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Harnessing nature to help people adapt to climate change

Nature Climate Change volume 2, pages 504–509 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

Adapting to climate change is among the biggest challenges humanity faces in the next century. An overwhelming focus of adaptation strategies to reduce climate change-related hazards has been on hard-engineering structures such as sea walls, irrigation infrastructure and dams. Closer attention to a broader spectrum of adaptation options is urgently needed. In particular, ecosystem-based adaptation approaches provide flexible, cost-effective and broadly applicable alternatives for buffering the impacts of climate change, while overcoming many drawbacks of hard infrastructure. As such, they are a critical tool at adaptation planners' disposal for tackling the threats that climate change poses to peoples' lives and livelihoods.

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Figure 1: Coastal regions in Southeast Asia that are particularly vulnerable to climate change.

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Acknowledgements

We thank B. Nickel for GIS support and the Zavaleta lab, and R. Naylor for comments that improved this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, 95064, California, USA

    Holly P. Jones & Erika S. Zavaleta

  2. Science and Knowledge Division, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, Arlington, 22202, Virginia, USA

    David G. Hole

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  1. Holly P. Jones
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Correspondence to Holly P. Jones or David G. Hole.

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Jones, H., Hole, D. & Zavaleta, E. Harnessing nature to help people adapt to climate change. Nature Clim Change 2, 504–509 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1463

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