Ethnic Minorities, Traditional Livelihoods and Climate Change in China

Abstract

Climate change affects Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) around the world, including ethnic minorities in China who experience impacts on their agricultural, animal husbandry, hunting and gathering practices: their main source of livelihood. At the same time, IPLCs have rich traditional knowledge related to climate and its disasters. This chapter presents an exploration of the role of traditional knowledge for livelihood maintenance and climate adaptation for ethnic minorities in China. Ethnic minorities not only observe and perceive climate change but are also actively adapting to the impact of climate change on their traditional livelihoods, via the deployment of their knowledge. This chapter explores how traditional knowledge can improve understanding of the influence of climate change to livelihoods and provide ideas for the development of equitable and effective plans to adapt to climate change. Using their traditional knowledge, ethnic minorities in China have been building contemporary community-based plans that are suitable for each individual geographical location.