For decades, researchers have worried about people’s understanding of climate change. Although this understanding varies by cultural context, most studies so far have taken place in industrialised countries. Few studies have explored understandings of climate change in the global South. Through standardised questionnaires and semi-structured interviews conducted in southern Ecuador, this article explores differences between urban and rural dwellers and compares these with farmers’ understandings of the causes, consequences and risks. We found urban and rural dwellers hold a similar understanding to that found in other nations, but articulated in ways that reflect their particular realities. Despite reporting firsthand experience of the agricultural effects of climate change, when prompted, farmers do not link climate change to their own experience. It is thus important to go beyond judging knowledge as correct or incorrect, and instead, incorporate local realities in the climate narrative.

中文翻译：

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概念与经验之间：对厄瓜多尔南部气候变化的理解。

几十年来，研究人员一直担心人们对气候变化的理解。尽管这种理解因文化背景而异，但迄今为止大多数研究都是在工业化国家进行的。很少有研究探讨对全球南方气候变化的理解。本文通过在厄瓜多尔南部进行的标准化问卷调查和半结构化访谈，探讨城乡居民之间的差异，并将其与农民对原因、后果和风险的理解进行比较。我们发现城市和农村居民的理解与其他国家相似，但表达方式反映了他们的特定现实。尽管报告了气候变化对农业影响的第一手经验，但在收到提示时，农民并未将气候变化与他们自己的经历联系起来。