Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-10 (section)

==== 10.4.2.4 Adaptation Options ====

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Modelling of the interactions between climate-induced vegetation shifts, wildfire and human activities can provide keys to how people in Asia may be able to adapt to climate change ( [[#Kicklighter--2014|Kicklighter et al., 2014]] ; [[#Tian--2020|Tian et al., 2020]] ). Conservation and sustainable development would benefit from being tailored and modified considering the changing climatic conditions and shifting biomes, mountain belts and species ranges ( [[#Pörtner--2021|Pörtner et al., 2021]] ). Expanding the nature reserves would help species conservation; to facilitate species movements across climatic gradients, an increase in landscape connectivity can be elaborated by setting up habitat corridors between nature reserves and along elevational and other climatic gradients ( [[#Brito-Morales--2018|Brito-Morales et al., 2018]] ; [[#D’Aloia--2019|D’Aloia et al., 2019]] ; [[#United%20Nations%20Climate%20Change%20Secretariat--2019|United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, 2019]] ). Assisted migration of species should be considered for isolated habitats as mountain summits or where movements are constrained by poor dispersal ability. Introducing seeds of the species to new regions will help to protect them from the extinction risk caused by climate change ( [[#Mazangi--2016|Mazangi et al., 2016]] ). In Asian boreal forests, a strategy and integrated programmes should be developed for adaptation of the forests to global climate change, including sustainable forest management, firefighting infrastructure and forest fuel management, afforestation, as well as institutional, social and other measures in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 ‘Life on Land’ ( [[#Isaev--2013|Isaev and Korovin, 2013]] ; [[#Kattsov--2014|Kattsov and Semenov, 2014]] ; [[#Bae--2020|Bae et al., 2020]] ). Improvements in forest habitat quality can reduce the negative impacts of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem services ( [[#Choi--2021|Choi et al., 2021]] ). Adaptation options for freshwater ecosystems in Asia include increasing connectivity in river networks, expanding protected areas, restoring hydrological processes of wetlands and rivers, creating shade to lower temperatures for vulnerable species, assisted translocation and migration of species ( [[#Hassan--2020|Hassan et al., 2020]] ; Chapter 2). Reduction of non-climate anthropogenic impacts can enhance the adaptive capacity of ecosystems ( [[#Tchebakova--2016|Tchebakova et al., 2016]] ).

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'''Box 10.3 | Case Study on Sand and Dust Storm, Climate Change in West Asia’s Iranian Region'''
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The West Asia region, especially the Tigris–Euphrates alluvial plain, has been recognised as one of the most important dust-source areas in the world ( [[#Cao--2015|Cao et al., 2015]] ). The inhabitants of each of these settlements have experienced a decline in dust storms in recent decades, since the late 1980s at Nouakchott, since 2004 at Zabol and since the late 1970s at Minqin. Iran is mostly arid or semiarid, with deserts making up at least 25 million hectares of the country (NASA, 2018). Iran is experiencing unprecedented climate-related problems such as drying of lakes and rivers, dust storms, record-breaking temperatures, droughts and floods ( [[#Vaghefi--2019|Vaghefi et al., 2019]] ). There are three key factors responsible for the generation of sand and dust storms: strong wind, lack of vegetation and absence of rainfall (EcoMENA, 2020). It seems that all of this is closely related to the heating surface and the occurrence of local dry instabilities ( [[#Ghasem--2012|Ghasem et al., 2012]] ). According to EcoMENA (2020), sand and dust storms cause significant negative impacts on society, the economy and the environment at the local, regional and global levels. The seasonality of the numbers of dusty days (NDD) in Iran shows the highest frequency in summer followed by spring and autumn ( [[#Modarres--2018|Modarres and Sadeghi, 2018]] ). In the past decade, West Asia has witnessed more frequent and intensified dust storms affecting Iran and other Persian Gulf countries ( [[#Nabavi--2016|Nabavi et al., 2016]] ). In terms of long-term frequency of dust events, observational analyses show an overall rising trend of the frequency of Iran’s dust events in recent years ( [[#Alizadeh-Choobari--2016|Alizadeh-Choobari et al., 2016]] ). Results show that there has been a direct relationship between dust event, drought and years of intensive drought ( [[#Dastorani--2019|Dastorani and Jafari, 2019]] ). Compared with the period 1980–2004, in the period 2025–2049, Iran is ''likely'' to experience more extended periods of extreme maximum temperatures in the southern part of the country, more extended periods of dry (for ≥120 d: precipitation &lt;2 mm, T max ≥30°C) as well as wet (for ≤3 d: total precipitation ≥110 mm) conditions and a higher frequency of floods ( [[#Vaghefi--2019|Vaghefi et al., 2019]] ). The slope of precipitation in West Asia shows that during the period 2016–2045 in January, February, July and August, precipitation would increase and decrease in other months of the year ( [[#Ahmadi--2018|Ahmadi et al., 2018]] ). Temperatures in Central Asia have risen significantly within recent decades, whereas mean precipitation remains almost unchanged ( [[#Haag--2019|Haag et al., 2019]] ); however, climatic trends can vary greatly between different sub-regions, across altitudinal levels and within seasons ( [[#Haag--2019|Haag et al., 2019]] ).

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