Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which US federal program provides funding to help communities relocate away from areas repeatedly flooded?
- FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (Correct answer)
- EPA Clean Water Act grants
- HUD Community Development Block Grants
- USDA Rural Development loans
Correct answer: FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds voluntary buyouts of flood-prone properties, enabling communities to relocate to safer areas.
Question 2: What is 'managed retreat' in the context of coastal climate adaptation?
- Reducing military presence on coastlines
- Strategically relocating communities and infrastructure away from vulnerable shorelines (Correct answer)
- Building seawalls farther inland
- Temporarily evacuating beaches during storms
Correct answer: Strategically relocating communities and infrastructure away from vulnerable shorelines
Managed retreat is a long-term strategy that involves moving people, buildings, and infrastructure away from high-risk coastal areas rather than defending them in place.
Question 3: How does agroforestry help farmers adapt to climate change?
- It eliminates the need for irrigation entirely
- It integrates trees with crops or livestock to improve resilience and diversify income (Correct answer)
- It replaces all annual crops with perennial trees
- It focuses solely on timber production
Correct answer: It integrates trees with crops or livestock to improve resilience and diversify income
Agroforestry combines trees with crops or livestock, providing shade, reducing erosion, improving soil health, and diversifying income streams against climate-related crop failures.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of urban heat island mitigation strategies like cool roofs?
- To generate solar electricity for buildings
- To reduce surface temperatures and lower cooling energy demand in cities (Correct answer)
- To collect rainwater for irrigation
- To improve air quality by filtering pollutants
Correct answer: To reduce surface temperatures and lower cooling energy demand in cities
Cool roofs reflect more sunlight and absorb less heat than standard roofs, reducing building temperatures, cutting air conditioning costs, and lowering urban heat island intensity.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes 'climate-smart agriculture'?
- Farming that uses only traditional methods proven over centuries
- Agricultural practices that increase productivity, enhance resilience, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (Correct answer)
- Growing crops exclusively in climate-controlled greenhouses
- Eliminating livestock from all farming systems
Correct answer: Agricultural practices that increase productivity, enhance resilience, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Climate-smart agriculture simultaneously aims to sustainably increase productivity, adapt and build resilience to climate change, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions where possible.
Question 6: What role do mangrove forests play in coastal climate resilience?
- They acidify coastal waters to deter invasive species
- They protect coastlines from storm surge, store carbon, and support fisheries (Correct answer)
- They primarily serve as tourist attractions with no protective function
- They increase wave energy along shorelines
Correct answer: They protect coastlines from storm surge, store carbon, and support fisheries
Mangroves act as natural buffers by absorbing wave energy and storm surge, sequestering large amounts of carbon, and providing nursery habitat for fish species.
Question 7: What is 'adaptive capacity' in the context of climate change vulnerability assessments?
- The total amount of CO2 a community can absorb
- A community's ability to adjust to climate change, moderate potential damages, and cope with consequences (Correct answer)
- The physical size of infrastructure built to withstand floods
- The number of emergency shelters available per capita
Correct answer: A community's ability to adjust to climate change, moderate potential damages, and cope with consequences
Adaptive capacity refers to the ability of systems, institutions, humans, and other organisms to adjust to climate change, exploit opportunities, and cope with consequences.
Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience 2
Which US federal program provides funding to help communities relocate away from areas repeatedly flooded?