Climate risk management: ways to incorporate adaptive capacity into the agendas of small municipalities
Climate changes. Semiarid. Water resources. Risk management. Climate adaptation.
The crisis context evidenced by climate change has gained international notoriety, mainly as a result of the global impacts that affect all forms of life on the planet. In Brazil, the semi-arid region is affected by long droughts, and with the speed of the climate change process, the situation of water scarcity can gradually increase, requiring actions based on the insertion of adaptive measures. However, municipalities, in general, do not have a management aimed at adapting to climate change, even in those most susceptible to climate risks and threats. And this is no different in the small municipalities inserted in the semiarid region of Northeast Brazil, whose areas present varied problems of extreme weather. Based on this issue, it is intended to analyze whether the municipalities in the hydrographic basin of the Piancó-Piranhas-Açu river incorporate the perspective of adaptive capacity to climate change in their territorial management. Methodologically, the research presents a qualitative approach, using bibliographical research, documental and semi-structured interviews as data collection techniques. Preliminarily, the results show that in Rio Grande do Norte, the Seridó Hydrological Planning Unit has a greater number of municipalities with a high rate of vulnerability to drought, and this may imply a low adaptive capacity to climate change. However, the investigative process of the research, in its following phases, will present whether socio-environmental and climate issues are being incorporated in these municipalities by municipal public administrations, and whether they constitute obstacles or potential for the implementation of an adaptive capacity agenda.