Household farms facing barriers in indigenous knowledge-based adaptation to extreme climatic events — Evidence from the Huangshui Basin

Abstract

Global warming has led to the frequent occurrence of extreme climatic events (ECEs) in the ecologically fragile Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Rural households face strong barriers in adaption, and food production is seriously threatened. Current methods for increasing household adaptability take a holistic point of view, but do not accurately identify groups experiencing different adaptive barriers. To better identify different barriers, this paper examines natural, economic, cognitive, and technical barriers. A total of 17 indicators were selected to comprehensively evaluate the degree of barriers to crops adaptation in response to ECEs. Key factors were further analyzed to identify paths to break down the barriers. The results showed the following. (1) Natural barriers were present at the highest degree, economic barriers appear to be smallest, and the overall barriers were biased towards the lower quartile. 10.82 % of the households with the highest barriers. (2) 67.38 % of households report taking adaptive measures in crops production. The increase of the barriers leads to an increase and then a decrease in the possibility of adaptive behavior. (3) Addressing technical barriers is key to rapidly increasing household adaptive behavior in response to ECEs. The study provides recommendations for local governments to improve household adaptation behavior from two perspectives: short-term and long-term optimization pathways. This study can help governments quickly locate households with different classes of barriers, and propose more targeted adaptation policies. The ultimate goal is to ensure the sustainability of crops production and the well-being of households in northeastern part of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.