Figure 2 . In this
graphical representation of adaptation and mitigation, where adaptation
(in red) rests on the y-axis and mitigation (in blue) on the x-axis,
anticipatory capacity falls within the expanse between the two elements.
This region is characterized by the mutual relationship between
adaptation and mitigation. This third dimension is driven by action. The
process, revealed through our behavior, not only impacts the outcome but
also enters a causal loop that re-informs future actions. It is
therefore a matter of reforming our practice to create change.
The adaptation-mitigation
continuum, specifically anticipatory capacity, is not solely a thought
experiment. It reflects real-world struggles for food security and
survival. Imagine the magnitude of anxiety a subsistence agropastoral
farmer endures under climate change. The unpredictability is threatening
their livelihoods, only to be heightened by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
(Kassam & McDonald, 2021). Furthermore, being in a state of
anticipation can be cause for additional anxiety if remediation is not
underway. Rather than awaiting the consequences, being proactive is a
method of lowering anxiety. This preemptive condition, precisely located
within the adaption-mitigation continuum, manages fear of uncertainty,
and maintains human well-being.
Take two agropastoral communities located in the high altitudes of the
Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan as an example. The villages of Savnob and
Roshorv, nested within the Bartang Valley (Figure 3), are subsistence
agropastoral communities. Specifically, each village consists of various
households that primarily engage in agricultural activities supplemented
by maintaining small livestock herds, cultivating orchards, and
gathering from the land. Members of Savnob and Roshorv historically
utilized ecological calendars encompassing the diversity of opinions and
experiences based on their respective ecological professions and
locations. The calendars were formed by the accumulation of knowledge.
Actively passed down, the knowledge is creating possibilities for the
next generations (Kimmerer, 2013; Whyte, 2017). Indigenous knowledge,
cumulative in nature, accepts plurality and builds on our understanding
thus far (Kassam 2009a).