A presentation made during the International Training Course on climate change adaptation in agriculture and natural resource management organized by Wageningen University and Makerere University. The training course was conducted in February 2015 and it benefited participants from Asia, East, West and Southern Africa.

1. Climate Change Impacts on the
Livelihoods of the Vulnerable Groups
Prepared and presented at the International course on
Climate change adaptation in agriculture & natural resource
management, 3rd February 2015.
By Joshua Zake, Doctoral Research Fellow at University of Natural
Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
Email: joszake@gmail.com; Tel: +256773057488
Personal website: http://ug.linkedin.com/pub/joshua-zake/23/45/181

2. Outline of presentation
• Definition of selected terms
• Examples of vulnerable groups
• Impacts of climate change on vulnerable groups – some examples from
selected countries
• Discussions/interactions

3. Key definitions of selected terms in respect to climate change
• Climate is the prevailing or average weather conditions of a place as
determined by the temperature and metrological change over a
period of time. Various factors determine climate and the most
important are rainfall and temperature.
• Climate change refers to any change in climate over time, whether
due to natural causes or as a result of human activity.
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4. Key definitions of selected terms in respect to climate change
• Climate change adaptation refers to adjustments in practices, processes,
or structures to take into account changing climate conditions, to
moderate potential damages, or to benefit from opportunities associated
with climate change.
• Mitigation - refers to an intervention to reduce green house gas (GHS)
emissions or enhance GHG sinks
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5. Key definitions of selected terms in respect to climate change
Vulnerability is the extent to which a natural or social system is susceptible to
sustaining damage from climate change, determined by exposure, sensitivity
and coping capacity (as well as structural processes). Hence, it may be
biophysical or socio-economic vulnerability.
Vulnerability is a function of three factors:
Exposure
Sensitivity
Adaptive capacity

6. Key definitions of selected terms in respect to climate change
Sensitivity is the degree to which a given change in climate will lead to positive
or negative changes in a system, such as to the functions of an ecosystem or
output from a particular type of agricultural production.
Exposure — the intrinsic (age, sex, SES, ethnicity, livelihood strategies, etc.)
and extrinsic (institutions, entitlements, ...) characteristics of a population
Adaptive capacity is the potential or ability to institute adaptation; the
capacity of a system to adjust practices, processes or structures to moderate
or offset the potential damage or take advantage of opportunities created by a
given change in climate.

7. Key definitions of selected terms in respect to climate change
--The subsistence agricultural activities and natural resources directly depend on
the prevailing local climatic conditions. Thus, changes in the local climate directly
impact on the agricultural activities;
--Vulnerable groups usually have limited options for survival/adaptation when
affected by climate change impacts. Thus, they have a low climate change
adaptation capacity;
--Climate change impacts worsen their livelihoods and well-being.

8. Key definitions of selected terms in respect to climate change
Vulnerable groups
--Most vulnerable groups depend on subsistence agriculture and natural
resources for livelihood;
--They are poverty and hunger stricken;

9. Types of vulnerable groups
Vulnerability based on gender
--Males
--Females (girls and pregnant women)
--Children
--Aged/Old
--People with disabilities

10. Types of vulnerable groups
Minority and disadvantaged groups
--Indigenous peoples e.g. Batwa
--
Based on location
--Rural poor;
--Urban poor in informal settlements/slums;
--Coastal communities;
--Mountain communities;
--Arid and semi-arid communities;
…

11. Types of vulnerable groups
Livelihood options
--Smallholder farmers;
--Natural resource depend communities such as forest or wetlands
dependent/adjacent, fisher folk;
--

12. How have climate change impacts affected vulnerable groups; a case
for women
• Climate change affects various gender categories at a household level
differently. It’s therefore, important to understand how each gender category
is affected and also determine their climate adaptation and mitigation needs.
• Additionally, it requires an understanding of existing inequalities between
women and men, and of the ways in which climate change can exacerbate
these inequalities. Conversely, it also needs an understanding of the ways in
which these inequalities can intensify the impacts of climate change for all
individuals and communities.
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13. How have climate change impacts affected vulnerable groups; a case
for women
• Many studies have revealed that poor women and children are more
vulnerable to natural disasters, given socially constructed gender roles and
behaviors.
• For instance, in many communities in Uganda, women are expected and or
take up the role of tilling the land, caring for the family, caring for the sick
among other household chores. Despite this, very few women own and have
limited access to resources and decision making.
• Only about 7% of agricultural land in Uganda is owned by women, yet they
do most of the agricultural work
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14. How have climate change impacts affected vulnerable groups; a case
for women
• This therefore means that when climate change impacts strike, women have
limited options for coping and adaptation as compared to men.
• As such, women are often less able to adapt to climate change than men since
they represent the majority of low-income earners, they generally have less
education than men and are thus less likely to be reached by extension agents
and they are often denied rights to property and land, which makes it difficult
for them to access credit and agricultural extension services.
• At the household level, the failure of women to meet their gender constructed
roles amidst climate change impacts results in domestic violence and conflicts.
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15. Key Climate change impacts on Vulnerable groups
• Floods across Africa are reported to be the worst in decades in some places
and extend in an arc from Mauritania in the west to Kenya in the east. They
have affected over 17 countries in Africa including Uganda, Kenya, Ghana,
Sudan, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, Rwanda and Ethiopia among others;
• Floods displaced hundreds of people, e.g. in Uganda in 2011, 750 residents
from 404 households in Bwaise, Central Uganda were affected/displaced;
• Floods destroy infrastructure such as roads, bridges – thus limiting access of
agricultural produce to markets;
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16. Key Climate change impacts on Vulnerable groups
• Floods promote water borne diseases (cholera, malaria…) which affect farming
community thereby reducing their performance/output on their farms;
• They destroyed thousands of homes and farmlands;
• Other associated impacts include increased infestation of diseases such as
cholera and malaria and food crises;
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17. Key Climate change impacts on Vulnerable groups
• Heavy rains with hailstones – destroy crops and affect productivity resulting
in hunger and food insecurity;
• Heavy rains with strong winds – destroy crops and affect productivity
resulting in hunger and food insecurity;
• High temperatures – scotching sunshine – Global warming;
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18. Key Climate change impacts on Vulnerable groups
Prolong droughts – destroy crops and affect productivity resulting in hunger and food
insecurity;
The 1980-1984 drought in Kenya led to:
(i) Reduced rice production on Mwea Irrigation Scheme by 2000 Metric tonnes
(ii) In Semi-arid districts of the Rift Valley, famine was so severe that the locals in
Baringo District nicknamed it the “Rubetab Sibinsi” meaning hunger of yellow maize.
1998- 2001 La Nina drought - one of the longest and severest droughts in many parts
of East Africa.
Notable impacts included:
(i) Drying up of rivers Karanga, Weruweru and Kikafau in Tanzania and Rivers Nginyang,
Endao and Chemeron in Kenya’s Baringo District.
(ii) Reduced water levels of rivers Tana in Kenya, Pangani in Tanzania and Kagera in
Uganda led to reduced Hydropower generation, reduced industrial output,
redundancies and unemployment due to low water supply
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19. Key Climate change impacts on Vulnerable groups
(iii) Wide spread crop failure, food insecurity, famine and high livestock
mortality and introduction of artificial powdered milk in the Kenyan markets in
2001 (DMCN, 2002).
The 2005-2006 drought led to 80% livestock loss due to lack of water and
pasture in the semi-arid districts of Turkana, Wajir, Mandera and Karamoja. It
also caused:
(i) Drying of water resources in the ASAL;
(ii) Drying up of pasture;
(iii) Total crop failure in Mandera;
(iv) Death of both human and animals and migration of environmental
refugees which caused conflicts and death around the watering points in
Mandera and Wajir Districts.
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20. Key Climate change impacts on Vulnerable groups
• Increased incidence/severity of pests and diseases for crops and livestock;
• Climate variability increases incidence and severity of crop and livestock
diseases (Wilts, Mossaic, Newcastle, Swine fever…) results in higher
expenses on treatment costs and at extreme loss of crops and livestock;
• Increased Household conflicts and violence;
• In Uganda, more than 300 people died in Bududa, Eastern Uganda as a result
of landslides due to heavy rains in 2010 and 2012.
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21. Eastern Uganda, 2012 Tabu
Iguluibi village, L.
Victoria basin.
Science direct
Teso floods, 2007. Pilgrim
Nakasongola .
Drought in Mubende, 2009. Ben T.
Teso floods, 2007. Pilgrim

22. Floods submerge road in Bwaise, 2011. Awamu,
bandoned houses in Bwaise – due to flooding, 2010. Echwalu
Teso floods, 2007. Pilgrim

24. Selected videos – Impact of climate change on
Vulnerable Groups
• Chad suffering from drought and food shortages - 07 Jul 08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auKaPRvSfzc
• Uganda floods wreck havoc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLBMOpL_pqo

25. Conclusions
• Climate change and its impacts on livelihoods of vulnerable groups are here
with us and is not about to go. They are similar across regions but their severity
is different. Therefore, the time is now for different stakeholders including
Government, Academia, Development partners, Research and Development
Institutions, Civil Society both National and International and communities
among others to act.
• This should be through prioritizing climate change through long term planning
and resources allocation to address the impacts of climate but also through
undertaking appropriate strategies at different levels including local, national
and regional and international levels.
• Climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies should be informed by
vulnerability assessments so that vulnerable groups are not left out and the
applied adaptation actions are appropriate for the vulnerable groups.
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26. Selected references for further reading
Ngaira, J. K. W. (2009). Challenges of water resource management and food production in a changing
climate in Kenya. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning Vol. 2(4), pp. 097-103.
http://www.academicjournals.org/JGRP ISSN 2070-1845
NAPA. (2007). National Adaptation Program of Action on Climate Change in Uganda. http://www.
preventionweb.net/english/policies/v.php?id=8578&cid=180
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank, (2011). Guide to Climate
Change Adaptation in Cities.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTURBANDEVELOPMENT/Resources/336387-
1318995974398/GuideClimChangeAdaptCities.pdf
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTURBANDEVELOPMENT/Resources/336387-
1256566800920/6505269-1268260567624/Adelekan.pdf
Zake, J., Kiconco, S., Kimbugwe, C., Drani, H., and Andama, G. (2010). Climate change in Uganda; Insights
for long term adaptation and building community resilience. Environmental Alert, Kampala.1/29/2015 26