Chapters authored
Households’ Adaptation to Climate Change Hazards in Semi-Arid Region of Mopani, South Africa
New climate change realities are no longer a doubtful phenomenon, but realities to adapt and live with. Its cogent impacts and implications’ dispositions pervade all sectors and geographic scales, making no sector or geographic area immune, nor any human endeavor spared from the associated adversities. The consequences of this emerging climate order are already manifesting, with narratives written beyond the alterations in temperature and precipitation, particularly in urban areas of semi-arid region of South Africa. The need to better understand and respond to the new climate change realities is particularly acute in this region. Thus, this chapter highlights the concept of adaptation as a fundamental component of managing climate change vulnerability, through identifying and providing insight in respect of some available climate change adaptation models and how these models fit within the premises and programmes of sustainable adaptation in semi-arid region with gaps identification. The efforts of governments within the global context are examined with households’ individual adaptation strategies to climate change hazards in Mopani District. The factors hindering the success of sustainable urban climate change adaptation strategic framework and urban households’ adaptive systems are also subjects of debate and constitute the concluding remarks to the chapter.
Part of the book: Natural Hazards
Adoption of Conservation Agriculture as a Disaster Risk Reduction Tool in Chivi District, Zimbabwe
Drought tops the list of disasters affecting southern Africa. In Zimbabwe droughts recur, leaving approximately three million people food insecure. Hence the adoption of sustainable adaptation strategies to drought becomes imperative. Conservation Agriculture (CA), has been successfully adopted in southern Africa to avert drought shocks among other agricultural challenges. Despite the success of CA in some regions, its effectiveness in semi-arid parts of Zimbabwe has been widely contested. However the effectiveness of a new technology, in the face of disasters depends on its adoption, reflecting its strength and usefulness. This chapter seeks to evaluate the adoption of CA in the semi-arid Chivi District of Zimbabwe and unpack factors affecting CA adoption to provide baseline data to policy makers in Zimbabwe and other similar environments. The chapter is based on data elicited from a survey held across Chivi District in Zimbabwe.
Part of the book: Natural Hazards