AF04 | AF07 | AF14 | AF20 | AF23 | AF38 | AF42 | AF47 | AF90 | AF91 | AF92 | AS06 | AS07 | AS12 | AS21 | AS25 | LA06 | LA26 | LA27 | LA29 | LA32 | SIS06 | SIS09 | SIS90

 

Integrated Assessments of Vulnerabilities and Adaptation to Climate Variability and Change in the Western Region of China (Yongyuan Yin, International Earth System Sciences Institute at Nanjing University, People’s Republic of China, and Sustainable Development Research Institute at the University of British Columbia, Canada)

With barriers such as extremely fragile ecological conditions, few financial resources, poor infrastructure, low levels of education, and little access to technology and markets, Western China has been suffering from climate variations and will experience severe impacts of climate change on food production, water resources, and human health. In this project, an integrated approach will be developed for identifying regional vulnerabilities to climate variations and change, and for prioritizing adaptation options to deal with climate change vulnerability. Different methods will be used to form the integrated approach, including surveys, workshops, multi-stakeholder consultation, ecological simulation modeling, geographical information system (GIS), remote sensing, and multi-criteria decision-making. The project will addresses the following questions: 1) How vulnerable is Western China to current climate variations and future climatee change in key sectors? 2) What can the vulnerabilities of these key sectors to present climate variations teach us about future vulnerability? and 3) What are the desirable adaptation options to deal effectively with future climate change? The ultimate aims of this project are to build scientific capacity in the region and suggest practical adaptation options and/or policies to effectively handle climate change impacts and ensure sustainable development.

Countries and sectors: Western China. Food supply, water shortage, land use conflicts, desertification, salinization, ecosystem deterioration, and railway construction in Tibetan permafrost region.