Mauritius, as well as contemporary perceptions of cyclone vulnerability and memories of historical cyclones. The analysis draws on both community interviews and archival research conducted in Mauriti…

Reviewing the role of ecosystems services in the sustainability of the urban environment: A multi-country analysis

2020

The urban environment is characterised by many pressures caused by population growth, transport (and its related emissions), and the damage to green areas. Yet, there is a variety of ecosystem services available in urban areas, which may be deployed to ameliorate the current problems and foster their sustainability. This paper reviews the role of ecosystem services as tools for sustainability, based on an urban setting. It also describes a series of multi-country case studies, where an assessment of their functions using a set of benefits valuation approaches such as health benefits, economic benefits, social benefits and benefits to climate resilience, are provided, along with an appraisal…

Landslide Hazards and Climate Change Adaptation of Transport Infrastructures in Germany

2017

VisAdapt: A Visualization Tool to Support Climate Change Adaptation.

2017

In this article we present the design and implementation of the web-based visualization tool VisAdapt, developed to support homeowners in the Nordic countries to assess anticipated climate change and climate related risks which are expected to negatively impact their living conditions. The tool guides the user through a three-step visual exploration process to facilitate the exploration of risks and adaptation measures, specifically adapted to the user. VisAdapt has been developed over the course of two years in close collaboration with domain experts and end users to ensure the validity of the included data and the efficiency of the visual interface. Although VisAdapt is designed for Nordi…

Food processing companies, retailers and climate-resilient supply chain management

2015

This article has no abstract. nonPeerReviewed

Climate Change and Disasters

2017

Ideas and approaches proven successful within disaster risk reduction (DRR) literature and practice are either bypassed or inadequately considered by contemporary climate change work. This chapter explores the intersections between climate change and hazards, vulnerability, and risk, looking at climate change as both a hazard driver and a hazard inhibitor. The implications of the narrow interpretations of vulnerability employed in climate change work are examined, as well as the ways in which climate change has come to act as a scapegoat for issues, events, and processes caused by hazard-independent factors. The chapter formulates a case for climate change adaptation (CCA) to be seen as a s…

Water-saving techniques for restoring desertified lands: some lessons from the field

2022

Nature-based solutions can significantly contribute to restoration projects in areas affected by desertification processes, where they are necessary for reversing land degradation. Currently, one innovative solution is The Cocoon™, which has been designed as a new ecotechnology for improving seedling establishment. The Cocoon consists of a doughnut-shaped container made of recycled cardboard that provides water and shelter at least during the first year of a seedling, which is the most critical for plant establishment. To determine the effectiveness of this ecotechnology under different conditions, the Cocoon was tested on a variety of soils, climates, vegetation, and land uses. Six plantin…

Applying a framework for landscape planning under climate change for the conservation of biodiversity in the Finnish boreal forest

2015

Conservation strategies are often established without consideration of the impact of climate change. However, this impact is expected to threaten species and ecosystem persistence and to have dramatic effects towards the end of the 21st century. Landscape suitability for species under climate change is determined by several interacting factors including dispersal and human land use. Designing effective conservation strategies at regional scales to improve landscape suitability requires measuring the vulnerabilities of specific regions to climate change and determining their conservation capacities. Although methods for defining vulnerability categories are available, methods for doing this …

Climate change policies and agendas: facing implementation challenges and guiding responses

2020

Climate policies are essential to mitigate climate change and to develop successful adaptation processes. However, there is a paucity of international studies that analyse the status of climate change policies. This paper reports on research undertaken in a sample of 13 highly diverse countries, in regards to their geography, socioeconomic development, vulnerability elements, adaptation, and climate-risks. The results draw attention to the global spread and standardisation of climate change policies, namely through the adoption of comprehensive National Adaptation Plans/Strategies (NAPs/NASs) that include mitigation measures and evaluation mechanisms. Although NAPs tend to take into account…