Evaluating traditional knowledge on climate change (TKCC): A case study in the central dry zone of Myanmar

Abstract

© 2019, Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies,Mahidol University. All rights reserved. Local people in the Central Dry Zone (CDZ) of Myanmar have been facing climatic variability for several decades. They are among the first communities to observe climate and environmental changes first-hand, and are applying traditional knowledge and skills in order to adapt to these changes. We used participatory action research in which a series of group discussions and debates were conducted in community workshops at the village level. Using this input, we analysed the perceptions of the local people about climate variability, impacts, and adaptation practices. The majority of the local people perceived climate change patterns in the CDZ with the increase of temperature and erratic rainfall patterns perceived as the most critical changes. The majority of the people also perceived that the impacts of climate change have already been affecting agriculture and its related sectors, including land and water resources and their livelihood strategies. Most of the local people also perceived that migration of young people away from the communities has gradually increased due to the consequences of climate change impacts. Farmers have already been attempting to cope with those climate change impacts by using locally relevant adaptation measures such as mixed and multiple cropping systems, changing to drought-resistant plant varieties, and using soil conservation measures to cope with water scarcity. In addition, most of the local people perceived that getting information from traditional weather prediction was helpful to cope with drought and erratic rainfall patterns. However, the results suggest the adaptive capacity of the local people in responding to the impacts of climate change can be improved. In this regard, effective adaptation planning relies on the best available knowledge base, and the urgent need to respond to the pressures of climate change has put a premium on the generation, interpretation and use of information to improve adaptive capacity, including improved access to scaling up the traditional best practices of local people.