Measures must be taken to lessen the vulnerability of communities to the terrifying impacts of climate change like extreme weather, sea-level rise, biodiversity and ecosystem loss, and food and water insecurity. These actions are known as climate adaptation.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a significant role in regards to climate change as they are able to use their global networks to lobby for effective climate policies, promote environmental justice, and provide support for climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. One such organization is the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), an independent organization engaged in nature conservation and sustainable development with operations in Indonesia.
In the city of Pekanbaru, the Faculty of Geography joined hands with the WWF to hold a training program for the Local Government Organizations (OPD) of Riau, Jambi, and West Sumatra on nature-based solutions for sustainable infrastructure planning among policymakers at the provincial level. Nature-based solutions incorporate biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of a broader adaptation strategy for tackling and reversing biodiversity and ecosystem loss due climate change. Through this training session, government staff were taught environmental service modeling using the InVEST model, which covered the Annual Water Yield, Carbon Storage and Sequestration, Sediment Delivery Ratio, and Habitat Quality models.
Climate change adaptation refers to actions that help reduce vulnerability to the current or expected impacts of climate change like weather extremes and hazards, sea-level rise, biodiversity loss, or food and water insecurity.
The rise of global temperatures and seasonal patterns shift due to climate change even have consequences on the agriculture industry. Fruit flies, a common animal, now reproduce more rapidly and survive in areas where they previously could not. This poses a major threat to mango production, farmer livelihoods, and agricultural export potential. The Faculty of Agriculture is collaborating with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to conduct an in-depth research project on controlling fruit flies in mangoes using an area-wide management (AWM) system approach.
ACIAR is an international research partnership agency that leverages Australia’s world-class agricultural expertise to support climate-resilient, productive, and sustainable agriculture in developing countries through strategic global collaborations.
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