Perception of climate change on rural communities of the Biosphere Reserve La Encrucijada, Chiapas, Mexico
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Abstract
Climate change is a multidimensional and uncertain global environmental problem that presents itself as one of the great challenges our present society needs to face. In order to reach effective answers coherent with various sociocultural realities, scientific knowledge must integrate said realities. This project analyzes the sociocultural perceptions of three rural communities within Reserva de la Biosfera La Encrucijada, in Costa de Chiapas, Mexico, on climate change in the past few decades and how such change may have affected their livelihoods. We conducted semi-structured surveys about climate change perception on elderly individuals in these communities. Generally, there is an agreement on climate having changed: higher average temperatures and different rainfall patterns, which have led to delayed seasonal changes that have affected traditional farming practices. In turn, the observed changes were compared to regional historical climate variables. Public policies are disjointed and defined by sectors (conservation, production), which necessitates an integrative approach, together with traditional peasant knowledge for adaptation strategies to climate change.