Little research has been carried out on climate change in zimbabwe over the past 5 years. The impacts of climate change in zimbabwe are likely to stall the countryys development, pose a serious risk to food security and adaptive capacity. The project, coping with drought and climate change in zimbabwe, worked to enhance the capacity of agricultural and pastoral communities in zimbabwe to adapt to climate variability and change. Climate change and variability have resulted in a shift in the rainfall patterns in many parts of the world.
An assessment of community vulnerability to climate change in the lupane district of matabeleland north, zimbabwe thomas p. Climate variability, adaptation strategies and food. Per capita water availability is forecast to fall by as much as 38 percent by 2050, even under a low population growth rate. Coping with drought and climate change cwdcc in zimbabwe. Climate change is inevitably resulting in changes in climate variability and in the frequency, intensity, spatial extent, duration, and timing of extreme weather and climate events.
The impacts of climate change in zimbabwe are likely to stall the countrys development, pose a serious risk to food security and adaptive. Understanding adaptation to climate variability in. The effects of climate change and variability on food security in. Subsaharan africa has been portrayed as the most vulnerable region to the impacts of global climate change because of its reliance on agriculture which is highly sensitive to weather and climate variables such as temperature, precipitation, and light and extreme events and low capacity for adaptation. According to the meteorological services of zimbabwe, since 1987 the country has experienced its six warmest years on. In the process of trying to overcome the new threats, the region also creates opportunities for new development 10. Climate change i climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in zimbabwe i iied climate change working paper no. Climate change, vulnerablity and adapatation in zimbabwe. Mandated at least every four years by the global change research act of 1990, the u.
The study aimed to show the climate change scenarios and explore possible opportunities that could be. The last three decades in zimbabwe have seen increased variability in the seasonal distribution of rainfall, an increase in day. Any part of this manual may be freely reproduced as long as the meaning of the text. Climate change, variability and sustainable agriculture in.
A questionnaire survey was carried out in southeastern zimbabwe to capture the views and perceptions of regions households on issues of climate change and variability. Climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in zimbabwe. Chipindu3 department of land and water resources, midlands state university, p. Climate variability and climate change 8 effects of global warming on the climate system 8 acclimatization, adaptation and mitigation 8 climate change and food security 9 agriculture, climate and food security 9 food security and climate change. Zimbabwe has not been spared of these drastic changes in the rainfall pattern. Research on the impacts of climate change in zimbabwe shows that the. Climate 1 zimbabwe is endowed with abundant human and natural resources, and these resources are interdependent. The effects of climate change in zimbabwe one young world. It emerged in the study that some of effects of climate variability felt by communal farmers in bikita included failure of crops, death of livestock and low crop yields, all of which have led to. This outcome is already evident in zimbabwe figure 2. Climate change, climate variability and extreme events.
Effects of climate variability and change on agricultural. Climate change and variability in southeast zimbabwe. Studies show that agriculture in zimbabwe is sensitive to climate change and significantly lower agricultural yields and reduce the plant crop growth. A lot of researches have been done on the negative impacts and challenges caused by extreme weather conditions due to climate change and variability. The study aimed to show the climate change scenarios and explore possible opportunities that could be derived from such scenarios in the southeastern region of zimbabwe. The intergovernmental panel on climate change ipcc forecasts 2050 per cent reduction in yields of staples in southern africa. Changes in climate may exacerbate preexisting socioeconomic development challenges, with. The national climate change response strategy was among the processes that sought to establish specific provisions for dealing with climate changes issues.
This study sought to understand the impact of climate change on the livelihoods of local communities, focusing on matobo district in zimbabwe. An assessment of community vulnerability to climate. Climate change has posed a serious threat on food security in developing countries in africa. Methodology a field study was conducted in two districts of zimbabwe, seke and murewa in mashonaland east province. This study reclassifies the agroecological regions natural regions of zimbabwe using soil data, meanannual rainfall and length of growing season.
This paper assesses the evidence of climate variability and change and its potential impact on the global tourist resort of victoria falls, zimbabwe. Climate, which is generally defined as average weather, is usually described in terms of the mean and variability of temperature, precipitation, and wind over a period of time. In zimbabwe research and literature on the impact of climate variability on agricultural productivity as well as the adaptation strategies devised by the rural poor is scant if not non. Climate records demonstrate that zimbabwe is already beginning to experience the effects of climate change, notably rainfall variability and extreme events. Reclassification of agroecological regions of zimbabwe. With examples from selected protected areas in southern africa, this chapter highlights studies on detected climate changes particularly rainfall and temperature, outlines the predicted and observed impacts of climate change and variability on wildlife resources in savannah. Adaptation to current or expected climate variability involves and changing climate conditions adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climate stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities ipcc 2001. Climate variability and vulnerability to climate change. Pdf climate change and variability in southeast zimbabwe. Climate change is affecting the most vulnerable in zimbabwe. Not many researches have been focused on the positive side in form of opportunities presented due to climate change.
Spatiotemporal variations of wetlands in masvingo district of zimbabwe and influences of climate change and variability. Climate change, livelihoods, semiarid regions, zimbabwe 1. Climate variability is already affecting zambia, and projected climate change impacts include rises in temperature, shifts in precipitation, and possible. Climate change, 2018, 415, 235247 publication license this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4. The primary project objective was to demonstrate and promote adoption of a range of gendersensitive approaches for adaptation to climate change among rural communities. Rainfall data from selected meteorological stations. Changes in climate variability and extremes can be visualized in relation to changes in probability distributions, shown in fig.
The impacts of climate change on food security and health. Climate change and variability national centers for. Climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in. Climate variability and change pose a significant threat to sustainable development and poverty reduction in zimbabwe. But while its strong, theres something more powerful. Communities have considerable experience in adapting to climate variability, and. An understanding of the emerging trends of climate change and its effects in local ecologies is an important starting point in addressing the negative effects of climate change. Zimbabwes national climate change response strategy. Climate change and variability pose a threat to wildlife resources in semiarid savannahs. The impacts of climate change on zimbabwe are already being felt throughout all socioeconomic sectors. The global warming of the past 50 years is primarily due to human activities, predominantly the burning of fossil fuels.
Mpofu senior lecturer, department of geography and environmental studies, zimbabwe open university. A case of charewa, mutoko a thesis submitted in fullfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy of rhodes university by sandra bhatasara january 2015 supervisor. The world bank group paper highlights how humaninduced climate change is likely to intensify natural climate variability in zimbabwe. Climate change can be used in southeastern zimbabwe as catalyst to reorient the development goals and targets of the region to those that are climate change resistant. Changing farming practices is one important means of adaptation. Whereas climate change is defined by the ipcc 2014, p. Zimbabwe was divided into five agroecological regions in the 1960s, however, the increased variability of rainfall has possibly affected the agroecological region boundaries. Research article 415, july september, 2018 climate change. Households selected to take part in the survey were randomly chosen using the arcview gis random points generator points.
Research article 415, july september, 2018 climate. The likely impacts of climate change on the vulnerability of resourcepoor smallholder farmers and livestock farmers need to be better understood, so that resilience to current climate variability as well as to the risks associated with longerterm climate change can be gauged and appropriate actions taken to increase or restore. Climate change is the most serious global challenge of our time. Observations are made from the altered rainfall, temperatures, onset and cessation of rainfall patterns, and. This has led developing countries to heavily rely on foreign aid in the form of food handouts to avert hunger. The frequency of leishmaniasis epidemics in subsaharan africa is changing, with spatial spread to periurban areas and to adjacent geographic regions, with.
Impact of climate change on food security and health in southern africa two of the most important issues impacted on by climate change described above in southern africa are food security and human health. Dorward4 1 international crop research institute for the semiarid tropics icrisat, p. This issues paper on climate change and water resources planning, development and management was prepared with support from the analytical multi donor trust fund amd tf under the flexible technical assistance for the water sector in zimbabwe managed by michael webster senior water and sanitation specialist of the world bank office in harare. We estimate the effects of climate variability and change on agricultural revenues of smallscale farmers in kenya. Impacts of climate change and climate variability on. In particular, there is a paucity of literature which attempts to disaggregate vulnerability to climate. Zimbabwe has not been spared from the effects of global warming. National climate assessment, global climate is changing and this is apparent across the united states in a wide range of observations. Pdf this book gives a brief overview of the causes of climate change and then goes into detail about the projected impacts of climate change in. In zimbabwe, tourism is a fundamental tool for development that depends on the rich natural resource base to attract international tourists. The paper examines the widespread effects of climate change and variability on food security in zimbabwe. We use a balanced panel household data set collected in 2000, 2004, 2007 and 2010 from eight agroregional zones and climate data from 1980 to 2010. Climate change and variability in subsaharan africa.
Mugandani and others published reclassification of agroecological regions of zimbabwe in conformity with climate variability. Zimbabwe, mozambique, lesotho, swaziland and south africa. Climate change and water resources planning, development. Introduction the reality of climate change is now a wellaccepted reality and there is emerging evidence that climate change. Climate is a key factor affecting the characteristics of natural physical systems. Both have a direct and essential impact on human existence. In zimbabwe research and literature on the impact of climate variability on agricultural productivity as well as the adaptation strategies devised by the rural poor is scant if not non existant.
The effects of climate change and variability on food. In zimbabwe, climate variability impacts on freshwater resources affect sustainable development for example, the reduction of poverty and child mortality. Abstract the literature on climate change in zimbabwe continues to grow, but literature specifically focusing on how people in rural communities are responding. Climate change in zimbabwe 2 in this chapter we look at the current state of people, land and economy in zimbabwe, allowing us to see how climate change will impact on these sectors later in chapter 3. The country is particularly vulnerable due to endemic poverty, limited coping capacity and a highly variable climate. Even with optimal water management, it is very likely that negative impacts on sustainable development cannot be avoided.
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