Table of Contents

Prelims (Contents, Tables, About the Editors) 1. Introduction - Climate Change and Threatened Communities A. Peter Castro, Dan Taylor, and David W. Brokensha 2. Climate change and forest conservation: a REDD flag for Central African forest people? Philip Burnham 3. Social vulnerability, climatic variability, and uncertainty in rural Ethiopia: a study of South Wollo and Oromiya Zones of eastern Amhara Region A. Peter Castro 4. Farmers on the frontline: adaptation and change in Malawi Kate Wellard, Daimon Kambewa, and Sieglinde Snapp 5. Risk and abandonment and the meta-narrative of climate change Dan Taylor 6. Mobilizing knowledge to build adaptive capacity: lessons from southern Mozambique J. Shaffer 7. Climate change and the future of onion and potato production in West Darfur, Sudan: a case study of Zalingei locality Yassir Hassan Satti and A. Peter Castro 8. Comparing knowledge of and experience with climate change across three glaciated mountain regions K.W. Dunbar, Julie Brugger, Christine Jurt, and Ben Orlove 9. Aapuupayuu (the weather warms up): climate change and the Eeyouch (Cree) of northern Quebec Kreg T. Ettenger 10. 'The one who has changed is the person': observations and explanations of climate change in the Ecuadorian Andes Kristine Skarbo, Kristin Vander Molen, Rosa Ramos, and Robert E. Rhoades 11. Good intentions, bad memories, and troubled capital: American Indian knowledge and action in renewable energy projects Raymond I. Orr and David B. Anderson 12. Reclaiming the past to respond to climate change: Mayan farmers and ancient agricultural techniques in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico Betty Bernice Faust, Armando Anaya Hernandez, and Helga Geovannini Acuna 13. Can we learn from the past? policy history and climate change in Bangladesh David Lewis 14. Local perceptions and adaptation to climate change: a perspective from Western India Dineshkumar Moghariya 15. Ethno-ecology in the shadow of rain and light of experience: local perceptions of drought and climate change in East Sumba, Indonesia Yancey Orr, Russell Schimmer and Roland Geerken 16. Local knowledge and technology innovation in a changing world: traditional fishing communities in Tam Giang Cau Hai lagoon, Vietnam Thanh Vo and Jack Manno 17. Conclusion: some reflections on indigenous knowledge and climate change Dan Taylor, A. Peter Castro, and David W. Brokensha Back Matter (Resources, Notes, Index)

Promotional Information

'Climate Change and Threatened Communities is a timely wake-up call and reminder of the local-level practical, theoretical and ethical issues raised by climate change. Scholarly and accessible, it illuminates the rights, interests, needs, and capacities of the many vulnerable and marginalized communities threatened by climate change. For all concerned with how communities can adapt to the mounting stresses, shocks, and uncertainties of climate change, Climate Change and Threatened Communities will be a rich source of insight.' Professor Robert Chambers, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex 'This unique and significant book has global importance.' Thayer Scudder, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, California Institute of Technology 'It is not only an up-to-date contribution to the current debate on global climate change, but also a fantastic handbook for students.' L. Jan Slikkerveer, Professor, Faculty of Science, Leiden University, The Netherlands

About the Author

Professor Castro is Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, USA. Dan Taylor is the Director of the British NGO Find Your Feet, and Tutor in International Development at the Open University, UK. David W. Brokensha is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.

Reviews

"These 15 excellent anthropological case studies (plus introduction and conclusion) on climate change and diverse responses from communities in Africa, and the Americas utilize a variety of methodologies, ranging from standard ethnographic approaches and ethno-ecological investigations of localized knowledge, perception, and innovation to an archaeological examination of Mayan farming practices. The researchers emphasize the knowledge, capacities, interests, rights, agency, and adaptability of threatened populations of farmers, hearders, fishers, and foragers under conditions resulting from extreme and unpredictable weather, drought, floods, and population shifts. In addition to documenting environmental changes faced by communities at risk the authors point out that the peopole who are the most vulnerable are generally those lease responsible for their present circumstances. Indeed environmental difficulties are not simply consequences of climate change, but also are exacerbated by policies that have favored market liberalization, technological determinism, and structural inequality, resulting in increased socioeconomic injustice and greater cultural marginalization. A more participatory approach, rather than top-down policies that have typified most efforts to integrate local populations into development efforts, may provide greater opportunities for recognizing local innovativeness and expanding the possibility that others may learn valuable lessons from threatened communities."--B. Tavakolian, Emeritus, Denison Univeristy "Choice "

"This book demonstrates powerfully the dynamism of indigenous knowledge and of communities' capacities for adaptation."--Robert Chambers