The Way Forward

The different voices in this publication all speak of a common threat, climate change, and a common aim, to adapt. This section of the publication summarises the experiences of these people on the frontline of climate change and suggests ways in which changes in policy could help them.

As the many witness accounts on the previous pages have shown, the impacts of climate change on communities in Africa are harsh and are already being experienced. These impacts, caused by greenhouse gases, which have a warming effect on the Earth, are due to the actions taken over the last centuries by humans all over the world - but particularly in the more industrialised nations. The least developed countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Africa (not including South Africa) only account for 3,2% of global emissions, but these nations will be the worst affected by climate change. Over half of the world's 100 nations most vulnerable to climate change can be found in Africa.¹ It is, therefore, important to consider the stories of these individuals and communities when faced with decisions about adaptation methods as the vulnerabilities of people at a local level are often left out of these processes.

The effects of climate change can be split into two categories: environmental and socioeconomic, where many of the latter occur as a result of the former. Environmental effects include changes in rainfall patterns, increased frequency and severity of floods, droughts, storms and heat waves, changes in growing seasons and regions, changes in water quality and quantity, sea-level rise and glacial melt. These impacts touch on every part of life in the countries most affected. These environmental impacts do not have the same socio-economic consequences in every location. In Kenya, Mwikali Kiteme talks about the famine that occurred as a result of a reduction in rainfall and in Ethiopia this same impact has caused erosion in dry mountainous areas. Disease is closely linked to climate and therefore changes in the weather bring unexpected illness, which communities are not prepared to deal with, as Haisemma Dellihu from Ethiopia discussed. In Ghana, soil fertility has deteriorated as a result of heat waves leading to a reduction in agricultural productivity, which accounts for 70% of regional employment in Sub-Saharan Africa². The case studies also show numerous examples of infrastructure damage and destruction as a result of excessive rainfall, leaving communities in absolute poverty, as well as leading to a loss of animal and human life.

Of course, there are many features that make particular people or places vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Areas may be vulnerable due to the nature of the land, for example, if it is low-lying, or due to socio-economic reasons such as insufficient infrastructure, malnutrition and a lack of education. There are also some members of society who are more vulnerable than others. Poverty on an individual and community level challenges the way in which people are affected by change and disaster. The rate of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa is 50%³ and the continent has the largest prevalence of undernourishment relative to its population (32%)⁴. When this is the foundation for the impacts discussed above, it is no wonder that communities struggle to find ways in which they are able to adapt to the increasing effects of climate change. Those who are dependent on natural resources are also particularly vulnerable, especially as 90% of agriculture is based on rain-fed crops.⁵ Furthermore, slum dwellers who live on unauthorised land frequently lack infrastructure and are often settled in flood plains, leaving them prone to the worst effects of flooding.

The vulnerabilities also depend on the level of urbanisation. Africa's population is becoming increasingly urbanised, and the urban lives and livelihoods are vulnerable to different kinds of climatic changes and hazards - strongly influenced by the provision of infrastructure and services. Within rural communities, the young are more at risk from diseases and women bear a disproportionate burden in the collection of water.

The accounts in this publication show that policy-makers need a more detailed and engaged awareness of the varying and complex nature of vulnerability. Not all people are equally vulnerable, and effective adaptation responses need to take into account the specific needs of particular groups. The post-2012 agreement must more effectively support community-based adaptation as part of an effective, pro-poor global climate change response.