Forests and climate change in Latin America: linking adaptation and mitigation

Forest ecosystems play an important role in both adaptation and mitigation and there is a need to explore the linkages between these two options in order to understand their trade-offs and synergies. In forests, potential trade-offs can be observed between global ecosystem services, such as the carbon capture relevant for mitigation, and the local ecosystem services that are relevant for adaptation. In addition, mitigation projects can facilitate or hinder the adaptation of local people to climate change, whereas adaptation projects can affect ecosystems and their potential to capture carbon. This paper presents examples of linkages between adaptation and mitigation in Latin American forests. Through case studies, approaches and reasons for integrating adaptation into mitigation projects or mitigation into adaptation projects are investigated. We also analyse the opportunities for mainstreaming adaptation–mitigation linkages into forest or climate change policies.