According to the fourth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the semiarid regions of the world will be among those most affected by the impacts of global climate change. Studies conducted by the Ministry of the Environment (MMA) in 2007 confirm that in the Brazilian Northeast, rising temperatures resulting from climate change will cause a drop in precipitation as well as irregularities in the frequency of rainfall. The various impacts (social, environmental and economic) from this scenario make it fundamentally important that sustainable alternatives currently being developed in Brazilian semi-arid regions should be supported. This article assesses the potential of social technologies (ST) for co-existence developed by various organizations for the dual purpose of 1) facing climate change while 2) promoting human development. It appears that ST have great potential to assist with the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. Moreover, ST can help support improvements to the quality of life in the towns where they are being developed.
Social technologies; Climate change; Human development; Bahia's semi-arid regions
