Climate Adaptation

Overview

Climate Adaptation is a fundamental component of regenerative village development. This guide synthesizes knowledge from re:build gatherings to provide practical insights for implementing climate adaptation in community projects.

Methods and Approaches

Generative framework: Moving to a generative framework for generative development addresses climate, ecological, and well-being concerns simultaneously. This approach recognizes that addressing climate adaptation requires creating systems that support living and well-being while responding to crisis conditions. The goal is to live good lives while meeting various human needs including food, shelter, and community.

Vegetation and climate resilience: Some vegetation can be helped by the extra CO2 in the air to withstand the changing climate conditions we're experiencing, as certain plants can withstand higher temperatures. This demonstrates how understanding ecological responses to climate change can inform adaptation strategies.

Network learning: AI models and feedback systems can facilitate learning networks where insights from one village improve others, especially when there are similarities in topography, climate, and other factors. This network approach enables shared learning and adaptation strategies across projects.

Land use and climate: We are changing climate on both micro and macro levels through changes in land use. Understanding this impact is essential for climate adaptation, as land management practices directly affect local and regional climate patterns.

Benefits

• Increased resilience: Climate adaptation strategies increase community resilience to changing conditions
• Vegetation benefits: Some vegetation can benefit from increased CO2 and adapt to higher temperatures, providing opportunities for climate-resilient agriculture
• Network learning: Sharing adaptation strategies across villages enables faster learning and better outcomes
• Local climate influence: Understanding how land use affects climate enables communities to influence local conditions positively
• Long-term viability: Climate adaptation ensures projects remain viable as conditions change

Key Insights

Universal vulnerability: All systems are susceptible to changing climates—understanding this vulnerability is essential for adaptation planning.

Climate summit experience: Some practitioners have been involved in climate summits (e.g., 2008 in Fiji), providing firsthand experience with climate policy and adaptation discussions.

Climate action importance: Addressing climate change is very important—it requires urgent and comprehensive action.

Climate projections: At climate conferences, projections often focus on specific numbers (e.g., 20-50 year timelines), which are relatively important for planning, though actual impacts may vary.

Early perspectives: Some practitioners were considered "way off base" by climate scientists and climatologists in earlier years, but their perspectives on land use and climate change have proven valuable.

Climate modeling limitations: Climate modeling has limitations—it doesn't always capture the full complexity of climate systems, particularly around land use changes.

Land use impact: We are changing climate on both micro and macro levels through changes in land use—this is a significant factor that affects local and global climate patterns.

Modeling challenges: When extreme events (huge deluges, flooding) occur, they're sometimes excluded from climate modeling because they disrupt trends, but these extremes are increasingly common and important to understand.

Examples and Case Studies

Holistic approaches: Projects that address climate adaptation holistically, recognizing that climate challenges are connected to other issues like housing, food security, and community well-being, demonstrate more effective adaptation strategies.

Context-specific design: Design thinking for climate adaptation varies significantly by location. In Thailand, South Africa, or other regions, climate adaptation must consider not only climate-related factors but also cultural context, local conditions, and regional patterns.

Network learning projects: Projects that participate in learning networks, sharing adaptation strategies and outcomes with other villages, demonstrate how network approaches can accelerate climate adaptation across multiple projects.

Best Practices

• Understand local context: Every place is different—different climate, different people, different culture. Climate adaptation must be context-specific, not one-size-fits-all
• Leverage vegetation resilience: Some vegetation can benefit from increased CO2 and adapt to higher temperatures—use climate-resilient plant species in adaptation strategies
• Think systemically: Address climate adaptation as part of larger system, not isolated problem—connect climate with food, water, energy, and community systems
• Participate in networks: Join learning networks where villages share adaptation strategies and outcomes, enabling faster learning and better results
• Consider land use impacts: Understand how land use changes affect local and regional climate, and use this understanding to inform adaptation strategies
• Plan for extremes: Prepare for extreme events that may not be captured in standard climate models but are increasingly common
• Integrate with regeneration: Connect climate adaptation with regenerative practices that improve ecosystem health and resilience
• Build community capacity: Ensure community members understand climate risks and adaptation strategies, building collective capacity for resilience

Implementation Guide

To implement climate adaptation in your regenerative village project, consider the following approach:

Phase 1: Assessment (Months 1-3)

• Assess current climate risks and vulnerabilities
• Understand local climate patterns and projected changes
• Evaluate how land use affects local climate
• Identify climate-resilient species and practices
• Engage climate experts and local knowledge holders

Phase 2: Strategy Development (Months 3-6)

• Develop climate adaptation strategy integrated with project vision
• Design systems that address climate while supporting well-being
• Plan for climate-resilient agriculture and vegetation
• Integrate adaptation with other systems (water, energy, food)
• Create monitoring systems to track climate impacts

Phase 3: Implementation (Months 6-24)

• Implement climate-resilient practices and systems
• Establish vegetation and agricultural systems adapted to changing conditions
• Build infrastructure designed for climate resilience
• Join learning networks to share and learn adaptation strategies
• Monitor climate impacts and adaptation outcomes

Phase 4: Ongoing Adaptation (Ongoing)

• Continue monitoring climate conditions and impacts
• Adapt strategies based on outcomes and changing conditions
• Share learnings with other projects in network
• Update adaptation plans as climate science and conditions evolve
• Build long-term community capacity for climate resilience

Challenges and Considerations

Paradigm shift: Building new paradigms that provide security through completely new ways of relating to environment, to each other, to water, to the climate, and to the forests we're living within brings up a variety of challenges. This requires rethinking traditional approaches and developing new relationships with natural systems.

Climate modeling limitations: Climate modeling has limitations—it doesn't always capture the full complexity of climate systems, particularly around land use changes. Extreme events are sometimes excluded from modeling because they disrupt trends, but these extremes are increasingly common.

Universal vulnerability: All systems are susceptible to changing climates—understanding this vulnerability is essential for adaptation planning, but it also means there are no simple solutions.

Time and urgency: Climate change requires urgent action, but adaptation strategies often take time to implement and show results, creating tension between urgency and thoroughness.