Perceptions of climate and climate change by Amazonian communities |
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| Institution: | 1. CNRS, Université Rennes 2, UMR 6554 LETG, Place du Recteur Henri Le Moal, 35043 Rennes Cedex, France;2. Department of Geography, McGill University, Burnside Hall Building, Room 705 805, Sherbrooke Street, West Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B9, Canada;3. Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Gleba A - Asa Norte, 70904-970, Brasília DF, Brazil;4. IHEAL CREDA UMR 7227 CNRS, 28 rue Saint-Guillaume, 75007 Paris, France |
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| Abstract: | The Amazon region has been undergoing profound transformations since the late ‘70s through forest degradation, land use changes and effects of global climate change. The perception of such changes by local communities is important for risk analysis and for subsequent societal decision making. In this study, we compare and contrast observations and perceptions of climate change by selected Amazonian communities particularly vulnerable to alterations in precipitation regimes. Two main points were analysed: (i) the notion of changes in the annual climate cycle and (ii) the notion of changes in rainfall patterns. About 72% of the sampled population reports perceptions of climate changes, and there is a robust signal of increased perception with age. Other possible predictive parameters such as gender, fishing frequency and changes in/planning of economic activities do not appear overall as contributing to perceptions. The communities’ perceptions of the changes in 2013–2014 were then compared to earlier results (2007–2008), providing an unprecedented cohort study of the same sites. Results show that climate change perceptions and measured rainfall variations differ across the basin. It was only in the southern part of the Amazon that both measured and perceived changes in rainfall patterns were consistent with decreased precipitation. However, the perception of a changing climate became more widespread and frequently mentioned, signalling an increase in awareness of climate risk. |
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| Keywords: | Climate change Perceptions Amazon Remote sensing |
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