Adaptation refers to adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climate stimuli, or their effects.
Adaptation can be Autonomous or planned
Autonomous: Those adjustments that are carried out without knowledge of climate change.
Planned: Planned adaptations are those made deliberately in order to express climate change impacts.
In Pakistan most of the adaptation falls in the category of autonomous
Adaptation for crops
- Genetic research for the development of new varieties of crops/breeds of livestock tolerant to high temperatures.
- Alteration in sowing dates to escape high temperature during the sensitive growth stages
- Changes in cropping pattern
- Increasing water use efficiency by crops
- Fertilizer management for increased production while protecting environment (reduction of N2O and CH4 emissions, Nitrate leaching)
Adoption of Resource Conservation technologies e.g. soil and water conservation technologies, biodiversity conservation etc.
Adaptation for livestock
- Use of multi-nutrient feed blocks, e.g Urea-Molasses feed blocks
- Feed conservation e.g by hay and silage making, storing in silos, especially for the winter season
Planned grazing – alteration in timing, location and duration of grazing animals
Adaptation for water resources
- Adaptation of high efficiency irrigation practices, such as drip, sprinkler and pitcher irrigation
- Making sub-surface irrigation channels in hot areas like Karez in Balochistan, to evade evaporation
- Integrating irrigation with water-sensitive growth stages of crops
- Spreading the same quantity of water into greater number of irrigations, withholding irrigation or applying lesser amounts of water at less-sensitive growth stages of the crop
- Planned use of groundwater for irrigation, to avoid soil degradation due to bad quality of groundwater, and to avoid depletion of natural aquifer
Adaptation for Forest, Watershed and Disaster Risk Reduction
- Construction of reservoirs to store maximum runoff water.
- Large scale reforestation programme for reducing soil erosion & floods
- Large scale Integrated Watershed Management program to minimize flood intensities & livelihoods
- Mini-dams & ponds for water resource development can be beneficial for reducing the floods intensity and river bank erosion problems
- Adopt landslides and river bank erosion control measures in the mountainous areas
- Increasing tree component on agricultural land in the shape of agro-forestry & fruit orchards can enhance the income and reduce soil erosion
- Management of all land uses including range lands
- Adoption of soil-bio Engineering technology for landslides control & soil conservation.
Agriculture 