Has the Adaptation-Mitigation Binary Outlived Its Value? Indigenous Ways of Knowing Present an Alternative

Abstract

Community-level actions addressing anthropogenic climate change are paramount to survival. However, there are limitations to the current binary approach which considers adaptation and mitigation as mutually exclusive actions. Drawing from research in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan, this commentary demonstrates: (a) Indigenous knowledge, emerging from a deep connectivity to habitat, cumulative over generations, and empirically-based, is the foundation of ecological calendars; (b) ecological calendars build anticipatory capacity, the ability to envision possible and sustainable futures, for anthropogenic climate change; and (c) this anticipatory approach engages adaptive and mitigative actions to climate change working in tandem to ensure wellbeing and food security. This paper maintains that the adaptation-mitigation continuum involves foresight and action today in preparation for future change. Furthermore, context-specific ecological calendars represent an effective mechanism for communities to build and retain knowledge across generations and deep connections to their habitat. Finally, further modeling needs to be undertaken with participation and leadership from Indigenous and rural communities to understand how they use the adaptation-mitigation continuum for anticipatory action to develop multiple optimal solutions to address environmental change.