1. Global warming is predicted to cause changes in permafrost cover and stability in the Arctic. Zones of high ion concentration in regions of ice-rich permafrost are a reservoir of chemicals that can potentially be transferred to fresh waters during thawing. Consequently, input of enriched runoff from the thaw and sediment and vegetation from the landscape could alter lakes by affecting their geochemistry and biological production. 2. Three undisturbed lakes and five lakes disturbed by retrogressive permafrost thaw slumps were sampled during late summer of 2006 to assess the potential effects of thermokarst shoreline slumping on water and sediment chemistry, the underwater light regime, and benthic macrophyte biomass and community structure. 3. Undisturbed lakes had sediments rich in organic material and selected micronutrients, while disturbed lakes had sediments richer in calcium, magnesium and strontium, greater transparency of the water column, and a well-developed submerged macrophyte community. 4. It is postulated that enriched runoff chemistry may alter nutrient availability at the sediment-water interface and also the degradation of organic material, thus affecting lake transparency and submerged macrophytes. The results suggest that retrogressive permafrost slumping can significantly affect food webs in arctic tundra lakes through an increase in macrophyte biomass and development of a more complex benthic habitat.
Purpose
Social protection (SP) and climate change adaptation (CCA) are two subjects highly debated when discussing social vulnerabilities and food insecurity in rural areas of developing countries. Both fields address matters related to socioeconomic vulnerabilities and thus present opportunities for integration. However, many studies have stated the lack of interaction within the study areas. When dealing with CCA and SP in Brazil, the two offer an opportunity for integration since some SP programmes (such as food-based safety nets) can both affect adaptation and be impacted by expected changes in climate. Impacts from CC are projected to be extreme in the Brazilian semi-arid Northeast, a region where social programmes of assistance and aid are historically crucial during periods of drought. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to address the interaction of CCA and SP in a conceptual level on policies and programmes in Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach
A desk review of government documents (policies, plans, decrees) related to food security, food-based programmes and CC.
Findings
Based on the results the authors highlight the limited integration between CC and SP in Brazil and the potential for interaction in many of the programmes already in place.
Originality/value
The authors attribute findings to the segmented governmental structure and the weak interaction between sectors, and the only recent discussion of linkages between CC and poverty, development and food insecurity. Discussion on the challenges and benefits of this interaction are provided in a context of CC in Brazil, still not very debated in the academic literature.
Family farmers of semi-arid regions are especially vulnerable to climate change, due to the reliance on rain-fed production systems and the limited capacity to cope and adapt to impacts. The Brazilian Food Acquisition Program (PAA), as an example of a food procurement program that also functions as a food-based safety net for vulnerable populations, is analysed in a context of extreme drought in the Cariri region (Ceará state, Brazil). Limitations that prevent the full range of potential PAA benefits are examined as perceived by institutional actors involved with the program, while measures to foster the full potential positive impacts on beneficiaries are discussed. Findings indicate that more consideration of the importance of governance and institutional factors on functioning of food acquisition programs, as well as the importance of the role of climate change on this equation, are essential for program sustainability, especially in a scenario of climate change.
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