Adaptation of the Activities of the Population of the Mountain Territories of Dagestan to Climate Change: Trends in Agriculture

The article summarizes the results of the first stage of research into adaptation measures taken by the rural population of mountain areas and the administration of Dagestan in response to climate change. An assessment of climate change over the past 20 years in the Eastern Caucasus, with special attention to the mountain areas of Dagestan, was carried out based on reanalysis data. It has been revealed that in the last decade in the midlands and highlands, annual and seasonal temperatures have increased significantly, and the amount of annual and summer precipitation has begun to decrease; in general, the mountains of the Eastern Caucasus and Dagestan, in particular, are becoming warmer and drier. Actions of mountain residents in the crop production in response to warming and increasing moisture deficit are mainly aimed, as in many other mountain rural regions of the world, at changing varieties and crops, growing intensive orchards that are more tolerant to climate change, and expanding the range of terraced fruit crops. The unpredictability of weather events has spurred the active growth of the greenhouse industry. New processes have intensified related industries and breeding science in Dagestan. The population’s initiatives are supported by the Program for the Socioeconomic Development of Mountain Areas of the Republic of Dagestan for 2020–2025, which provides subsidies and grants, primarily for small farms and personal subsidiary plots. The aim of the Program is not adaptation to climate change, but these measures are objectively manifested as support for the adaptation measures of the population. The mountain agricultural terraces of Dagestan are considered a potential resource for development of agriculture in the face of climate change, as well as possible tourism sites, representing elements of historical and cultural heritage and identity of local landscapes.