Merging science and local knowledge to tackle climate adaptation

A recently published study is encouraging a fresh approach to climate adaptation by blending local knowledge with scientific research.

That’s according to research conducted by scientists from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) together with research partners from Africa and the Pacific, who have published their collaborative study in ‘Regional Environment Research’.

The paper ‘The ethno-oceanography of Tanzanian coastal fisherman: implications for coastal management’ integrates climate science, oceanography and anthropology to understand where indigenous and local ecological knowledge aligns with or diverges from scientific interpretations, highlighting pathways for more inclusive and effective coastal management.

By combining community insight with research, the findings show how planning can become more relevant, culturally grounded, and widely supported. The study also reveals that local communities respond best to practical solutions tackling immediate threats like destructive fishing, habitat loss, and dwindling catches.

NOC’s Katya Popova, a senior research fellow, co-authored the paper which is based on research funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund Project ‘SOLSTICE’. She said: “This work exemplifies the spirit of the UN Ocean Decade, demonstrating how combining natural and social sciences with locally embedded understanding can lead to more inclusive and effective pathways for sustainable ocean governance.

Prof. Shankar Aswani, Solomon Islands National University, and lead author, said: “By aligning local knowledge with scientific foresight, the study contributes to building resilience in one of the world’s most climate-sensitive coastal regions.”

Research for the paper included participatory mapping, interviews, and household vulnerability surveys across several Tanzanian communities. The team then compared local observations of environmental change with ocean and climate models, including El Niño and Indian Ocean Dipole events, in addition to emerging signs of anthropogenic climate change.

The results show that fishers are highly attuned to seasonal and multidecadal variability but may not yet distinguish longer-term anthropogenic climate trends, which are expected to become more visible in coming decades.

Read the report in full: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-025-02436-3