Reducing climate risk and poverty: why China needs ecosystem-based adaptation
As climate risks increase, China’s government must help its people — particularly the poorest farmers — to adapt and thrive. One increasingly popular and tested strategy is to adopt ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation (EbA). Evidence from a recent initiative examining the use of EbA in 12 countries — including Yunnan and Guangxi provinces in Southwest China — suggests that EbA is a powerful tool that can both tackle climate change risks and alleviate poverty, while promoting transformed, sustainable and diversified agroecology systems. Based on existing EbA success stories, China has an opportunity to invest in and mainstream EbA into its policies for agriculture, poverty alleviation and others, harnessing EbA approaches such as participatory plant breeding to promote sustainable and inclusive agricultural production. This briefing describes current policy, institutional and political challenges to implementing EbA — while identifying opportunities and priorities for moving forward.