First-ever study conducted on cultural adaptation to climate change
People are finding it more difficult to adjust to the demands of the new reality as the effects of climate change grow. Notably, adjusting to new lifestyles or business practices often necessitates a cultural shift. Recently, a few researchers from the University of Maine and the University of Vermont in the United States conducted the first-ever study of cultural adaptation to climate change.
Objectives of the study
The study aims to understand how culture and society adapt to a changing climate. "We know that humans evolve and adapt by changing their culture. But we know very little about if or how culture is adapting to ongoing climate change today," says Tim Waring, associate professor with the UMaine Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions and the School of Economics.
Ingredients for adaption
Examining cultural adaptation to climate change can enhance research by enabling more accurate comparisons that showcase where adaptation efforts are taking place. According to Waring, cultural adaptation is the adoption of behavior that works well in a new setting at the population level. Waring emphasizes, "Adaptation involves three key elements: the introduction of a new practice, its benefits, and its spread within a population.'"
They evaluated through crops
By using these criteria and utilizing data on crops planted in every county in the United States over the previous 14 years, researchers were able to compare the climate in which various crops thrive. Their findings showed that farmers had adjusted their crop rotations across a large portion of the country to better suit the crops to the recent climate shifts.
Culture-based approach will help policymakers
"Our research shows that many Maine farmers are already adapting to climate change. They always have," Waring says. Researchers believe that this new culture-based approach to climate adaptation will help provide information to policymakers by isolating the adaptation process from policy objectives and positive social effects. According to them, this novel approach will open a new frontier in climate adaptation research.
