scholarly journals Livelihood Assets and Activities in Two East Coast Communities of Zanzibar and Implications for Vulnerability to Climate Change and Non-Climate Risks

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 205
Author(s):  
Makame Omar Makame ◽  
Layla Ali Salum ◽  
Richard Y. M. Kangalawe
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Sustainable Livelihood ◽  
Community Assets ◽  
Climate Risks ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Livelihood Capitals

Climate variability related events such as drought and associated food shortages are not new along the coast of Zanzibar, but are projected to increase with the impacts of global climate change. This paper examines the ‘internal’ characteristics that make Zanzibar’s coastal communities vulnerable to these and other changes, focusing on the factors that affect adaptive capacity (i.e. household and community assets) and sensitivity (i.e. livelihood activities and diversification). The sustainable livelihood approach and framework, especially the five capitals or assets, provided a lens to examine households’ capital stocks and the factors influencing access to these, as well as the outcomes for livelihood activities. Access to different capitals and assets were found to affect the range and choices of livelihood activities available to households as well as their ability to cope and adapt to existing and new risk. Our analysis shows how households on the drier and harsher east coast of the Zanzibar islands are particularly sensitive to climate variability and change in concert with other livelihoods challenges. This is primarily due to their high dependence on natural-resource based livelihood activities, which are already facing pressures. Moreover, low levels of most livelihood capitals limit the choices households have and undermine their adaptive capacity and ability to bounce back from climate and other shocks and stressors.

Vulnerability to Climate Change

2017 ◽  
pp. 1393-1416
Author(s):  
Sibananda Senapati ◽  
Vijaya Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Sustainable Livelihood ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Fishing Villages ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Vulnerability Indicators ◽  
Sustainable Livelihood Approach ◽  
The City

This paper is based on a detail review of literature available in the area of climate change, vulnerability and impact assessment. Methodological issues pertaining to vulnerability like; development of vulnerability indicators, process of indicator selection etc are the main focus in this paper. As discussed indicators are more acceptable, easy to understand and help in comparing across regions. However, indicators also possess a number of limitations. There are issues in selecting indicators and how to aggregate their values. The current study tries to overcome those issues through a primary study. The study region is Mumbai, India and ‘Koli' fishing communities reside in the city. The socio-economic implications of climate change and vulnerability of communities depending on fishery are estimated by developing vulnerability indicators using Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA), and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Further experts opinions are considered while selecting indicators. Vulnerability indicators are derived from literature and validated through experts' opinion. Experts are chosen from higher learning institutes in the city. In the climate change literature vulnerability mainly divided into exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. The indicators of sensitivity and exposure under vulnerability are combined here and categorized into two: livelihood and perceived changes. Similarly the indicators of adaptive capacity are of five categories comprising human, physical, financial, social and government policy related indicators. Thus a total 30 indicators are selected. Among five fishing villages surveyed, fishermen from Madh and Worli are found more vulnerable because of their high sensitivity and low adaptive capacity. The derived vulnerability scores are further compared and analyzed against the scores derived from experts. The overall result shows the experts value of indicators are similar with the indicator score derived in the study using simple aggregate method. This study further provides policy implications for reducing vulnerability of fishing villages.

scholarly journals Communities’ Livelihood Vulnerability to Climate Variability in Ethiopia

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 6302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misganaw Teshager Abeje ◽  
Atsushi Tsunekawa ◽  
Nigussie Haregeweyn ◽  
Zerihun Nigussie ◽  
Enyew Adgo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Kendall Test ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Relative Difference ◽  
Sustainable Livelihood

Ethiopia has experienced more than 10 major drought episodes since the 1970s. Evidence has shown that climate change exacerbates the situation and presents a daunting challenge to predominantly rain-fed agricultural livelihoods. The aim of this study was to analyze the extent and sources of smallholder famers’ livelihood vulnerability to climate change/variability in the Upper Blue Nile basin. We conducted a household survey (n = 391) across three distinct agroecological communities and a formative composite index of livelihood vulnerability (LVI) was constructed. The Mann–Kendall test and the standard precipitation index (SPI) were employed to analyze trends of rainfall, temperature, and drought prevalence for the period from 1982 to 2016. The communities across watersheds showed a relative difference in the overall livelihood vulnerability index. Aba Gerima (midland) was found to be more vulnerable, with a score of 0.37, while Guder (highland) had a relatively lower LVI with a 0.34 index score. Given similar exposure to climate variability and drought episodes, communities’ livelihood vulnerability was mainly attributed to their low adaptive capacity and higher sensitivity indicators. Adaptive capacity was largely constrained by a lack of participation in community-based organizations and a lack of income diversification. This study will have practical implications for policy development in heterogeneous agroecological regions for sustainable livelihood development and climate change adaptation programs.

Vulnerability to Climate Change

2016 ◽  
pp. 82-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibananda Senapati ◽  
Vijaya Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Sustainable Livelihood ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Fishing Villages ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Vulnerability Indicators ◽  
Sustainable Livelihood Approach ◽  
The City

This paper is based on a detail review of literature available in the area of climate change, vulnerability and impact assessment. Methodological issues pertaining to vulnerability like; development of vulnerability indicators, process of indicator selection etc are the main focus in this paper. As discussed indicators are more acceptable, easy to understand and help in comparing across regions. However, indicators also possess a number of limitations. There are issues in selecting indicators and how to aggregate their values. The current study tries to overcome those issues through a primary study. The study region is Mumbai, India and ‘Koli' fishing communities reside in the city. The socio-economic implications of climate change and vulnerability of communities depending on fishery are estimated by developing vulnerability indicators using Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA), and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Further experts opinions are considered while selecting indicators. Vulnerability indicators are derived from literature and validated through experts' opinion. Experts are chosen from higher learning institutes in the city. In the climate change literature vulnerability mainly divided into exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. The indicators of sensitivity and exposure under vulnerability are combined here and categorized into two: livelihood and perceived changes. Similarly the indicators of adaptive capacity are of five categories comprising human, physical, financial, social and government policy related indicators. Thus a total 30 indicators are selected. Among five fishing villages surveyed, fishermen from Madh and Worli are found more vulnerable because of their high sensitivity and low adaptive capacity. The derived vulnerability scores are further compared and analyzed against the scores derived from experts. The overall result shows the experts value of indicators are similar with the indicator score derived in the study using simple aggregate method. This study further provides policy implications for reducing vulnerability of fishing villages.

scholarly journals Measuring urban vulnerability to climate change using an integrated approach, assessing climate risks in Beijing

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingshun Zhang ◽  
Zelu Liu ◽  
Meine Pieter van Dijk
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Climate Risks ◽  
Urban Vulnerability ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Holistic Understanding

This study is responding to the recommendation made by IPCC’s fifth Assessment Report on establishing a standard for measuring and reporting climate risk and vulnerability. It exemplifies the assessment of urban vulnerability to climate change by an integrated approach. The results indicate that Beijing is highly exposed to multiple climate threats in the context of global climate change, specifically urban heat waves, urban drainage floods and drought. Vulnerabilities to the climatic threats of heat waves, drainage floods and droughts have increased by 5%–15% during the period of 2008–2016 in Beijing. High vulnerabilities to both heat waves and drainage floods have been observed in the urban downtown area and high vulnerability to droughts have been observed in the outskirts. This vulnerability assessment, which addressed climatic threats, provides a holistic understanding of the susceptibility to climate change that could facilitate adaptation to climate change in the future. The developments of threats like flooding, heat waves and droughts are analyzed separately for 16 districts and an integrated vulnerability index for all of Beijing is provided as well.

scholarly journals Future climate change vulnerability of endemic island mammals

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Leclerc ◽  
Franck Courchamp ◽  
Céline Bellard
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Vulnerability ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Insular Ecosystems

Abstract Despite their high vulnerability, insular ecosystems have been largely ignored in climate change assessments, and when they are investigated, studies tend to focus on exposure to threats instead of vulnerability. The present study examines climate change vulnerability of islands, focusing on endemic mammals and by 2050 (RCPs 6.0 and 8.5), using trait-based and quantitative-vulnerability frameworks that take into account exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Our results suggest that all islands and archipelagos show a certain level of vulnerability to future climate change, that is typically more important in Pacific Ocean ones. Among the drivers of vulnerability to climate change, exposure was rarely the main one and did not explain the pattern of vulnerability. In addition, endemic mammals with long generation lengths and high dietary specializations are predicted to be the most vulnerable to climate change. Our findings highlight the importance of exploring islands vulnerability to identify the highest climate change impacts and to avoid the extinction of unique biodiversity.

scholarly journals Testing Farmers’ Perception of Climate Variability: A Case Study from Kirtipur of Kathmandu Valley

2012 ◽  
pp. 30-34
Author(s):  
Jiban Mani Poudel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Kathmandu Valley ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Climate Fluctuations ◽  
Global And Local

In the 21st century, global climate change has become a public and political discourse. However, there is still a wide gap between global and local perspectives. The global perspective focuses on climate fluctuations that affect the larger region; and their analysis is based on long-term records over centuries and millennium. By comparison, local peoples’ perspectives vary locally, and local analyses are limited to a few days, years, decades and generations only. This paper examines how farmers in Kirtipur of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, understand climate variability in their surroundings. The researcher has used a cognized model to understand farmers’ perception on weather fluctuations and climate change. The researcher has documented several eyewitness accounts of farmers about weather fluctuations which they have been observing in a lifetime. The researcher has also used rainfall data from 1970-2009 to test the accuracy of perceptions. Unlike meteorological analyses, farmers recall and their understanding of climatic variability by weather-crop interaction, and events associating with climatic fluctuations and perceptions are shaped by both physical visibility and cultural frame or belief system.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v11i1.7200 Hydro Nepal Special Issue: Conference Proceedings 2012 pp.30-34

Alternative scenarios for the future of the Canadian boreal zone1

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W.N. Steenberg ◽  
Peter N. Duinker ◽  
Irena F. Creed ◽  
Jacqueline N. Serran ◽  
Camille Ouellet Dallaire
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Boreal Zone ◽  
Low Carbon Economy ◽  
Carbon Economy

In response to global climate change, Canada is transitioning towards a low-carbon economy and the need for policy approaches that are effective, equitable, coordinated, and both administratively and politically feasible is high. One point is clear; the transition is intimately tied to the vast supply of ecosystem services in the boreal zone of Canada. This paper describes four contrasting futures for the boreal zone using scenario analysis, which is a transdisciplinary, participatory approach that considers alternative futures and policy implications under conditions of high uncertainty and complexity. The two critical forces shaping the four scenarios are the global economy’s energy and society’s capacity to adapt. The six drivers of change are atmospheric change, the demand for provisioning ecosystem services, the demand for nonprovisioning ecosystem services, demographics, and social values, governance and geopolitics, and industrial innovation and infrastructure. The four scenarios include: (i) the Green Path, where a low-carbon economy is coupled with high adaptive capacity; (ii) the Uphill Climb, where a low-carbon economy is instead coupled with low adaptive capacity; (iii) the Carpool Lane, where society has a strong capacity to adapt but a reliance on fossil fuels; and (iv) the Slippery Slope, where there is both a high-carbon economy and a society with low adaptive capacity. The scenarios illustrate the importance of transitioning to a low-carbon economy and the role of society’s adaptive capacity in doing so. However, they also emphasize themes like social inequality and adverse environmental outcomes arising from the push towards climate change mitigation.

scholarly journals An Assessment of Vulnerability of Fishers’ Livelihood to Climate Change in Coastal Odisha

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sambit Priyadarshi ◽  
S. N. Ojha ◽  
Arpita Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
The State ◽  
Context Specificity ◽  
East Coast Of India ◽  
Index Approach ◽  
Vulnerability Score

A study was conducted in Odisha, a state on the east coast of India, with the objective of assessing the vulnerability of fishers’ livelihood to climate change. The state was chosen for study since it is considered as one of the most vulnerable states due to climate change. A total of 120 fishers were interviewed from two districts, Balasore and Ganjam, to assess their livelihood vulnerability by considering their exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity to climate change. A composite livelihood vulnerability index by suggesting that fishers are vulnerable to climate change. For fishers of + 0.03 and for Ganjam it was 0.5 minima 0, and maxima 1 was used for the purpose. Baleswar the score was 0.56 0.04, s. The aggregated vulnerability score was found to be 0.54+The composite livelihood vulnerability index approach calculates vulnerability by aggregating data for a set of indicators for the components of vulnerability which include exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity + 0.04. Vulnerability score was relatively higher in Baleswar due to higher scores on the exposure and sensitivity parameters overshadowing the higher adaptive capacity. The study shows evidence that marine fishers of Odisha are vulnerable to climate change. Also, it throws light on the location and context specificity of livelihood vulnerability.

scholarly journals Juxtaposing Farmers’ Suicides and Climate Change Vulnerability: An Empirical Analysis of Indian States

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-79
Author(s):  
Sridevi Gummadi ◽  
Amalendu Jyotishi ◽  
G Jagadeesh
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Indian States ◽  
Climate Change Vulnerability ◽  
Climate Risks ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Comprehensive Study

India’s overall ranking on the Global Climate Risk Index has been deteriorating in recent years, making it more vulnerable to climate risks. It has been indicated in the literature that climate change is also associated with agrarian distress. However, empirical analyses are scanty on this, especially in the Indian context. In this analytical exercise, we tried to explore the association between farmers’ suicides and climate change vulnerability across Indian states. Using data from various sources, we arrive at an Agrarian Vulnerability Index and juxtaposed that with farmers’ suicide data between 1996 to 2015 collected from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). We noted a strong association between climate change vulnerability and farmers’ suicides. The essence of this analysis is to indicate and understand the broad trends and associations. This research, in the process, informs and presses for a systematic, more comprehensive study with an agenda at micro and meso levels to understand the nuances of this association. Submitted: 01 November 2020; Revised: 11 January 2021; Accepted: 29 April 2021

Climate Variability in the Context of Climate Change: El Niño and Other Oscillations

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Rosenzweig ◽  
Daniel Hillel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Climate System ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Earth’S Climate

The climate system envelops our planet, with swirling fluxes of mass, momentum, and energy through air, water, and land. Its processes are partly regular and partly chaotic. The regularity of diurnal and seasonal fluctuations in these processes is well understood. Recently, there has been significant progress in understanding some of the mechanisms that induce deviations from that regularity in many parts of the globe. These mechanisms include a set of combined oceanic–atmospheric phenomena with quasi-regular manifestations. The largest of these is centered in the Pacific Ocean and is known as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. The term “oscillation” refers to a shifting pattern of atmospheric pressure gradients that has distinct manifestations in its alternating phases. In the Arctic and North Atlantic regions, the occurrence of somewhat analogous but less regular interactions known as the Arctic Oscillation and its offshoot, the North Atlantic Oscillation, are also being studied. These and other major oscillations influence climate patterns in many parts of the globe. Examples of other large-scale interactive ocean–atmosphere– land processes are the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, the Madden-Julian Oscillation, the Pacific/North American pattern, the Tropical Atlantic Variability, the West Pacific pattern, the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, and the Indian Ocean Dipole. In this chapter we review the earth’s climate system in general, define climate variability, and describe the processes related to ENSO and the other major systems and their interactions. We then consider the possible connections of the major climate variability systems to anthropogenic global climate change. The climate system consists of a series of fluxes and transformations of energy (radiation, sensible and latent heat, and momentum), as well as transports and changes in the state of matter (air, water, solid matter, and biota) as conveyed and influenced by the atmosphere, the ocean, and the land masses. Acting like a giant engine, this dynamic system is driven by the infusion, transformation, and redistribution of energy.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document