Introduction

Climate change calls for new approaches to sustainable development that take into account complex interactions between climate, social and ecological systems. We must innovate in order to develop and support new sustainable livelihoods that can respond to the challenges of climate change. Alternative sustainable livelihoods at a local level are explored in this unit through appropriate innovation design. Communities and households can identify the innovation that can be adapted at a local level with an understanding of what is required to successfully mitigate the impacts of climate change.

One example of how innovation can play a role in developing sustainable livelihood and community resiliency is the move towards duck farming in Bangladesh.

Reading

Savage, S. (2019, 13 July). To survive in a wetter world, raise ducks, not chickens. Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/07/bangladesh-climate-change-floods-ducks/593581/   Licence: Open access

Outcomes

Outcomes:  On completion of this unit you will be able to:

• identify innovations at the household and community levels that can lead to successful climate change mitigation and climate-responsive livelihoods.

Terminology

Ecological systems:  Also known as an ecosystem, an ecological system is a biological community consisting of all the living organisms (including humans) in a particular area and the non-living components — for example, air, water and soil — with which the organisms interact.

Climate change mitigation:  Actions to reduce the flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Post-harvest:  The stage of crop production that immediately follows the harvest. It includes cooling, cleaning, sorting and packing crops.

Climate-smart:  An approach that helps guide actions to integrate green and climate-resilient practices into agri-food systems.

Drought-prone area:  An area in which the probability of experiencing drought in a given year is greater than 20%.

Watershed:  An area of high ground from which waterflows down to a river.

Grassroots-level:  The most basic level of an action, social movement or social organisation. Ordinary people are involved at this level.

Resilient:  Able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions or situations.

Biodiversity:  The variety of living organisms in an area, from microscopic ones to large trees and animals.