Agriculture is one of the most sensitive and vulnerable activities to climate variations; climate change impacts crop yield, soil processes, water availability, and pest dynamic. Farmers are on the front lines of climate change-induced stressors, shifts, and shocks, having to provide solutions as planners, performers, and innovators working under challenging and uncertain risk conditions. Extensive research has been carried out to deepen farmers’ behavior on risks posed by climate change. However, less attention was paid to irrigation district managers, even though their essential role in guaranteeing hydraulic safety, ensuring water supply, even as on-site observers of farmers’ behavior. This paper seeks to uncover the attitudes and actions of irrigation districts managers towards climate change, and their ability to gather significant information on the climate experiences of farmers in the Lombardy region, Italy. Employing a mix of semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, the exploratory approach gathered insights from the managers of the 12 public irrigation districts tasked with governing irrigation development and water management in the region. The study reveals that managers are cognizant of the shifting climate caused by warmer temperatures and extreme weather events, implementing both hard (e.g. water infrastructure maintenance, water storage) and soft (climate and weather services) adaptation countermeasures. Through their own experiences, managers brought to light the driving factors behind farmers’ willingness to adopt water-saving techniques or adapt their crops, despite facing obstacles (e.g. financial investment, institutional support). In addition, the identification of tipping points related to water scarcity and security is coupled with managers and farmers’ trust in technological solutions to partially counteract risk normalization. In line with the findings, suggestions were put forth to enhance managers’ adaptive capacity.

中文翻译：

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灌区管理者如何应对气候变化风险？考虑意大利北部的经验、临界点和风险正常化

农业是对气候变化最敏感和最脆弱的活动之一；气候变化影响作物产量、土壤过程、水资源供应和害虫动态。农民处于气候变化引起的压力、转变和冲击的最前线，必须作为规划者、执行者和创新者在充满挑战和不确定的风险条件下提供解决方案。为了加深农民对气候变化风险的行为进行了广泛的研究。然而，尽管灌区管理人员在保障水利安全、保障供水、甚至作为农民行为的现场观察员方面发挥着重要作用，但他们却很少受到关注。本文旨在揭示灌区管理者对气候变化的态度和行动，以及他们收集有关意大利伦巴第地区农民气候经历的重要信息的能力。该探索性方法采用半结构化访谈和问卷调查相结合的方式，从负责管理该地区灌溉发展和水资源管理的 12 个公共灌溉区的管理者那里收集了见解。研究表明，管理者认识到气温升高和极端天气事件引起的气候变化，实施了硬适应对策（例如水基础设施维护、水储存）和软适应对策（气候和天气服务）。通过自己的经验，管理者揭示了农民尽管面临障碍（例如财政投资、机构支持）仍愿意采用节水技术或改造作物的驱动因素。此外，与水资源短缺和安全相关的临界点的确定与管理者和农民对技术解决方案的信任相结合，以部分抵消风险正常化。根据调查结果，提出了增强管理者适应能力的建议。