Barriers to the implementation of international agreements on the ground: Climate change and resilience building in the Araucanía Region of Chile

Implementing disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change adaptation and mitigation (CCA/M), and sustainable development are key to increasing community resilience to pressing climate change risks. Barriers to grassroots implementation of national and international policies are inexorably linked to local contexts, and in-depth understanding of these barriers is crucial in areas greatly impacted by climate change. This research applied an empirical mixed-methods approach to identify the barriers to implementing grassroots climate resilience in the Araucanía Region in central-southern Chile. Data was collected in the form of expert interviews, 454 questionnaires of community members, community focus group discussions, and historical climate data for the region. The need to strengthen local-level implementation persists in the Araucanía Region. Barriers to implementation include limited horizontal and multi-sectoral governance, and inadequate allocation of human and financial resources at the local level. The majority of community members expressed that they had some (71% n = 322) or a lot (10% n = 47) of climate change knowledge, with 91% (n = 409) indicating that their community is impacted by climate change, and half correctly perceived changes in several climate-related hazards. However, a misconception held by experts regarding community knowledge represents a barrier that limits opportunities for leveraging community willingness to take action, and impedes the inclusion of community priorities into national policies. Opportunities exist to strengthen grassroots climate resilience by adopting a coherent approach which links DRR and CCA/M to key community concerns in sustainable development. National and regional actors need to work closely with municipal governments to mobilize synergies and foster meaningful grassroots action.