Rivers can be climate change solutions, too
Rivers and their floodplains have the potential to act as shock absorbers to climate change, and are powerful agents for keeping wildlife and communities healthy and resilient. The most effective climate action plans will account for this and incorporate rivers into their plans for a climate-resilient future, argues Michele Thieme, a freshwater scientist at World Wildlife Fund. OPINION: This past December marked the 5th anniversary of the landmark Paris Agreement. Soon after, the Biden Administration rejoined the Paris Agreement as one of their first actions in office. And in January, the Climate Adaptation Summit once again convened global leaders and local stakeholders to accelerate adaptation action. As these milestones reinvigorate a call to action for our politicians and business leaders to act on climate and ramp up climate ambition, all eyes inevitably turn to the usual avenues for addressing and adapting to climate change: forests, clean energy and waving goodbye to our toxic relationship with fossil fuels. And while mitigation efforts continue to dominate the conversation, adaptation is ever-increasing in importance in global discussions as extreme weather and its impacts worsen around the world and countries work to build stronger national commitments. READ MORE: * Companies, not households, have the power to go fast on reducing emissions * Water scheme opponents: Canterbury Plains environment 'ruined' by farming * More than 300 old dumps at risk of coastal erosion and flooding * Waikato River Authority takes aim at planned water take for Auckland * West Coast whitebait farm allowed to discharge contaminants into river Funding, policies and actions supporting adaptation, especially nature-based solutions, however, remain weak. They overlook a powerful resource in the fight to adapt to a changing climate: rivers. We are seeing the climate crisis manifest through water. Droughts and floods are increasing in frequency and severity from the Mekong River to the arid Rio Grande, from the plains of Africa to the worlds largest tropical wetland, South Americas Pantanal. Rivers and their floodplains have the potential to act as shock absorbers to climate change. But maximising their ability to do so requires strategic interventions that keep their natural features intact or incorporate green and grey infrastructure that allow natural processes to occur. Governments and business leaders must prioritise climate adaptation actions that include rivers as part of the toolbox of nature-based solutions for solving the climate crisis. Rivers are powerful agents for keeping wildlife and communities healthy and resilient. Their natural functions provide life-giving resources and, critically for sinking deltas around the world, protect coastal areas against rising sea levels. Lets dive deeper on a few of these functions: This story originally appeared in Mongabay and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.