FAQ 3 : How are indigenous knowledge and local knowledge being incorporated in the design and
implementation of adaptation projects and p;olicies in asia ?
Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge (IKLK) play an important role in the formulation of adaptation
governance and related strategies (IPCC 2007), and best quality, locality-specific knowledge can help address the
serious lack of education on climate change and uncertainties surrounding quality, salience, credibility and the
legitimacy of the available knowledge base.
Key findings across Asia underline the importance of building, sustaining and augmenting local capacity through
addressing inadequacies in terms of resource base, climate-change awareness, government–community
partnerships and vulnerability assessment.
An integrated approach supported by science that considers many stressors, together with IKLK, appears to be of
enormous value in livelihoods susceptible to climate change.
For instance, Indigenous People's intuitive thinking processes and geographic knowledge of distant locations are
particularly significant in developing local talents, enhancing CCA, assuring cross-cultural communication, and
building farmers' resilience.
There is also a widespread recognition that IKLK are important in ensuring successful ecosystem-based adaptation
(EbA). However, this recognition requires more practical application and translation into IKLK-driven EbA projects.
For instance, in the Coral Triangle region, creating historical timelines and mapping seasonal calendars can help to
capture IKLK while also feeding this information into climate science and climate adaptation planning. Identifying
indigenous crop species for agriculture by using IKLK is already identified as an important way to localise climate
adaptation:
an example is Bali’s vital contribution of moral economies to food systems which have long built
resilience among groups of communities in terms of food security and sovereignty, even with the challenges faced
due to modernising of local food systems.
FAQ 4 HOW CAN ASIA MEET MULTIPLE GOALS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE COMING DECADS ?
order to achieve the multiple goals of CCA, mitigation and sustainable development, critical are rapid, system
transitions across (a) energy systems, (b) land and ecosystems and (c) urban and infrastructural systems. This is
especially important across Asia, which has the largest population exposed to current climate risks and high
sub-regional diversity, and where risks are expected to rise significantly and unevenly under higher levels of global
warming.
However, such transformational change is deeply challenging because of variable national development
imperatives; differing capacities and requirements of large, highly unequal and vulnerable populations; and
socioeconomic and ecological diversity that requires very contextual solutions. Furthermore, issues such as growing
transboundary risks, inadequate data for long-term adaptation planning, finance barriers, uneven institutional
capacity and non-climatic issues, such as increasing conflict, political instability and polarization, constrain rapid,
transformational action across systems.
Despite these challenges, there are increasing examples of actions across Asia that are meeting climate adaptation
goals and SDGs simultaneously, such as through climate-smart agriculture, disaster risk management and NbS. To
enable these system transitions, vertical and horizontal policy linkages, active communication and cooperation
between multiple stakeholders, and attention to the root causes of vulnerability are essential. Furthermore, rapid
systemic transformation can be enabled by policies and finances to incentivise capacity building, new technological
innovation and diffusion.
The effectiveness of such technology-centred approaches can be maximised by combining
them with attention to behavioural shifts such as by improving education and awareness, building local capacities
and institutions, and leveraging IKLK.
