Welcome to the jungle: Ziplining into climate change adaption
What does ziplining have to do with climate change adaptation? More than you would think. Here’s how an adventure in Laos made our Adaptive Futures Lead, Yasmina, ponder the nature of resilient systems.
As I wonder what it could look like to settle gently into our work at Regen Melbourne with a bit more joy and playfulness, an irresistible metaphor crosses my mind: gibbon ziplines and climate change adaptation pathways.
Not entirely sure where I’m going with this? Let me explain.
Spending a few days flying high through the jungles of northern Laos, hoping to see gibbons in the wild, offered a new perspective to me. Imagine that if to go from A to B in the jungle, you were only provided with one unique linear plan, expected to hold the test of time. Imagine if you had no map.
That would be completely ridiculous and unsafe.
But this is the way most plans and policies are currently designed: one goal and no future proofing or flexibility to adapt based on learning along the way.
Imagine instead, that you were given options or different itineraries that could take you to desired destinations – i.e. climate change adaptation pathways. What if the system we operated within had a set of characteristics – or resilience traits – to help us thrive on our paths? Making space for and building adaptive capacity for a range of pathways: walking, ziplining, and/or a combination of both.
A reassuring adventure starts with resilient system qualities
If you’re a lover of trees but not of heights, you might be reassured by the quality of robust safety equipment and infrastructure supporting you as you fly through the air on a zipline. I sure was. It definitely takes some amount of trust (and perhaps a leap of faith in some cases) to embrace the unknown, and that’s much more easily done when there is infrastructure in place to hold you – mentally and physically.
It’s also reassuring to feel prepared: helmet strapped, carabiners safely clipped in, a clear zipline ahead.
Once you’re on your way, enjoying the ride and taking in all that magical scenery, there is a deep comfort and satisfaction in knowing about the spare capacity and diverse options available to go from A to B. You are not stuck here, you have options.
As you reflect on the experience, it becomes clear that it was designed to be inclusive to a range of ages and fitness levels, adapting the rhythm and remaining open and flexible to the group and individual preferences. If you’d rather read a book in a tree house than zipline all afternoon, there’s room for slow time up in the air too.
The future-focused part of you becomes aware that the conditions would be way more challenging during the rainy season. Timing is key.
We’re probably now reaching the limits of this jungle zipline metaphor when it comes to the integrated and innovative qualities of a resilient system but I can definitely recommend the use of walkie talkies to improve communication between guides in the event that a part of the group might get lost!
Embrace your inner gibbon
I find trekking through the jungle (i.e. navigating life) more enjoyable with maps, guides and practicing the art of building our resilience and adaptive capacity with others (humans and gibbons alike).
You’ll be hearing more about climate change adaptation as a social process, how we can co-learn from practicing together and grounding in place. Want to co-create pathways through the jungle together? For now, say hello to the little gibbon inside you and swing forward.
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