In the Klamath River Basin (KRB) of northern California and southern Oregon, climate-related changes, such as more intense droughts, varied and concentrated precipitation, earlier spring and later fall conditions, extreme temperatures, and decreased snowpack have contributed to increasingly unpredictable plant reproduction and harvest cycles. In this study, we explore contemporary relationships between plants and Indigenous People in the KRB, identifying benefits of cultural ecosystem services (CES) derived from Indigenous stewarding and gathering of culturally significant plants, and discuss how these services may change based on climate change observations and experiences. This study contributes to the conceptualization of Indigenous Cultural Ecosystem Services (ICES), providing a framework for the incorporation of Indigenous concepts, approaches, and perspectives into assessments of ecosystem services (ES) and, particularly, CES. It highlights the value of Indigenous perspectives and observations of climate change effects on plant reproduction and productivity, as well as their contribution to cultural ecosystem resilience and adaptation under changing climate conditions. We propose that incorporating Indigenous concepts and approaches to assessing CES and ES could lead to more holistic management decisions and better-informed climate adaptation initiatives with greater ES for all.

The fast and widespread environmental changes that have intensified in the last decades are bringing disproportionate impacts to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. Changes that affect water resources are particularly relevant for subsistence-based peoples, many of whom already suffer from constraints regarding reliable access to safe water. Particularly in areas where water is scarce, climate change is expected to amplify existing stresses in water availability, which are also exacerbated by multiple socioeconomic drivers. In this paper, we look into the local perceptions of environmental change expressed by the Daasanach people of northern Kenya, where the impacts of climate change overlap with those brought by large infrastructure projects recently established in the Omo River. We show that the Daasanach have rich and detailed understanding of changes in their environment, especially in relation to water resources. Daasanach understand observations of change in different elements of the social-ecological system as an outcome of complex interactions between climatic and non-climatic drivers of change. Our findings highlight the perceived synergistic effects of climate change and infrastructure projects in water resources, driving multiple and cascading impacts on biophysical elements and local livelihoods. Our results also demonstrate the potential of Local Ecological Knowledge in enhancing the understanding of complex social-ecological issues, such as the impacts of environmental change in local communities. To minimize and mitigate the social-ecological impacts of development projects, it is essential to consider potential synergies between climatic and socioeconomic factors and to ensure inclusive governance rooted in local understandings of environmental change.

Changes in climate are important for agriculture and the livelihoods it sustains. To improve the understanding of how climate vulnerability is expressed in agricultural environments, it is necessary to address how people perceive and interact with their surroundings. This study analyzes farmers' perceptions of a set of climate change indicators and their influence on agricultural practices in two Indigenous communities located at different altitudes in Mexico. Farmers' observations were explored using semi-structured interviews and contextualized within the local instrumental climate record. The influence of these farmers' perceptions on their agricultural practices was further analyzed using a logistic regression model. Changes in rain intensity and seasonality, as well as in wind intensity, were mentioned most frequently. Farmers' experiences suggest a reduction in rain and wind intensity and shorter rainy seasons. Memories of past anomalous years coincide with precipitation anomalies found in the instrumental records. However, temperature changes and biotic indicators were seldom perceived. Our results show that the perception of these indicators is mediated by agricultural practices, and we found evidence indicating that these perceptions during the first stage of the seasonal calendar induce readjustments in sowing dates. Moreover, farmers resort to out-migration, integration of cash crops, and use of commercial fertilizers to cope with or reduce crop loss due to climate impacts.

While research on Indigenous knowledges on climate change is increasing, especially in the Arctic, few studies document Indigenous perspectives on climate change in the Canadian Prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). This paper addresses this gap and follows an Indigenous community-based research approach using semi-structured interviews and participatory video to explore how Indigenous peoples in the Prairies are experiencing and responding to climate change. Ten video interviews were conducted with members of eight communities across the Indigenous territories of Treaties 1, 4, 6, 7, and 8. An integrated video editing and qualitative content analysis approach was conducted and eight short videos were produced. Results show that participants across diverse territories have experienced changes in their environments—attributed to the cumulative impacts of industrial development, climate change, and other influences of colonialism—which have significant impacts on cultural well-being. Communities are also pursuing solutions—such as land-based education, renewable energy, grassroots activism, cross-cultural dialogues, and ecological restoration—which serve to address these socio-ecological challenges. Across these solutions, six common themes emerged: Indigenous leadership; capacity and self-sufficiency; sustainable economic development; sharing Indigenous knowledge; connecting with the land; and bridging Indigenous knowledge and Western science. While it is increasingly recognized as critical to heed Indigenous voices on climate change, this paper makes a significant contribution to understanding the diversity and parallels in the ways in which Indigenous communities are being impacted by and responding to climate change in the Prairie provinces, as well as collaborative and creative methods for sharing these perspectives across cultures and geographies.

Beyond the observation of climatic variations and their impact on livelihoods, farmers' knowledge about climate change can help to understand how rural populations respond to environmental changes and what factors should be considered when planning rural adaptation. This study documents Sereer farmers' observations of local environmental changes in the Fatick region of Senegal and explores how the farmers use crop diversity to adapt to those changes. Their observations of environmental changes were documented through focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews. Variations in crop diversity, as well as farmers' explanations for these variations, were assessed through surveys in two villages (n = 126 households). Sereer farmers identify four distinct periods of similar climate trends and reported how they managed crop diversity in response to the climate variations between periods. Three management responses stand out: 1) abandonment of long-cycle varieties during drought periods, 2) adoption of short-cycle varieties during periods with shorter rainy seasons, and 3) reinstating of long-cycle varieties with the return of rains. Sereer farmers consider that climate variations are important reasons to modify their crop varieties, although variety selection is also affected by other socio-economic and cultural reasons. This study illustrates the contributions that local knowledge can bring to understanding the local impact of climate change on smallholder farmers. Understanding how they use crop diversity to adapt to climate variations can be the basis of climate change adaptation policies that address local needs and constraints.

In Amazonia, changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events are occurring and expected to intensify, affecting food security with subsequent social and political problems. We conducted semi-structured interviews in communities of the mid-Solimões River basin (Amazonas, Brazil). Our questions were designed to construct seasonal calendars with residents (ribeirinhos) to understand climatic patterns and changes in livelihood activities, how traditional management is affected by extreme floods and droughts, and to identify their adaptation strategies in new climatic contexts. We studied three floodplain (várzea, n = 59 households) and three paleo-floodplain communities, situated 1–3 m higher than the floodplain (paleovárzea, n = 42 households). We show that these local communities have detailed knowledge of climate patterns and changes, and that they recognize that climatic unpredictability hinders effective planning of subsistence activities because their local knowledge is no longer fully reliable. Extreme climate events have consequences for their farming systems and associated agrobiodiversity, varying according to the degree of exposure of different environments to extreme events. During extreme events, ribeirinhos intensify adaptation strategies, such as avoiding stress to fruit-tree root systems, prioritizing plants that survive flooding, and working in less affected landscapes. Adaptation practices with long histories tend to occur more often in floodplains, and two adaptation practices were specific to floodplains. The impacts of extreme events on local communities are expected to increase, especially in environments more exposed to floods. Local residents suggest the documentation and sharing of adaptation strategies as a way to increase their resilience.

Events related to the global effects of climate change (CC) have impacted smallholder farmers from developing countries more severely than any other group. This paper presents the case of Colombian Andean Altiplano farmers who are increasingly exposed to the impacts of a highly variable climate, yet have developed adaptation and coping strategies in their farms to reduce it. Semi-structured and structured interviews were held with 27 smallholders at the beginning and at the end of one year; over this period, two participant-observation sessions were also conducted on each farm. According to smallholders, CC is manifested by a modification in the seasons and the amount and frequency of night frosts, droughts, and rainfall. Smallholders utilized 13 on-farm strategies, the most reported of which were polyculture, water management, and soil conservation. Our research also found a high diversity of crops (47 species and 79 varieties), and mixed smallholder perceptions of these crops to climate variability vulnerability. Notably, most of their important species were vulnerable cash crops. The relevant off-farm strategies were: land tenure, whereby more adaptation strategies were applied by owners than tenants; membership in smallholder associations that promoted shared strategies; and off-farm work to diversify their incomes. Altiplano smallholders are adapting to CC by employing the tools that are available to them; those practices have helped to ensure Colombia's food security, largely without public institutional and private sector participation.