Your search found 3 records
1 Mabhaudhi, T.; Nhamo, Luxon; Mpandeli, S.; Nhemachena, Charles; Senzanje, A.; Sobratee, N.; Chivenge, P. P.; Slotow, R.; Naidoo, D.; Liphadzi, S.; Modi, A. T. 2019. The water–energy–food nexus as a tool to transform rural livelihoods and well-being in southern Africa. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(16):1-20. (Special issue: Human Adaptation to Climate Change) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162970]
Water resources ; Energy generation ; Food security ; Rural communities ; Living standards ; Public health ; Climate change adaptation ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Indicators ; Innovation ; Frameworks ; SADC countries ; Rural areas / Southern Africa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049315)
(2.21 MB) (2.21 MB)
About 60% of southern Africa’s population lives in rural areas with limited access to basic services and amenities such as clean and safe water, affordable and clean energy, and balanced and nutritious diets. Resource scarcity has direct and indirect impacts on nutrition, human health, and well-being of mostly poor rural communities. Climate change impacts in the region are manifesting through low crop yields, upsurge of vector borne diseases (malaria and dengue fever), and water and food-borne diseases (cholera and diarrhoea). This study applied a water–energy–food (WEF) nexus analytical livelihoods model with complex systems understanding to assess rural livelihoods, health, and well-being in southern Africa, recommending tailor-made adaptation strategies for the region aimed at building resilient rural communities. The WEF nexus is a decision support tool that improves rural livelihoods through integrated resource distribution, planning, and management, and ensures inclusive socio-economic transformation and development, and addresses related sustainable development goals, particularly goals 2, 3, 6 and 7. The integrated WEF nexus index for the region was calculated at 0.145, which is marginally sustainable, and indicating the region’s exposure to vulnerabilities, and reveals a major reason why the region fails to meet its developmental targets. The integrated relationship among WEF resources in southern Africa shows an imbalance and uneven resource allocation, utilisation and distribution, which normally results from a ‘siloed’ approach in resource management. The WEF nexus provides better adaptation options, as it guides decision making processes by identifying priority areas needing intervention, enhancing synergies, and minimising trade-offs necessary for resilient rural communities. Our results identified (i) the trade-offs and unintended negative consequences for poor rural households’ livelihoods of current silo approaches, (ii) mechanisms for sustainably enhancing household water, energy and food security, whilst (iii) providing direction for achieving SDGs 2, 3, 6 and 7.
2 Sobratee, N.; Davids, R.; Chinzila, C. B.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe; Scheelbeek, P.; Modi, A. T.; Dangour, A. D.; Slotow, R. 2022. Visioning a food system for an equitable transition towards sustainable diets—a South African perspective. Sustainability, 14(6):3280. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063280]
Healthy diets ; Agrifood systems ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Communities ; Marginalization ; Policies ; Stakeholders ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Strategies / South Africa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051024)
(5.99 MB) (5.99 MB)
The global goal to end hunger requires the interpretation of problems and change across multiple domains to create the scope for collaboration, learning, and impactful research. We facilitated a workshop aimed at understanding how stakeholders problematize sustainable diet transition (SDT) among a previously marginalized social group. Using the systems thinking approach, three sub-systems, namely access to dietary diversity, sustainable beneficiation of natural capital, and ‘food choice for well-being’, highlighted the main forces governing the current context, and future interventions of the project. Moreover, when viewed as co-evolving processes within the multi-level perspective, our identified microlevel leverage points—multi-faceted literacy, youth empowerment, deliberative policymaking, and promotion of sustainable diet aspirations—can be linked and developed through existing national macro-level strategies. Thus, co-designing to problematize transformational SDT, centered on an interdisciplinary outlook and informational governance, could streamline research implementation outcomes to re-structure socio-technical sectors and reconnect people to nature-based solutions. Such legitimate aspirations could be relevant in countries bearing complex socio-political legacies and bridge the local–global goals coherently. This work provides a collaborative framework required to develop impact-driven activities needed to inform evidence-based policies on sustainable diets.
3 Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe; Hlahla, S.; Chimonyo, V. G. P.; Henriksson, R.; Chibarabada, T. P.; Murugani, V. G.; Groner, V. P.; Tadele, Z.; Sobratee, N.; Slotow, R.; Modi, A. T.; Baudron, F.; Chivenge, P. 2022. Diversity and diversification: ecosystem services derived from underutilized crops and their co-benefits for sustainable agricultural landscapes and resilient food systems in Africa. Frontiers in Agronomy, 4:859223. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fagro.2022.859223]
Biodiversity ; Ecosystem services ; Underutilized species ; Crops ; Diversification ; Sustainable agriculture ; Food security ; Nutrition security ; Poverty alleviation ; Sustainable livelihoods ; Agricultural landscape ; Food systems ; Resilience ; Gender equality ; Role of women ; Income ; Socioeconomic development ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Climate change ; Ecological factors ; Habitats ; Cultural services ; Policies ; Systematic reviews / Africa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051093)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fagro.2022.859223/pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051093.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051093.pdf
(2.48 MB) (2.48 MB)
There are growing calls to adopt more sustainable forms of agriculture that balance the need to increase production with environmental, human health, and wellbeing concerns. Part of this conversation has included a debate on promoting and mainstreaming neglected and underutilized crop species (NUS) because they represent a more ecologically friendly type of agriculture. We conducted a systematic review to determine the ecosystem services derived from NUS and assess their potential to promote functional ecological diversity, food and nutritional security, and transition to more equitable, inclusive, sustainable and resilient agricultural landscapes and food systems in Africa. Our literature search yielded 35 articles for further analysis. The review showed that NUS provide various provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting ecosystem services and several environmental and health co-benefits, dietary diversity, income, sustainable livelihood outcomes, and economic empowerment, especially for women. Importantly, NUS address the three pillars of sustainable development- ecological, social, and economic. Thus, NUS may provide a sustainable, fit-for-purpose transformative ecosystem-based adaptation solution for Africa to transition to more sustainable, healthy, equitable, and resilient agricultural landscapes and food systems.
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