scholarly journals Climate change and small-scale agriculture in Africa: does indigenous knowledge matter? Insights from Kenya and South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. e00821
Author(s):  
Amos Apraku ◽  
John F. Morton ◽  
Benjamin Apraku-Gyampoh
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Small Scale

The Role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Rural Smallholder Farmers’ Response to Climate Change: Case Study of Nkomazi Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-284
Author(s):  
Nomcebo R. Ubisi ◽  
Unathi Kolanisi ◽  
Obert Jiri
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Climate Indicators ◽  
Local Municipality ◽  
Droughts And Floods ◽  
Negative Impacts

Climate change and variability have direct negative impacts on rural smallholder farmers. These impacts involve extreme climatic events such as excessive temperatures, prolonged droughts and floods which affect people’s livelihoods. This study was conducted in Nkomazi Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, South Africa. The main objective of the study was to investigate indigenous weather and climate indicators used by smallholder farmers and the role of indigenous knowledge in their farming systems. The research used qualitative methods, including focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The findings indicated that farmers observed animal behaviour, plants, atmospheric indicators and human ailments to predict weather.

scholarly journals Assessing South Africa’s Potential to Address Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in the Fisheries Sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Ortega-Cisneros ◽  
Kevern L. Cochrane ◽  
Nina Rivers ◽  
Warwick H. H. Sauer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Marine Fisheries ◽  
Address Climate Change

The marine fisheries sector is one of the most important income sectors in South Africa and plays an important role in food security for small-scale and subsistence fishers. Climate-driven impacts have resulted in distribution shifts and declines in abundance of important fisheries targets, with negative consequences to the users dependent on these resources. The sustainability of the sector depends on its readiness to adapt to climate change. The inclusion of climate change impacts and adaptation in fisheries management documents in South Africa is essential to ensure adequate climate adaptation responses are implemented at the short- and long-term. This study aims to 1) determine if the relevant fisheries national management documents address climate change and adaptation, 2) determine if the relevant national climate change documents address climate change and adaptation in the fisheries sector and 3) evaluate the extent to which fisheries management documents address climate change and adaptation. A content analysis of fisheries management and climate change documents was carried out to determine if they incorporated information on climate change impacts and adaptation and marine fisheries respectively. Fisheries management documents were then screened against nine pre-determined criteria (or themes) based on climate change adaptation to determine the level of inclusion of best practice for climate change adaptation. Results indicate that climate change impacts and adaptation are rarely incorporated in the main fisheries management documents, except for the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Plan for the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors. However, this document is still waiting to be adopted. The only direct reference identified in all the fisheries documents that supports climate change adaptation was ‘conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity’. With regards to indirect references to climate change adaptation, ‘equity,’ ‘participatory management,’ and ‘capacity building’ were most frequently incorporated in fisheries management documents. There is a need to explicitly incorporate information on climate change impacts and adaptation in South African fisheries management documents and increase the human and financial capacity at national institutions to ensure that the fisheries sector can adequately adapt to climate change.

scholarly journals Sustainability, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation: Building from the Bottom Up – A South African Perspective from the Small-scale Fisheries Sector

2021 ◽  
pp. 151-181
Author(s):  
Merle Sowman ◽  
Xavier Rebelo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
National Level ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
The Face ◽  
Government Planning ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Policy Alignment

AbstractThis chapter explores the vulnerability context of coastal fishing communities, including the various factors that shape their capacity to cope with and adapt in the face of poverty and increasing threats associated with climate change and natural and human-induced disasters through the lens of small-scale fisheries (SSFs) in South Africa. South Africa has developed a suite of policies, strategies and laws to deal with commitments to sustainable development and address and manage climate change challenges and disaster risks. These national policies, however, are not well aligned or implemented in a coordinated and integrated manner. Nor are they attuned to the realities facing local communities. This chapter reports on work in coastal communities in South Africa that reveals the lack of policy alignment and limited coordination across government departments at all levels charged with oversight responsibilities for these endeavours. Findings suggest that incorporating local knowledge into local development and sector plans, as well as into sustainable development and sector-specific policies, strategies and plans at the national level, would enhance understanding of the realities on the ground and lead to policies, strategies and plans that are more harmonised and more likely to be supported and implemented. How this knowledge gets integrated both vertically and horizontally into formal government planning and decision-making processes, however, and leads to implementation of projects and plans that yield tangible results, remains a challenge.

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