Local Perceptions and Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change in Rural Communities of the Andean–Amazonian Region: Indicators, Challenges and Opportunities

Local community knowledge is essential for understanding climate change impacts, as it provides valuable indicators to anticipate climatic behavior and assess risks through adaptation strategies. Surveys and participatory workshops were conducted with 52 producers to identify local climate change indicators and analyze implemented adaptation measures. A systematic indicator framework identified five main indicators: rising temperatures (30% of mentions), strong winds (25%), and three indicators with 15% each: increased rainfall, sudden changes in temperature, and seasonal variations. These indicators were validated against instrumental climate records, confirming the capacity of local knowledge systems to detect gradual and extreme climatic shifts. Rising temperatures stand out as the indicator with the greatest impact. Regarding adaptations, watershed reforestation emerges as the most implemented measure (22.2% of mentions), especially in response to increased temperature and rainfall. The social component shows the highest number of adaptive strategies, with incremental measures predominating. In contrast, soil and agriculture components show the lowest number of implemented measures. Strong winds are considered difficult to control, resulting in less adoption of adaptive strategies. The agricultural component records the lowest percentage of transformational adaptations. Structural barriers, including limited access to technical support, credit systems, and informal land tenure arrangements, constrain the transition toward transformational adaptation, leaving communities reliant on incremental responses that address immediate risks but fall short of reducing long-term vulnerability. These findings underscore the need to integrate traditional knowledge with scientific approaches within institutional frameworks that explicitly address governance gaps to develop sustainable and contextually relevant adaptation strategies.