Adaptation of Population Activities in the Mountain Areas of Dagestan to Climate Change: Trends in Agriculture

Abstract

The results of the first stage of research on adaptation measures taken by the rural population of mountain regions and the administration of Dagestan in response to climate change are presented. Assessment of climate change over the past 20 years in the Eastern Caucasus with special attention to the mountain territories of Dagestan was carried out based on satellite measurements and reanalysis data. It has been revealed that in the last decade in the middle and high mountains, annual and seasonal temperatures have increased markedly, and the amount of annual and summer precipitation begins to decrease. In general, the mountains of the Eastern Caucasus and Dagestan in particular are becoming warmer and drier. The actions of the population of mountain areas in the field of crop production in response to warming and a growing lack of moisture are mainly aimed, as in many mountainous rural regions of the world, at changing varieties and crops, growing intensive orchards that are more resistant to climate change, expanding the areas of fruit crops in high altitude zone. The unpredictability of weather phenomena caused the active growth of the greenhouse industry. New processes have activated related industries and breeding science in Dagestan. The initiatives of the population are supported by the Program for the Socioeconomic Development of the Mountain Territories of the Republic of Dagestan for 2020–2025, which provides for subsidies and grants, primarily for personal subsidiary plots. The program does not aim to adapt to climate change, but these activities objectively act as support for the population adaptation actions. The agricultural terraces of Dagestan are considered as a potential resource for the agriculture development in the face of climate change, as well as possible tourism objects, which are elements of the historical and cultural heritage and identity of local landscapes.