Governments and the policies they draft have an important role to play in supporting the efforts that all sectors of society make to adapt to climate change.

Policy-based Adaptation (PbA) involves the integration of climate change adaptation into various local, regional, provincial, and national policies for sustainable investments, actions and development. PbA becomes very important in the context of the agricultural sector because addressing climatic variability through policies can impact both food production and food security.

Governments play a crucial role in encouraging adaptation to climate change through policies and incentives. They also offer services such as cost-benefit analysis of adaptation options, information and database management for climate data, extension activities, the undertaking of risk and vulnerability assessments and the provision of technical and financial support to monitor and contain pests, weeds and invasive species. Integration of the top-down and bottom-up policy approaches to climate change adaptation have been found to be the most effective for the agricultural sector.

Local participation is key to the long-term success of any policy implementation, but there is also the need to consider all options and approaches in order to adapt to climate change. Adaption is context-specific and localized to fit to each unique situation, and doing so will ensure the mitigation of the negative impacts of climate chane to the agricultural sector.

The researchers involved with the MEOPAR project are working to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change and how communities can effectively adapt, and increase resilience, to these changes. Follow along with our blog every week (written by researchers Liette Vasseur, Meredith DeCock, Bradley May, Pulkit Garg, Sam Gauthier & Jocelyn Baker) to learn more about the project and how you can get involved. You can also visit our website at brocku.ca/unesco-chair or email us at meopar-lincoln@brocku.ca

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The role of the government is crucial for encouraging adaptation to climate change.