“So many things have changed”: Situated understandings of climate change impacts among the Bassari, south-eastern Senegal

International audienceMainstream discourses frame anthropogenic climate change as a biophysical apolitical problem, thus privileging Western science and silencing other worldviews. Through a case study among the Bassari, an ethnic group in South-Eastern Senegal, we assess the local, embodied, and situated understandings of climate change and the tensions that arise when the apolitical global climate change discourse interacts with situated understandings. Drawing on data from 47 semi-structured interviews and 176 surveys, we find that while the global climate change discourse has not permeated into the Bassari, they experience climate change through its many impacts on the biophysical and socio-economic systems. Results also highlight that climate is not considered the main or only driver of change, but that changes in elements of the climate system are inextricably linked with political and economic dynamics and environmental degradation. Finally, our results point toward the importance of values and supernatural forces in defining situated ways of conceptualizing, interpreting, and responding to change. By including situated worldviews in theoretical understandings of climate and environmental change, we contribute to the claims about the need to reframe how climate change is conceptualized. Our research emphasizes the importance of a relational view of climate change, which requires moving beyond understanding isolated climate change impacts towards defining climate change as a systemic problem. Building on feminist and decolonial literature, we argue for the need for more plural and democratic ways of thinking about climate change, crossing epistemological and ontological boundaries and including local communities and their knowledge and understandings

"So many things have changed" : situated understandings of climate change impacts among the Bassari, south-eastern Senegal

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MMainstream discourses frame anthropogenic climate change as a biophysical apolitical problem, thus privileging Western science and silencing other worldviews. Through a case study among the Bassari, an ethnic group in South-Eastern Senegal, we assess the local, embodied, and situated understandings of climate change and the tensions that arise when the apolitical global climate change discourse interacts with situated understandings. Drawing on data from 47 semi-structured interviews and 176 surveys, we find that while the global climate change discourse has not permeated into the Bassari, they experience climate change through its many impacts on the biophysical and socio-economic systems. Results also highlight that climate is not considered the main or only driver of change, but that changes in elements of the climate system are inextricably linked with political and economic dynamics and environmental degradation. Finally, our results point toward the importance of values and supernatural forces in defining situated ways of conceptualizing, interpreting, and responding to change. By including situated worldviews in theoretical understandings of climate and environmental change, we contribute to the claims about the need to reframe how climate change is conceptualized. Our research emphasizes the importance of a relational view of climate change, which requires moving beyond understanding isolated climate change impacts towards defining climate change as a systemic problem. Building on feminist and decolonial literature, we argue for the need for more plural and democratic ways of thinking about climate change, crossing epistemological and ontological boundaries and including local communities and their knowledge and understanding

Revealing Ghana’s unique fonio genetic diversity: leveraging farmers knowledge for sustainable conservation and breeding strategies

International audienceGenetic diversity analysis is pivotal for optimizing the use of genetic resources and deploying conservation strategies in the face of global changes. This is important for essential indigenous species often neglected by research. This research was carried out to examine the pattern of genetic diversity and structure among fonio (Digitaria exilis (Kippist) Stapf) accessions in Ghana. Following farmer surveys and collection efforts in key fonio-growing regions of Ghana, we amassed a comprehensive collection of 176 fonio accessions from 165 farmers across 24 communities. Farmer surveys identified 21 distinct cultivars cultivated predominantly for home consumption, averaging six cultivars per ethnic group. Out of the 176 accessions, 140 underwent genotyping using 14 simple sequence repeat (SSR) nuclear markers which revealed greater diversity within cultivars (58.5%) compared to between cultivars (16.8%) following molecular variance analysis. The organizational pattern of fonio genetic diversity was significantly influenced by farmer-specific cultivars, emphasizing the role farmers play in long-term preservation of fonio genetic diversity. Future strategies for the management, conservation, and utilization of fonio genetic resources in Ghana should incorporate traditional farming practices. Our findings further revealed the uniqueness of Ghanaian fonio genetic diversity, despite a smaller cultivation area compared to the global diversity. This shows the contribution of the interaction between the crop, environment and societal factors to the distinct genetic makeup observed in the Ghanaian fonio population. The observed genetic diversity can be exploited to identify and select genetically distinct individuals to develop tailored product profiles within fonio breeding programs for diverse market segments

Additional file 1 of Local studies provide a global perspective of the impacts of climate change on Indigenous Peoples and local communities

Additional file 1. SM1