Your search found 19 records
1 Gao, J.; Mills, B. F. 2018. Weather shocks, coping strategies, and consumption dynamics in rural Ethiopia. World Development, 101:268-283. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.09.002]
Weather hazards ; Resilience ; Coping strategies ; Rain ; Temperature ; Household consumption ; Rural poverty ; Social security ; Villages ; Rural areas ; Models / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048485)
(2.23 MB)
Rural households adopt a broad range of strategies to cope with adverse weather shocks. Previous studies have examined the effectiveness of individual coping strategies in mitigating the impact of adverse weather shocks, but no study to date has presented a comprehensive evaluation of alternative coping strategies. We employ household panel data spanning 15 years to estimate the impact of weather shocks on consumption and poverty dynamics in rural Ethiopia, along with the effectiveness of household coping strategies in alleviating the impact of shocks. We find that rainfall increases are positively associated with per adult equivalent consumption, while high temperatures are negatively associated with consumption. In terms of household coping strategies, formal social safety net transfers mitigate the impact of adverse rainfall shocks on consumption and off-farm employment mitigates the impact of high-temperature shocks. Simulations suggest that rainfall shocks and formal social safety net transfers significantly influence household poverty dynamics. By contrast, high-temperature shocks and off-farm employment have less impact on poverty dynamics. The results highlight the need for social protection programs that support existing household coping strategies and that can rapidly respond to weather shocks.
2 Pandey, R.; Kumar, P.; Archie, K. M.; Gupta, A. K.; Joshi, P. K.; Valente, D.; Petrosillo, I. 2018. Climate change adaptation in the western-Himalayas: household level perspectives on impacts and barriers. Ecological Indicators, 84:27-37. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.08.021]
Climate change adaptation ; Resilience ; Households ; Coping strategies ; Indigenous knowledge ; Planning ; Communication ; Barriers ; Rural communities ; Socioeconomic environment ; Agriculture ; Mountains ; Land degradation ; Ecological factors / India / Western Himalayas / Nainital
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048602)
(1.02 MB)
A vast amount of knowledge and experience on coping with climatic variability and extreme weather events exists within local communities, and indigenous coping strategies are important elements of successful adaptation plans. Traditional knowledge can help to provide efficient, appropriate and time-tested ways of responding to climate change especially in far-flung communities. However, little is known about how traditional coping strategies translate into adaptation to long-term changes, and to what degree they prevent pro-active, transformational responses to climate change. This paper assesses the use of climate related information for communities in the Himalayan foothills of rural India, and reports on the barriers to adaptation planning and actions. Surveys have been carried out to analyze the current practices and the role of information in planning for climate change adaptation in the rural areas of the Nainital region of India located in Western Himalaya. Respondents perceive the local climate change, the intensity of change, and the negative impacts on the community and landscape. Decreases in water quantity and changes in precipitation patterns are among the major concerns for respondents, however, communities have begun to use traditional knowledge and historical climate information for developing strategies suitable to cope with impacts of climate change. Going forward, additional information is needed to match the high priority community needs with viable adaptation strategies. Lack of money, lack of access to information, and lack of awareness or understanding are considered the three largest hurdles besides low priority for adaptation, recognized by community members as barriers to adaptation planning and actions. Adaptation plans must be integrated into both top-down and bottom-up approaches to plan for enabling sustainable development and the efficient use of information for adaptation. Finally, traditional knowledge seems to be useful not only in contrasting climate change impacts, but also in recovering several ecosystem services that work all together for enanching the quality of life of villagers at local scale.
3 Manlosa, A. O.; Hornidge, A.-K.; Schluter, A. 2021. Aquaculture-capture fisheries nexus under Covid-19: impacts, diversity, and social-ecological resilience. Maritime Studies, 11p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-021-00213-6]
Aquaculture production ; Capture fisheries ; Nexus ; Covid-19 ; Pandemics ; Food systems ; Livelihoods ; Resilience ; Smallholders ; Fishers ; Market disruptions ; Coping strategies ; State intervention ; Communities ; Sustainability ; Social aspects ; Ecological factors ; Case studies / Philippines / Central Luzon / Paombong / Hagonoy / Malolos
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050196)
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40152-021-00213-6.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050196.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050196.pdf
(0.52 MB) (532 KB)
The Covid-19 pandemic is a global shock that is significantly affecting coastal social-ecological systems (SES) in different parts of the world. Its widespread impacts have unravelled vulnerabilities in many aspects of society, including food systems. Our study investigated the impacts of a lockdown associated with the pandemic in the province of Bulacan, in the region of Central Luzon, Philippines, where aquaculture and capture fisheries are important and interconnected sectors. In particular, we focused on impacts related to production and market. We considered people’s coping strategies and the factors that enabled such strategies. Our investigation adopted a case study approach and drew on qualitative data analysed through thematic analysis. The findings revealed differentiated mechanisms through which aquaculture and capture fisheries production were impacted. Both were strongly affected by market disruptions but through slightly different ways. In effect, the lockdown provided the impetus for the uptake and spreading of practices that were previously peripheral, particularly in relation to market exchanges. The study also identified a variety of coping strategies, as well as the importance of social support in the form of food aid, financial assistance, and institutional livelihood assistance. Finally, it discusses the importance of diversity in food sources, the role of local food systems, and governance implications for foregrounding social-ecological resilience in short-term response and long-term recovery.
4 Goswami, R.; Roy, K.; Dutta, S.; Ray, K.; Sarkar, S.; Brahmachari, K.; Nanda, M. K.; Mainuddin, M.; Banerjee, H.; Timsina, J.; Majumdar, K. 2021. Multi-faceted impact and outcome of COVID-19 on smallholder agricultural systems: integrating qualitative research and fuzzy cognitive mapping to explore resilient strategies. Agricultural Systems, 189:103051. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103051]
Smallholders ; Agricultural systems ; COVID-19 ; Pandemics ; Cyclones ; Coping strategies ; Irrigation water ; Salinity ; Crop production ; Soil fertility ; Livestock ; Market access ; Labour ; Farmers ; Household income ; Household expenditure ; Stakeholders ; Nongovernmental organizations ; Villages ; Qualitative analysis / India / West Bengal / Sundarbans
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050287)
(4.61 MB)
The shock of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted food systems worldwide. Such disruption, affecting multiple systems interfaces in smallholder agriculture, is unprecedented and needs to be understood from multi-stakeholder perspectives. The multiple loops of causality in the pathways of impact renders the system outcomes unpredictable. Understanding the nature of such unpredictable pathways is critical to identify present and future systems intervention strategies. Our study aims to explore the multiple pathways of present and future impact created by the pandemic and “Amphan” cyclonic storm on smallholder agricultural systems. Also, we anticipate the behaviour of the systems elements under different realistic scenarios of intervention. We explored the severity and multi-faceted impacts of the pandemic on vulnerable smallholder agricultural production systems through in-depth interactions with key players at the micro-level. It provided contextual information, and revealed critical insights to understand the cascading effect of the pandemic and the cyclone on farm households. We employed thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with multiple stakeholders in Sundarbans areas in eastern India, to identify the present and future systems outcomes caused by the pandemic, and later compounded by “Amphan”. The immediate adaptation strategies of the farmers were engaging family labors, exchanging labors with neighbouring farmers, borrowing money from relatives, accessing free food rations, replacing dead livestock, early harvesting, and reclamation of waterbodies. The thematic analysis identified several systems elements, such as harvesting, marketing, labor accessibility, among others, through which the impacts of the pandemic were expressed. Drawing on these outputs, we employed Mental Modeler, a Fuzzy-Logic Cognitive Mapping tool, to develop multi-stakeholder mental models for the smallholder agricultural systems of the region. Analysis of the mental models indicated the centrality of “Kharif” (monsoon) rice production, current farm income, and investment for the next crop cycle to determine the pathways and degree of the dual impact on farm households. Current household expenditure, livestock, and soil fertility were other central elements in the shared mental model. Scenario analysis with multiple stakeholders suggested enhanced market access and current household income, sustained investment in farming, rapid improvement in affected soil, irrigation water and livestock as the most effective strategies to enhance the resilience of farm families during and after the pandemic. This study may help in formulating short and long-term intervention strategies in the post-pandemic communities, and the methodological approach can be used elsewhere to understand perturbed socioecological systems to formulate anticipatory intervention strategies based on collective wisdom of stakeholders.
5 Quandt, A. 2021. Coping with drought: narratives from smallholder farmers in semi-arid Kenya. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 57:102168. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102168]
Climate change ; Drought ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Coping strategies ; Semiarid zones ; Livelihood diversification ; Households ; Communities ; Hunger ; Conflicts ; Policies ; Livestock / Kenya / Burat / Kinna / Isiolo
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050358)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420921001345/pdfft?md5=eee7394653bbda6c9017a94bf0a8c00a&pid=1-s2.0-S2212420921001345-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050358.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050358.pdf
(1.86 MB) (1.86 MB)
Globally, drought impacts more people than any other natural hazard. However, drought is also the most complex natural hazard, and its impacts are not evenly distributed across the landscape or among human populations. Just as the impacts of drought vary, so do the coping strategies used by people during drought. The research to-date on drought coping strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa are highly quantitative, focused on top-down interventions, and do not emphasize individual perceptions, experience, and autonomous decision-making when coping with drought. This paper aims to fill these gaps by examining the human experience of coping with drought through narratives from farmers in Burat and Kinna, Isiolo County, Kenya. This paper highlights (1) their perceived impacts of drought, and (2) the various coping strategies used. A total of 83 interviews were conducted in 20 households. Results found that the perceived impacts of drought were decreased agricultural productivity, livestock hunger, death, and relocation, a lack of water in rivers, human hunger and disease, and violent conflict. The strategies for coping with drought included changing agricultural practices, adopting irrigation, relying on aid, charcoal burning, casual labor, livelihood diversification, and others. Importantly, these coping strategies can be classified into four categories: livelihood diversification, longer-term livelihood strategies, short-term coping activities, and erosive coping strategies. This research contributes to the effort to better document and understand farmers’ perceptions and strategies to cope with drought through qualitative research methods and from the perspective of the individual smallholder farmer, which is important for making context-specific policy and project recommendations aimed at smallholder farmers.
6 Patrick, H. O. 2021. Climate change and water insecurity in rural uMkhanyakude District Municipality: an assessment of coping strategies for rural South Africa. H2Open Journal, 4(1):29-46. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/h2oj.2021.009]
Climate change ; Water insecurity ; Water security ; Coping strategies ; Vulnerability ; Water supply ; Water reuse ; Water conservation ; Early warning systems ; Rural communities ; Households ; Socioeconomic aspects / South Africa / uMkhanyakude / KwaZulu-Natal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050352)
https://iwaponline.com/h2open/article-pdf/4/1/29/872592/h2oj0040029.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050352.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050352.pdf
(0.57 MB) (588 KB)
The vulnerability of Africa to climate change extremes and eventual impacts is extremely high due to the weak coping strategies prevalent in the continent. The peculiarity of South Africa to these vulnerabilities, especially for water security, is an issue of socioeconomic and policy issue. Based on the premises of human security, the study assesses the coping strategies of rural communities in South Africa, focusing on uMkhanyakude District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal province, given the effects of climate change-induced water scarcity on the area. The study employed a multilayered descriptive mixed method triangulation approach. It focused specifically on the connection between water and climate change and the adopted everyday vertical and horizontal coping strategies. The findings revealed a strong correlation between the behavioral and traditional coping strategies in the study area, water depletion/scarcity, and climate change. It also showed that government institutions are reactionary in their response to climate change-induced impacts. The study, therefore, recommends a pre-resilience mechanism that makes institutions and individuals proactive rather than adopting a reactionary post-resilience strategy in response to the effects of climate change-induced water security.
7 Atube, F.; Malinga, G. M.; Nyeko, M.; Okello, D. M.; Alarakol, S. P.; Okello-Uma, I. 2021. Determinants of smallholder farmers’ adaptation strategies to the effects of climate change: evidence from northern Uganda. Agriculture and Food Security, 10:6. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-020-00279-1]
Climate change adaptation ; Coping strategies ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Agricultural extension ; Farm income ; Fertilizers ; Drought ; Gender ; Households / Uganda / Apac / Amuru
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050456)
https://agricultureandfoodsecurity.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s40066-020-00279-1.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050456.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050456.pdf
(1.31 MB) (1.31 MB)
Background: Climate change poses a threat to the sustainability of food production among small-scale rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa that are dependent on rain-fed agriculture. Understanding farmers’ adaptations and the determinants of their adaptation strategies is crucial in designing realistic strategies and policies for agricultural development and food security. The main objectives of this study were to identify the adaptation strategies used by smallholder farmers to counter the perceived negative effects of climate change in northern Uganda, and factors influencing the use of specific adaptation strategies. A cross-sectional survey research design was employed to collect data from 395 randomly selected smallholder farmers’ household heads across two districts by the administration of a semi-structured questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the factors influencing farmers’ adaptation to climate change.
Results: The three most widely practiced adaptation strategies were planting of different crop varieties, planting drought-resistant varieties, and fallowing. Results of the binary logit regression model revealed that marital status of household head, access to credit, access to extension services, and farm income influenced farmers’ adoption of planting drought-resistant varieties as an adaptation strategy while access to credit, annual farm income, and time taken to market influenced adoption of planting improved seeds. Gender of household head and farm income had a positive influence on farmers’ adoption of fertilizer and pesticide use. Farming experience, farm income, and access to extension services and credit influenced farmers’ adoption of tree planting. Household size, farming experience, and time taken to market had positive influence on the use of fallowing, while size of land cultivated significantly influenced farmers’ planting of different crop varieties as an adaptation strategy.
Conclusion: Findings of the study suggest there are several factors that work together to influence adoption of specific adaptation strategies by smallholder farmers. This therefore calls for more effort from government to strengthen the provision of agricultural extension services by improving its climate information system, providing recommended agricultural inputs and training farmers on best agronomic practices to enhance their holistic adaptation to the effect of climate change.
Results: The three most widely practiced adaptation strategies were planting of different crop varieties, planting drought-resistant varieties, and fallowing. Results of the binary logit regression model revealed that marital status of household head, access to credit, access to extension services, and farm income influenced farmers’ adoption of planting drought-resistant varieties as an adaptation strategy while access to credit, annual farm income, and time taken to market influenced adoption of planting improved seeds. Gender of household head and farm income had a positive influence on farmers’ adoption of fertilizer and pesticide use. Farming experience, farm income, and access to extension services and credit influenced farmers’ adoption of tree planting. Household size, farming experience, and time taken to market had positive influence on the use of fallowing, while size of land cultivated significantly influenced farmers’ planting of different crop varieties as an adaptation strategy.
Conclusion: Findings of the study suggest there are several factors that work together to influence adoption of specific adaptation strategies by smallholder farmers. This therefore calls for more effort from government to strengthen the provision of agricultural extension services by improving its climate information system, providing recommended agricultural inputs and training farmers on best agronomic practices to enhance their holistic adaptation to the effect of climate change.
8 Fadul, E.; de Fraiture, C.; Masih, I. 2021. Flexibility as a strategy to cope with uncertain water supply in spate irrigation. Irrigation and Drainage, 16p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.2608]
Water supply ; Irrigation systems ; Coping strategies ; Uncertainty ; Flooding ; Modernization ; Decision making ; Traditional methods ; Rivers ; Sediment ; Farmers / Sudan / Gash Agricultural Scheme
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050429)
(1.96 MB)
Unpredictable flash floods in ephemeral rivers are the water source for spate irrigation systems. An important element in the success and sustainability of spate irrigation systems is their ability to cope with highly uncertain water supply and high sediment load. Flexibility is considered one of the key ingredients of coping strategies. However, the concept of flexibility in the context of spate irrigation systems is poorly defined. A framework to assess and operationalize flexibility in spate irrigation is lacking. In this paper we develop a conceptual framework by answering four principal questions and exploring eight flexibility characteristic features and five subfeatures. We explore the flexibility of traditional, improved and modernized spate irrigation systems to cope with high, low and untimely flood events. Flexible spate irrigation systems are highly dependent on system capabilities to deal with uncertainty and enable adjustments to change. The framework can be used as a guideline for water managers, farmers and decision makers for assessing and providing flexibility in spate irrigation systems.
9 Hawkins, P.; Geza, W.; Mabhaudhi, T.; Sutherland, C.; Queenan, K.; Dangour, A.; Scheelbeek, P. 2022. Dietary and agricultural adaptations to drought among smallholder farmers in South Africa: a qualitative study. Weather and Climate Extremes, 35:100413. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2022.100413]
Drought ; Climate change adaptation ; Dietary diversity ; Agriculture ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Coping strategies ; Food systems ; Food consumption ; Food insecurity ; Vulnerability ; Rural communities ; Resilience / South Africa / KwaZulu-Natal / Msinga / Richmond / Umbumbulu
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050972)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221209472200007X/pdfft?md5=e32af5d9ee4281d00ea13ff36c307b87&pid=1-s2.0-S221209472200007X-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050972.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050972.pdf
(3.14 MB) (3.14 MB)
Building resilience to environmental change is an integral part of long-term climate adaptation planning and local policy. There is an increased understanding of the impact of climate change on global crop production however, little focus has been given to local adaptation pathways and rural smallholder community responses, especially regarding food security. It is becoming increasingly evident that local level decision-making plays a vital role in reducing vulnerability to environmental change. This research aimed to qualitatively investigate coping and adaptive strategies adopted by smallholder farming households to respond to the impacts of drought in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Focus group discussions (n = 7) consisting of 5–9 participants and individual interviews (n = 9) using pre-tested topic guides, involving a total of 57 adults were conducted in rural areas of drought-affected districts: Msinga, Richmond and Umbumbulu of KwaZulu-Natal, in July 2018. The data were analysed using thematic analysis in NVivo 12. Thematic analysis identified three principal themes: 1. Perceived effects of droughts on the local food system and diets; 2. Current coping strategies; and 3. Enablers for successful adaptation. All sites reported a change in food consumption habits, with the majority perceiving drought to be the main driver behind a shift from vegetable-based to starch-based diets and decreased animal source food consumption. Only short-term coping strategies were implemented across the study sites. However, knowledge of long-term adaptation strategies existed but was unattainable to most respondents. Recommendations of perceived context-specific long-term adaptation strategies that could be used at a local scale were communicated by the respondents. However, they would need external help to actualize them. A need exists to support smallholder communities’ short-term response methods to drought to achieve more holistic resilience and successful adaptation. Short-term adaptation strategies, if implemented alone, often have significant tradeoffs with longer-term adaptation and building resilience. This study highlights the need for targeted, contextualised policy solutions to improve smallholder productivity during drought through a strategic combination of both short- and longer-term adaptation measures, i.e. short-term adaptation should be guided by a long-term adaptation strategy. Proper planning, including the use of climate scenarios combined with information on nutritional status, is needed to develop context-specific and transformative adaptation strategies. These strategies should aim to strengthen resilience at a local level and should be included as policy recommendations.
10 Fragaszy, S.; Belhaj Fraj, M.; McKee, M.; Jobbins, G.; Al-Karablieh, E.; Bergaoui, K.; Ghanim, A.; Lawrenson, L.; McDonnell, Rachael. 2022. MENAdrought synthesis of drought vulnerability in Jordan: final report. Project report prepared by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) for the Bureau for the Middle East of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Washington, DC, USA: USAID; Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 93p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2021.231]
Drought ; Vulnerability ; Risk management ; Impact assessment ; Action plans ; Agricultural sector ; Livestock ; Irrigated farming ; Weather hazards ; Coping strategies ; Water resources ; Water supply ; Surface water ; Groundwater ; Water management ; Water stress ; Resilience ; Water extraction ; Water scarcity ; Climate change ; Policies ; Communities ; Farmers ; Smallholders ; Food security ; Women ; Labour ; Households ; Poverty ; Livelihoods ; Refugees ; Migration ; Employment ; Stakeholders ; Governmental organizations ; Finance ; Debt ; Case studies / Middle East / Jordan / Azraq
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051017)
(3.04 MB)
11 Fragaszy, S.; Belhaj Fraj, M.; McKee, M.; Jobbins, G.; Fayad, A.; Fakih, M.; Lawrenson, L.; McDonnell, Rachael. 2022. MENAdrought synthesis of drought vulnerability in Lebanon: final report. Project report prepared by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) for the Bureau for the Middle East of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Washington, DC, USA: USAID; Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 67p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2022.205]
Drought ; Vulnerability ; Risk management ; Impact assessment ; Policies ; Planning ; Coping strategies ; Risk reduction ; Monitoring ; Weather hazards ; Climate change ; Water resources ; Water management ; Water availability ; Agricultural sector ; Water supply ; Water use ; Irrigation ; Infrastructure ; Groundwater ; Water scarcity ; Stakeholders ; State intervention ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Market access ; Finance ; Debt ; Political aspects ; Socioeconomic impact ; Livelihoods ; Rural communities ; Food security ; Refugees ; Women ; Labour ; Case studies / Middle East / Lebanon / Hermel / Bekaa / Litani Basin / Orontes Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051018)
(2.79 MB)
12 Dalstein, F.; Naqvi, A. 2022. 21st century water withdrawal decoupling: a pathway to a more water-wise world? Water Resources and Economics, 38:100197. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wre.2022.100197]
Water extraction ; Trends ; Forecasting ; Water scarcity ; Drought stress ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Water resources ; Population growth ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Economic growth ; Water use ; Indicators ; Income ; Coping strategies
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051110)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212428422000056/pdfft?md5=46a57a1ce071a65c6b89889163df861f&pid=1-s2.0-S2212428422000056-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051110.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051110.pdf
(2.56 MB) (2.56 MB)
Human demand for adequate water resources and supplies has been and will continue to be a fundamental issue in the 21st century due to rapid population growth, growing economies and globalization, and increasing water pollution, among others. Water withdrawals in regions which are already encountering scarcity will impose intensifying pressure on water resources locally and globally, threatening the achievement of long-term sustainable development targets. Decoupling has increasingly been recognized and incorporated in policy making as a way to reconcile limitless economic growth with environmental pressures. Filling evident literature gaps, the current state and projected future decoupling factors of water withdrawals in relation to GDP are assessed through decoupling and regression analyzes for 155 countries and 12 potential socioeconomic development pathway scenarios. Findings suggest that average levels of water withdrawal decoupling are moderate in 2025 but will increase throughout the century in all countries. By 2075, average water withdrawal decoupling becomes common and widespread, with high decoupling factors across the world. Yet, some countries and regions will continue to lag behind in this development. GDP growth is the most significant driver of water withdrawals. Climate and regional differences among countries are major influential factors on decoupling outcomes, more so than current country-level income group classification. Altogether, these results are of high significance to water resource managers and policy actors, offering a chance to act proactively to change the course on global water resource and country-specific development. In this way, decoupling provides a pathway to a more water-wise world.
13 Goswami, T.; Ghosal, S. 2022. From rice fields to brackish water farms: changing livelihoods in agrarian coastal Bengal, India. Asia-Pacifc Journal of Regional Science, 6(2):453-484. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41685-022-00229-8]
Inland fisheries ; Brackish water ; Agriculture ; Rice ; Aquaculture ; Coastal areas ; Sustainable livelihoods ; Vulnerability ; Shrimp culture ; Land use ; Farmland ; Remote sensing ; Geographical information systems ; Coping strategies ; Economic aspects ; Villages ; Households / India / West Bengal / Medinipur / Bhagwanpur
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051145)
(2.90 MB)
The present study attempted to understand the dimensions of changing agrarian livelihoods because of haphazard adaptation of capitalistic shrimp aquaculture. Specifically, using multi-temporal Google-based geodatabase, we quantified the artificial conversion of agrarian landscape in an inland freshwater region of coastal Bengal. Further, we examined the long-term viability of transformed livelihoods by adopting a modified version of the Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA). The assessment of changing livelihoods was based on empirical information acquired through field surveys, focus group discussion (FGD) and key informant interviews (KII). Results from the geostatistical analysis depicted that the shrimp culture in the research area was very recent. In 2010, only 0.03 percent of the total area was occupied by shrimp ponds. However, within a decade and an expansion rate of 18 percent/annum, the conversion spread to 1/3 of the total study area. The findings also clarified that the adaptation of shrimp cultivation increased the overall profit by 6400 USD/ha/year over agricultural output, and resulted in a quick rise in the standard of living for the shrimp farmers. However, in the long run, due to decreasing productivity and salinization of the surrounding land, the conversion resulted in massive depeasantization, augmentation of wasteland, and biased wealth accumulation led to a wide rich-poor gap. Therefore, the entire ecosystem will suffer in the near future, if the local government does not strictly impose Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
14 Hlahla, S.; Simatele, M. D.; Hill, T.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe. 2022. Climate–urban nexus: a study of vulnerable women in urban areas of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Weather, Climate, and Society, 14(3):933-948. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-20-0180.1]
Climate variability ; Urban areas ; Nexus approaches ; Vulnerability ; Women ; Climate change adaptation ; Policies ; Coping strategies ; Resilience ; Gender mainstreaming ; Gender equality ; Decision making ; Marginalization ; Communities ; Livelihoods ; Households ; Socioeconomic aspects / South Africa / KwaZulu-Natal / Pietermaritzburg
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051371)
https://journals.ametsoc.org/downloadpdf/journals/wcas/14/3/WCAS-D-20-0180.1.xml
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051371.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051371.pdf
(1.28 MB) (1.28 MB)
The changes in climatic conditions and their associated impacts are contributing to a worsening of existing gender inequalities and a heightening of women’s socioeconomic vulnerabilities in South Africa. Using data collected by research methods inspired by the tradition of participatory appraisals, we systematically discuss the impacts of climate change on marginalized women and the ways in which they are actively responding to climate challenges and building their adaptive capacity and resilience in the urban areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We argue that changes in climate have both direct and indirect negative impacts on women’s livelihoods and well-being. Less than one-half (37%) of the women reported implementing locally developed coping mechanisms to minimize the impacts of climate-related events, whereas 63% reported lacking any form of formal safety nets to deploy and reduce the impacts of climate-induced shocks and stresses. The lack of proactive and gender-sensitive local climate change policies and strategies creates socioeconomic and political barriers that limit the meaningful participation of women in issues that affect them and marginalize them in the climate change discourses and decision-making processes, thereby hampering their efforts to adapt and reduce existing vulnerabilities. Thus, we advocate for the creation of an enabling environment to develop and adopt progendered, cost-effective, transformative, and sustainable climate change policies and adaptation strategies that are responsive to the needs of vulnerable groups (women) of people in society. This will serve to build their adaptive capacity and resilience to climate variability and climate change–related risks and hazards.
15 Mianabadi, A.; Davary, K.; Kolahi, M.; Fisher, J. 2021. Water/climate nexus environmental rural-urban migration and coping strategies. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 65(5):852-876. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2021.1915259]
Water resources ; Climate change ; Nexus approaches ; Rural urban migration ; Coping strategies ; Land degradation ; Environmental degradation ; Resilience ; Communities ; Villages ; Towns ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Policies / Iran / Sistan / Mashhad / Hirmand River Basin / Lake Hamoun
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051327)
(1.27 MB)
Rural-urban migration is a challenging issue for communities, and is influenced by interactions between numerous push and pull factors. To better understand the interacting drivers of rural-urban migration, the study investigates the factors which influence migration from rural areas in Sistan to Mashhad city in Iran. The investigation was conducted using questionnaires and deep interviews. The results show that the main reason for migration from Sistan to Mashhad is environmental degradation including drought and water scarcity, followed by economic and government operational plans for supporting rural people. However, some people stay in Sistan in spite of the current unpleasant environmental and economic conditions. The results demonstrated cultural and social factors as the main motivations for people remaining in villages. Since the factors could be more challenging under future global warming, adaptive participatory governance is needed to link civil society, authorities, scientists, and the land to develop nature-based and rural-urban migration solutions.
16 Walker, S. E.; Bruyere, B. L.; Solomon, J. N.; Powlen, K. A.; Yasin, A.; Lenaiyasa, E.; Lolemu, A. 2022. Pastoral coping and adaptation climate change strategies: implications for women's well-being. Journal of Arid Environments, 197:104656. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021.104656]
Climate change adaptation ; Coping strategies ; Gender ; Women ; Pastoralists ; Livelihood ; Pastoralism ; Rangelands ; Semiarid zones ; Vulnerability ; Climate resilience ; Communities ; Livestock ; Households ; Food security ; Indicators / East Africa / Kenya / Samburu
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051405)
(0.53 MB)
Pastoral women in the semi-arid rangelands of East Africa are significantly burdened by the vulnerability to and responsibility for responding to changing climates. Consequently, understanding how adaptation and coping strategies impact pastoral women's well-being is critical for supporting the climate resilience of communities and the landscapes on which they rely. We used a household survey, guided by a multi-dimensional framework of well-being, to investigate how the use of drought-related coping and adaptation strategies by Samburu households influenced livestock loss and women's well-being in northern Kenya. Coping and adaptation strategies predicted numerous social-cognitive components of well-being, although not livestock loss. We conjecture these results are a product of a gendered division of labor within households and the community. We argue that interventions aimed at supporting drought resilience must consider the gendered implications of climate response strategies, multiple indicators for evaluation, and the influence of community and place.
17 Jellason, N. P.; Salite, D.; Conway, J. S.; Ogbaga, C. C. 2022. A systematic review of smallholder farmers’ climate change adaptation and enabling conditions for knowledge integration in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) drylands. Environmental Development, 43:100733. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2022.100733]
Climate change adaptation ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Coping strategies ; Climate resilience ; Dry lands ; Participatory approaches ; Policies ; Livelihoods ; Livestock / Africa South of Sahara
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051413)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211464522000355/pdfft?md5=9b1e2c0d0daf03959f0e769b42533b91&pid=1-s2.0-S2211464522000355-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051413.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051413.pdf
(2.57 MB) (2.57 MB)
Adaptation is important in drylands to enhance the climate change resilience of inhabitants who depend on the environment for their livelihoods. Dryland farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have shown the ability to adapt to a changing climate in the past. However, anthropogenic climate change is leading to a more rapidly changing environment that will surpass farmers' previous experiences and capacity, making it harder for them to adapt. This systematic review of empirical studies of farmers’ adaptation in SSA drylands from 1990 to 2021 shows that farmers have used an array of strategies to respond to changes in their environment and climate based on local and scientific knowledge. Although both types of knowledge have their effectiveness, they also have gaps and challenges. Thus, there is growing evidence that farmers are integrating the two knowledge types to help them close the gaps in their knowledge and increase the effectiveness of adaptation strategies implemented. The review further reveals the existence of various enabling conditions for knowledge integration such as stakeholder engagement and buy-in, continuous learning and improvements, access to extension, and government, scientific and policy support. Other enabling conditions are the role of different institutions, market access, identification of existing practices, equitable access to natural resources, enforceable property rights and consistency of practices.
18 Mitheu, F.; Petty, C.; Tarnavsky, E.; Stephens, E.; Ciampi, L.; Butsatsa, J.; Cornforth, R. 2022. Identifying the barriers and opportunities in the provision and use of weather and climate information for flood risk preparedness: the case of Katakwi District, Uganda. Frontiers in Climate, 4:908662. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.908662]
Flooding ; Disaster preparedness ; Disaster risk management ; Weather data ; Climate services ; Information services ; Coping strategies ; Resilience ; Vulnerability ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Communities ; Institutions / Uganda / Katakwi
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051460)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fclim.2022.908662/pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051460.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051460.pdf
(1.73 MB) (1.73 MB)
The provision of weather and climate information (WCI) can help the most at-risk communities cope and adapt to the impacts of extreme events. While significant progress has been made in ensuring improved availability of WCI, there remain obstacles that hinder the accessibility and use of this information for adaptation planning. Attention has now focused on the “usability gap” to ensure useful and usable WCI informs practise. Less attention has however been directed on barriers to the active production and use of WCI. In this study, we combine two frameworks through a bottom-up approach to present a more coordinated institutional response that would be required to ensure a better flow of information from information providers to users at community level and vice versa. The bottom-up approach was designed in form of Farmers Agri-Met Village Advisory Clinics (FAMVACs) and Listening Groups (LG) and was initiated by Uganda Meteorological Authority (UNMA) as a way of ensuring connections between the information providers, the disseminators, and the communities to specifically give voice to the communities to provide feedback on the use of WCI in coping with flood risks. This approach is used to identify the barriers and opportunities in the production/provision and use of WCI for flood risk preparedness for a case study in Eastern Uganda. First, a use-case is developed for Katakwi District where smallholder farming communities have recorded their coping practises and barriers to the use of WCI in practise. Second, online interviews with practitioners from disaster management institutions are used to identify barriers to the production and provision of WCI to local farming communities. Findings show that for providers, barriers such as accessibility and completeness of data hinder the production of useful WCI. In situations where useful information is available, technical language used in the format and timeliness in dissemination hinder usability by local farmers. Useful and usable WCI may not be acted on in practise due to factors such as costs or market availability e.g., lack of access to improved seeds. Further, the study highlights possible solutions to bridge the identified gaps and they include capacity building, fostering data collaborations across sectors, data translation to simple advisories, among others. The study also presents the FAMVACs approach which shows the importance of a more coordinated response with a shift of focus from the users of information only, to a more inclusive understanding of the data and information gaps across the wider provider-user landscapes. We argue that this would contribute to more effective disaster management at both the national and local levels.
19 Michalscheck, Mirja; Kizito, F.; Kotu, B. H.; Avornyo, F. K.; Timler, C.; Groot, J. C. J. 2023. Preparing for, coping with and bouncing back after shocks. A nuanced resilience assessment for smallholder farms and farmers in northern Ghana. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 21(1):2241283. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2023.2241283]
Sustainable intensification ; Vulnerability ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Resilience ; Coping strategies ; Economic shock ; Climate change ; Drought ; Crops ; Fall armyworms ; Labour shortage ; Risk reduction ; Technology ; Farm models ; Soil organic matter ; Gender ; Livestock ; Profit / Ghana / Duko
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052161)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/14735903.2023.2241283?needAccess=true&role=button
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052161.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052161.pdf
(5.29 MB) (5.29 MB)
Smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana regularly face shocks, challenging the sustainability of their farms and livelihoods. Different farm households and household members may be differently affected and respond with different coping strategies. We combined whole-farm modelling and farmer consultations to investigate the vulnerability, buffer and adaptive capacity of three farm types in Northern Ghana towards severe climate, economic and social shocks. We further assessed intrahousehold differences in respective risk mitigation and coping strategies. Our model results indicate that the drought shock would most severely affect all farm types, drastically reducing their operating profits and soil organic matter balance. The medium resource endowed farm was most affected by shocks, but all farm types could enhance their capacity to recover by adopting technology packages for sustainable intensification. Gendered coping strategies included livestock sales, post-harvest storage, activating social networks, rice processing and the collection, processing and sales of wild nuts and fruits. Farmers reported to aim at becoming more resilient by increasing their herd size and expanding their farmland, thereby risking to increase rather than reduce the pressure on natural resources. New questions arise concerning the carrying capacity of local ecosystems and resilience at community and landscape level.
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