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The best way to protect us from climate change
Article Publisher:
Authors:
Tara Martin, Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO
James Watson, Associate professor at the University of Queensland
Focussing on high-tech, heavily engineered solutions to protect against climate change is blinding us to a
much easier, cheaper and better solution: look after our planet’s ecosystems, and they will look after us.
PRE-READING
Word Check
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storm surge
dynamite
mangroves
buffer zone
carbon sequestering
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savannah
dyke
salt marsh
biodiversity
Planting mangroves in the Philippines to restore forests. Trees ForTheFuture/Flickr, CC BY
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Discuss
 How do ecosystems, such as intact coral reefs, mangroves and forests, protect us from some of the
impacts of climate change?
 In Melanesia’s low-lying islands, coral reefs are dynamited to provide the raw materials to build
structures to protect people against extreme weather events. What is built from these materials?
 Even though they play an important role in avoiding the worst effects from climate change, we
continue to destroy forests, woodlands and grasslands. Why are they being destroyed? Why does
this happen more during times of drought?
 Northern Australia is home to the largest savannah on earth and contains enormous carbon stores.
What is a carbon store? Why are they important?
 Do you think cattle farmers in some regions should be given funds to encourage them to reduce the
number of cattle and instead restore or preserve natural ecosystems?
Why are intact coral reefs and mangroves and seagrass beds and forests important? What do they do?
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Intact coral reefs and mangroves and seagrass beds ...
o
o
o
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Intact forests ...
o
o
o
a) play a key role in capturing, storing and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.
b) act as barriers against storm surges.
c) are a valuable source of protein.
d) have a positive influence on planetary and local climate.
e) provide shelter from extreme weather events.
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First read the article
When we think about adapting humanity to the challenges of climate change, it’s tempting to reach for
technological solutions. We talk about seeding our oceans and clouds with compounds designed to
trigger rain or increasing carbon uptake. We talk about building grand structures to protect our coastlines
from rising sea levels and storm surges.
However, as we discuss in Nature Climate Change, our focus on these high-tech, heavily engineered
solutions is blinding us to a much easier, cheaper, simpler and better solution to adaptation: look after
our planet’s ecosystems, and they will look after us.
Biting the hand that feeds us
People are currently engaged in wholesale destruction of the systems that shelter us, clean our water,
clean our air, feed us and protect us from extreme weather. Sometimes this destruction is carried out for
the purpose of protecting us from the threats posed by climate change.
For example, in Melanesia’s low-lying islands, coral reefs are dynamited to provide the raw building
materials for seawalls in an attempt to slow the impact of sea-level rise.
In many parts of the world, including Africa, Canada and Australia, drought has led to the opening up of
intact forest systems, protected grasslands and prairies for grazing and agriculture.
Similarly, the threat of climate change has driven the development of more drought-tolerant crops that
can survive climate variability, but these survival abilities also make those plant species more likely
to become invasive.
On the surface, these might seem like sensible ways to reduce the impacts of climate change. But they
are actually likely to contribute to climate change and increase its impact on people.
Sea walls and drought-tolerant crops do have a place in adapting to climate change: if they’re sensitive
to ecosystems. For example, if storm protection is required on low-lying islands, don’t build a seawall
from the coral reef that offers the island its only current protection. Bring in the concrete and steel
needed to build it.
How ecosystems protect us
Intact coral reefs act as barriers against storm surges, reducing wave energy by an average of 97%.
They are also a valuable source of protein that support local livelihoods.
Similarly, mangroves and seagrass beds provide a buffer zone against storms and reduce wave energy,
as well as being a nursery for many of the fish and other marine creatures that our fishing industries are
built on.
Intact forests supply a host of valuable ecosystem services that are not only taken for granted, but
actively squandered when those forests are decimated by land clearing.
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There is now clear evidence that intact forests have a positive influence on both planetary climate and
local weather regimes. Forests also provide shelter from extreme weather events, and are home to a
host of other valuable ecosystems that are important to human populations as sources of food, medicine
and timber.
Forests play a key role in capturing, storing and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, a role that
will likely become increasingly important in avoiding the worst of climate change. Yet we continue to
decimate forests, woodlands and grasslands.
Northern Australia is home to the largest savannah on earth, containing enormous carbon stores and
influencing both local and global climate. Despite its inherent value as a carbon store, there has
been discussion around whether these northern regions might be opened up to become Australia’s new
food bowl, putting those extensive carbon stores in jeopardy.
Cheaper than techno-solutions
In Vietnam, 12,000 hectares of mangroves have been planted at a cost of US$1.1 million, but saving the
US$7.3 million per year that would have been spent on maintaining dykes.
In Louisiana, the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 led to an examination of how coastal salt
marshes might have reduced some of the wave energy in the hurricane-associated storm surges.
Data have now confirmed that salt marshes would have significantly reduced the impact of those surges,
and stabilised the shoreline against further insult, at far less cost than engineered coastal defences. With
this data in hand, discussions are now beginning around how to restore the Louisiana salt marshes to
insulate against future extreme weather events.
US foreign aid in Papua New Guinea has also encouraged the restoration and protection of mangroves
for the same reason.
Instead of turning cattle to graze on native grasslands and savannah during times of drought, farmers
struggling to sustain livestock in marginal areas could instead be funded to farm carbon and biodiversity
by restoring or preserving these ecosystems. This might involve reducing the number of cattle, or in
some cases even removing cattle entirely. Australia is very well-informed about the carbon value of its
many and varied ecosystems, but is yet to fully put that knowledge into practice.
The cost of adapting to climate change using largely technological solutions has been put at a
staggering US$70-100 billion per year. This is small change compared to current global energy
subsidies estimated by the International Monetary Fund for 2015 at US$5.3 trillion per year.
Protecting ecosystems reduces the risk to people and infrastructure, as well as the degree of climate
change: a win-win.
There is no doubt that technological solutions have a role to play in climate adaptation but not at the
expense of intact functioning ecosystems. It is time to set a policy agenda that actively rewards those
countries, industries and entrepreneurs who develop ecosystem-sensitive adaptation strategies.
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POST READING
1. The author doesn’t think that drought-tolerant crops help us to adapt to climate change.
True / False / Not given
2. The author thinks we should never build seawalls to protect against rising sea-levels.
True / False / Not given
3. There has been debate in Australia about opening up its northern regions for ...
a. mining purposes.
b. industrial purposes.
c. agricultural purposes.
4. Where has natural coastal vegetation been restored to protect against extreme weather events at
much less cost than engineered coastal defences?
A. Australia
B. Vietnam
C. Louisiana
5. How will Papua New Guinea fund its restoration and protection of mangroves?
6. According to the author, why doesn’t Australia provide more funding to restore or preserve its
valuable ecosystems?
a) Australia lacks awareness of their value
b) Australia doesn’t care about their value
c) The author doesn’t say why
7. Which of the points listed below does the author make?
I.
The development of technology to adapt to the challenges of climate change are
important but there are cheaper alternatives.
II.
The development of technology to adapt to the challenges of climate change are
important but natural ecosystems shouldn’t be destroyed to achieve this.
III.
We shouldn’t be relying on technology to adapt to the challenges of climate change,
only natural solutions.
Writing
Natural ecosystems are increasingly being destroyed as a result of human activity.
Why are these ecosystems being destroyed? What can be done to prevent them being
destroyed?
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Vocabulary 1
Which words listed below could replace the underlined words in the text?
astounding
grants
untouched
changeability
income
waste
appealing
protect
re-establish
plan
destroy
tempting
jeopardy
carried out
restore
intact
insulate
variability
sustain
livelihood
staggering
squandered
subsidies
decimate
agenda
done
support
danger
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Published February, 2016
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Vocabulary 2
tempting
carry out
squander
sustain
intact
decimate
staggering
variability
jeopardy
subsidy
restore
livelihood
insulate
agenda
1. After reading a magazine article about Rome and all its attractions, the woman was
....................................................................................... to go online and book her next holiday there.
2. Bushfires had destroyed dozens of homes in the town. Amazingly, one house located on a hill
remained .....................................................................................even though hundreds of hectares of surrounding
forest had burnt down.
3. By allowing logging in the forest, environmentalists said the government had
.....................................................................................the opportunity to turn the area into a national park and tourist
destination as well as protect wildlife populations.
4. If logging in the forest were allowed to go ahead, environmentalists said koala populations would be
......................................................................................
5. Many countries have invested large amounts of money in developing
.....................................................................................energy sources such as hydroelectricity, solar energy and
wind energy.
6. One of the United Nations’ principles is that it has no authority to intervene in the domestic affairs of
a country. However, the Security Council can recommend actions which maintain or
.....................................................................................international peace and security.
7. Over the last 20 years, the huge demand for resources, especially from China, has
.....................................................................................Australia from the economic downturns experienced by most
other developed countries.
8. Scientists successfully .....................................................................................an experiment to show the link
between climate change and extreme weather events.
9. The death toll from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami was a .....................................................................................
230 thousand people.
10. The .....................................................................................of many people living in coastal communities in
developing countries depend on fishing.
11. The new head of the university said reducing tutorial sizes and investing in new buildings was high
up on her .....................................................................................to make the university a world class learning
institution.
12. The public transport systems in many countries are heavily .....................................................................................by
the government. If they weren’t, ticket prices would be too high and fewer people would use public
transport.
13. The UN said the lives of thousands of people in the region were in ..........................................................................
due to the continuing drought and shortage of food supplies.
14. While natural .....................................................................................continues to play a key role in extreme weather,
climate change is making certain types of extreme weather more frequent and more intense.
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Published February, 2016
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Answer Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
False
False
agricultural purposes
Vietnam
From US foreign aid
The author doesn’t say why
The first 2 points only
tempting
carried out
intact
variability
livelihood
squandered
decimate
appealing
done
untouched
changeability
income
waste
destroy
jeopardy
restore
insulate
sustain
staggering
subsidies
agenda
danger
re-establish
protect
support
astounding
grants
plan
1. After reading a magazine article about Rome and all its attractions, the woman was tempted to go
online and book her next holiday there.
2. Bushfires had destroyed dozens of homes in the town. Amazingly, one house located on a hill
remained intact even though hundreds of hectares of surrounding forest had burnt down.
3. By allowing logging in the forest, environmentalists said the government had squandered the
opportunity to turn the area into a national park and tourist destination as well as protect wildlife
populations.
4. If logging in the forest were allowed to go ahead, environmentalists said koala populations would be
decimated.
5. Many countries have invested large amounts of money in developing sustainable energy sources
such as hydroelectricity, solar energy and wind energy.
6. One of the United Nations’ principles is that it has no authority to intervene in the domestic affairs of
a country. However, the Security Council can recommend actions which maintain or restore
international peace and security.
7. Over the last 20 years, the huge demand for resources, especially from China, has insulated
Australia from the economic downturns experienced by most other developed countries.
8. Scientists successfully carried out an experiment to show the link between climate change and
extreme weather events.
9. The death toll from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami was a staggering 230 thousand people.
10. The livelihoods of many people living in coastal communities in developing countries depend on
fishing.
11. The new head of the university said reducing tutorial sizes and investing in new buildings was high
up on her agenda to make the university a world class learning institution.
12. The public transport systems in many countries are heavily subsidized by the government. If they
weren’t, ticket prices would be too high and fewer people would use public transport.
13. The UN said the lives of thousands of people in the region were in jeopardy due to the continuing
drought and shortage of food supplies.
14. While natural variability continues to play a key role in extreme weather, climate change is making
certain types of extreme weather more frequent and more intense.