Vivre avec les conditions climatiques de la région semi-aride au Brésil. Le concept d’adaptation comme pensée globale appropriée par les acteurs locaux

Abstract

Living with and adapting are recurrent notions in the semi-arid zone of the Brazilian Northeast, both in the academic world and in the actions of governors and civil society. The perspective of climate change has brought these two notions closer together ever since, in spite of controversies, the community has become more attentive to the future of dry environments. This article aims to establish the extent to which the principles of the discourse of living with the semi-arid zone – which is usually linked to the regional level – can be essentially encapsulated by the concept of adaptation – introduced by the debate over global warming. Additionally, we investigate whether strategies of living with the semi-arid region can be described as adaptive actions that have been appropriated on a local stage, thereby combining the two schemas of thought.

Keywords

• Brazilian Northeast
• semi-arid region
• adaptation
• conviviality
• drought
• Brazil