Changing Climate, Changing Worlds: Local Knowledge and the Challenges of Social and Ecological Change (Ethnobiology)

Foreword
Contents
About the Editors
Chapter 1: Understanding Microexperiences of Climate Change: How Climate Ethnography Informs Collaboration, Adaptation, and Effective Responses
	1.1 Key Insights for Climate Ethnography
	1.2 This Volume
	References
Chapter 2: Fishers’ Perceptions of Environmental and Climate Change in Puerto Rico: Implications for Adaptation and Sustainability
	2.1 Introduction
		2.1.1 Climate Change and Fisheries
		2.1.2 Puerto Rico Fisheries
	2.2 Methods of Data Collection
	2.3 Measurements and Analyses
		2.3.1 Fishers’ Characteristics
			2.3.1.1 Job Satisfaction
			2.3.1.2 Environmental Ethic
		2.3.2 Perceptions on Status of Fishery Resources
		2.3.3 Perceptions of Climate Change and Other Anthropogenic Impacts
		2.3.4 Factors Influencing Perceptions of Climate Change
		2.3.5 Fishers’ Adaptations to Change
	2.4 Discussion
		2.4.1 Perceptions of Change and Adaptations
		2.4.2 Factors Influencing Fishers’ Perceptions
	2.5 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 3: “We Used to go Asking for the Rains”: Local Interpretations of Environmental Changes and Implications for Natural Resource Management in Hwange District, Zimbabwe
	3.1 Introduction
	3.2 Studying Perceptions of Environmental Changes in a Context of Rapid Transformations
		3.2.1 Land Distribution and Conservation in Hwange: Strong Constraints for Subsistence
		3.2.2 Community-Based Natural Resource Management
		3.2.3 Local Knowledge and Perceptions of Environmental Changes
	3.3 Climate Change: Local Knowledge and Related Practices of Natural Resource Management
		3.3.1 Climate Knowledge and the Unpredictability of the Rain
		3.3.2 Forecasting the Rain: The Main Role of Birds and Trees
		3.3.3 Protecting Sacred Trees by Perpetuating Rainmaking Ceremonies
	3.4 What Do These Representations Say About Inequalities in Environmental Management?
		3.4.1 Mobilizing Management Policies as Proximal Causes
		3.4.2 “We used to go asking for the rain”
		3.4.3 People’s Marginalization from Their Rights Over the Land and the Natural Resources
	3.5 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 4: Indigenous Knowledge and Dynamics Among Himalayan Peoples, Vegetation, and Climate Change
	4.1 Himalayan Climate Change
	4.2 Himalayan Research Sites, Peoples, and Methods
	4.3 Vegetation Responses to Climate Change
	4.4 Human Responses to Climate Change
	4.5 Vegetation Responses Affect People
	4.6 Human Responses Affect Vegetation and Climate Change
	4.7 A Dynamic Whole
	4.8 Conclusion
	Bibliography
Chapter 5: Observing “Weeds” to Understand Local Perceptions of Environmental Change in a Temperate Rural Area of Southwestern France
	5.1 Introduction: “More and More Weeds”: How to Get Rid of Weeds in the Cemetery?
	5.2 Study Area and Methods: Ethnography of Rain, Weeds, and Rural Exodus in a House-Centered Society in Rural Southwestern France
	5.3 Results and Discussion – When Weed Management Becomes an Issue in a Community Facing Climate and Social Changes: How to Deal with a Growing Problem with Fewer People?
	5.4 What Is a Weed? Knowing and Using Wild Flora: Archaic or Valued Knowledge?
	5.5 Managing Weeds to Adapt to Changes, to Be Accepted Within the Community, and to Revive Old Institutions?
		5.5.1 An Emerging Conflict: A Matter of Growing Weeds, Perceptions of Changes and of Nature?
		5.5.2 From Conflict to Adaptation: Reorganizing Local Society to Cope with Environmental and Social Changes
	5.6 What the “Weed Situation” Tells Us About Climate Change
	5.7 Conclusion: “Changing While Staying the Same” and How Global Climate Change Cannot Be Perceived Separate from Local Social Change
	Bibliography
Chapter 6: Whose Climate, Whose Changes? Various Views from Rural Northern Cameroon
	6.1 Site Description
	6.2 Methodology
		6.2.1 Asking Stakeholders About Changes
			6.2.1.1 Not Only the Climate Is Changing
			6.2.1.2 Specific Perceptions of Climate Change
			6.2.1.3 Anthropogenic Pressure Dominates Local Residents’ Perception of Changes
		6.2.2 Environmental Changes in Upper Benue Analyzed by Geographers and Ecologists
			6.2.2.1 Land Use Changes and Demographic Growth
			6.2.2.2 Climate Changes
		6.2.3 Do Perceptions of Change Vary According to the Economic and Cultural Profiles of Stakeholders?
			6.2.3.1 Age Influences the Perception of Change
			6.2.3.2 Length of Residency in the Locality Affects Perceptions in Complex Ways
			6.2.3.3 Proximity to the Protected Area Has a Large Effect on Perceptions
	6.3 Conclusion
	Bibliography
Chapter 7: Climate Change in a Floodplain of the Brazilian Amazon: Scientific Observation and Local Knowledge
	7.1 Introduction
	7.2 Location of the Study
	7.3 Methodology
	7.4 The Population of the Lago Grande
	7.5 The Várzea: An Ecosystem Marked by Seasonal Changes
		7.5.1 Climate, Weather, and Seasons
		7.5.2 Seasonal Changes: Flood and Water Recession
		7.5.3 Seasonal Changes: Activities
	7.6 Climatic Change in the Amazon According to Scientists
	7.7 Perception of Climate Change in the Lago Grande
	7.8 Observation of the Major Floods and Droughts by the Local Inhabitants
	7.9 Social and Environmental Changes
	7.10 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 8: The Year People Helped Zebras to Stand Up: Climatic Variability and Extreme Weather Observed and Portrayed by Kenyan Maasai Pastoralists
	8.1 Introduction
		8.1.1 Variability in the Kenyan Rangelands and the “Worst Drought Ever”
	8.2 Methods
		8.2.1 Study Areas and Data Collection
		8.2.2 Participatory Photography in the Amboseli Ecosystem
	8.3 “God’s Politics”: Perceptions of Changing Rainfall Dynamics in Maasailand
	8.4 Ostriches like Lions: Maasai Observations of the Environment and Weather Forecasting
	8.5 “Closing the Gate”: Impacts of the 2009 Drought
	8.6 Making Sense of the “Worst Drought”
		8.6.1 Giraffes Like Goats and Cows Like Gazelles: Wildlife Behavior During the 2009 Drought
	8.7 Discussion
		8.7.1 Knowing the Weather and Adapting to a Changing Climate in Maasailand
			8.7.1.1 An Obsolete Forecasting System?
			8.7.1.2 Maasai Understandings of the 2009 Drought and “Mad” Creatures
		8.7.2 Collaborative Visual Research for Climate Change Research and Policy-Making
		8.7.3 Limitations and Future Research
	8.8 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 9: Operationalizing Local Ecological Knowledge in Climate Change Research: Challenges and Opportunities of Citizen Science
	9.1 Introduction
	9.2 The Theory: The Complementarity of Local and Scientific Knowledge Systems in Climate Research
		9.2.1 Local Knowledge Systems Can Fill Spatial and Temporal Gaps in Instrumental Observations
		9.2.2 Local Knowledge Systems Can Provide Information on Impacts on Biophysical Systems
	9.3 Challenges and Opportunities of Citizen Science
	9.4 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 10: Using Local Observations of Climate Change to Identify Opportunities for Community Conversations in Southern Appalachia
	10.1 Introduction
	10.2 Environmental Change, Knowledge Systems, and Vulnerabilities in Southern Appalachia
	10.3 Methods
	10.4 Results: How People See Climate
		10.4.1 The Challenges of Discussing and Responding to Climate Change
		10.4.2 Weather and Climate
		10.4.3 Other Indicators of Climate Change
		10.4.4 Causes of Climate Change
	10.5 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 11: Understanding Climate from the Ground Up: Knowledge of Environmental Changes in the East African Savannas
	11.1 Introduction
		11.1.1 Background
	11.2 Methods
	11.3 Results
		11.3.1 Climate and Weather
		11.3.2 Ecosystems
		11.3.3 Livestock and Livelihoods
		11.3.4 Social Change
	11.4 Solutions
		11.4.1 Security
		11.4.2 Infrastructure
		11.4.3 Mobility
		11.4.4 Sustainable Ecosystem Management
		11.4.5 Livelihood Diversification
	11.5 Discussion and Conclusion
	References
Chapter 12: Understanding Global Change: From Documentation and Collaboration to Social Transformation
	12.1 Decolonizing Environmental Knowledge and Climate Change Research
	12.2 Anthropology and Climate Change
		12.2.1 Documentation
		12.2.2 Connections
		12.2.3 Collaborations
		12.2.4 Activism and Social Transformation
	12.3 Implications and Future Directions
	References
Index