Impacts of Climate Change on the Lives of Riverine Farmers on the Lower Rio Negro, Amazon

Abstract

Global climate change, although gradual, is already clearly perceptible for the whole society; however, its impacts affect individuals and regions in diverse ways. Riverine communities in the Brazilian Amazon are highly vulnerable to this change, as seasonal hydroclimatic cycles govern their daily lives, integrate their way of life with the environment, and determine the organization of social and agricultural calendars. This work aimed to understand the impacts caused by climate change on the lives of riverine family farmers on the lower Rio Negro. Initially, through the analysis of changes in hydroclimatic trends and, later, through the description of perception, we tried to present the impacts on the ways of life to then know the climate adaptation strategies. The research was carried out in the state of Amazonas, in the riverine communities Tiririca, Marajá, Santo Antônio, and Terra Preta, located in the Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve, with 43 subjects through semi-structured and focus group interviews. Historical trends in the seasonality of the hydrological regime, precipitation, and temperature were analyzed, while qualitative data from environmental perception were analyzed using the technique of content analysis. Physical records of local climate variability and environmental perception are, in most cases, compatible and indicate that hydroclimatic cycles are changing. For the riverine people, the rains have been decreasing and there is unanimity in the perception that the increase in temperature is a reality that has affected their way of life at work, education, health, and food. Although communities have been developing spontaneous adaptive strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change, effective public policies need to reinforce these local responses to climate variability, contributing to the quality of life of populations.