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Climate change is one of the major challenges that are confronting developing countries. Rural women in Zimbabwe are one of the most hard hit populace groups. The study sought to investigate how rural women are affected by climate change in relation to their livelihoods. It also explores women’s perception of climate change and the effects of those perceptions on adapting to climate change. Emphasis is made on the effects of climate change on crop production, livestock production and water sources focusing on Tsholotsho District in Zimbabwe. The study used a qualitative approach to obtain data on the effects of climate change. One of the major findings of the study was that the impact of climate change undermines women’s livelihoods which are rain-fed thus leading to accelerated food insecurity problems and heightened impoverishment. The paper concludes that women in rural areas must be prioritized in development programming especially in agriculture to ameliorate impending and inevitable climate change induced food insecurity. 

The Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) is a not-for-profit think-tank, consultancy and network of subscribing organisations specialising in regeneration, local economic development and local governance, which was founded in 1986.

Wetlands are unique for storing water from storms; recharging ground water and serving as the habitat for a variety of aquatic organisms, wildlife and plants, including rare, threatened, endangered and endemic species. However, climate variability has led to the shrinking and drying up of most wetlands in Zimbabwe. This study looked at the public perceptions of climatic experiences in their environment, level of knowledge about wetland management and attitudes towards implementing these strategies. Data collection and analysis was based on field surveys in two villages around Intunjambili wetland, including five focus groups, questionnaires (five point Likert-scaled) given to 27 households, structured interviews and observations. The results indicate that a significant proportion of the locals are aware of the dynamics of the local climate; the majority of the participants have heard of climate variability but very few know the causes. The majorities of the participants use indigenous knowledge systems to conserve their wetlands and are reluctant to implement scientific methods as they are perceived as expensive. The study points to the need to encourage residents to merge scientific methods and indigenous knowledge systems in wetland management and to increase outreach about the climate variability risk, for sustainable environmental management.

This global overview is useful but it’s also important to understand whether there are differences in threats between different geographic regions and whether similar species are affected by them in different ways. The Living Planet Index, a rich source of this information, can tell us about threats at the species population level. This more granular level of data has already highlighted different responses in different species of penguins in western Antarctica.

The Living Planet Index also tracks the state of global biodiversity by measuring the population abundance of thousands of vertebrate species around the world. The latest index shows an overall
decline of 60% in population sizes between 1970 and 2014. Species population declines are especially pronounced in the tropics, with South and Central America suffering the most dramatic decline, an 89% loss compared to 1970. Freshwater species numbers have also declined dramatically, with the Freshwater Index showing an 83% decline since 1970. But measuring biodiversity – all the varieties of life that can be found on Earth and their relationships to each other – is complex, so this report also explores three other indicators measuring changes in species distribution, extinction risk and changes in community composition. All these paint the same picture – showing severe declines or changes.

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.) is an indigenous crop that is available only as landraces in sub-Saharan Africa, although it has a great potential for food security. Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima L.) and cucumber (Cucurbita pepo L.) are exotic crops that have similar food roles as bottle gourd. There is no information on the seed quality of bottle gourd landraces found in sub-Saharan Africa. It was hypothesised that the hybrid seeds of closely related species would have better seed quality than bottle gourd landraces. Three landraces of bottle gourd were compared with two pumpkin cultivars and one cucumber cultivar for germination capacity and associated parameters (mean germination time and germination velocity index) as well as seedling establishment. Results showed that the germination trend was similar for all varieties, but there was a significant (P<0.05) difference among them with respect to all parameters. There was no distinct evidence of differences in seed quality to permit separation of seeds by species. It was concluded that bottle gourd landrace seed quality is comparable to the hybrids of pumpkin and cucumber and the established recommendations for testing the seeds of hybrids can be used to test the landraces.

In recent years, the spread of conservation agriculture (CA) has revealed to be a sustainable way to intensify crop production and sustain rural livelihoods in several African countries. Indeed, the potential benefits associated with the use of conservation farming practices are many. Long-term yield increase and output stability can be achieved while at the same time stopping and reversing land degradation. Larger outputs are often obtained by employing relatively fewer inputs, thereby reducing costs. Compared to conventional tillage methods, CA thus leads to higher net profitability, greater environmental sustainability and – especially important in Africa – higher food security. Furthermore, conservation farming techniques which rationalize the use of labour are particularly helpful in those rural areas where migration and health emergencies have reduced the labour supply and contributed to the increasing “feminization” of the agricultural sector (a comprehensive discussion of the advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of conservation agriculture in Africa is provided in Annex I).

In many sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, poverty productivity which accelerating climate change and (Devereux and Edwards, 2004; Slingo et al., 2005). It is estimated that about 75% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lives in arid and semi-arid areas that cover about 75% of sub-Saharan Africa. These areas are characterized by low soil chemical fertility and low annual rainfall that is poorly distributed (Maitima et al., 2009; Mubaya et al., 2010; Mugabe, 2011). Under this situation agricultural productivity by small scale farmers is very low resulting both in food and income insecurity leading to poverty (Majule, 2010).

Namibia is an arid country. 22 per cent of Namibia can be classified as desert, having a mean annual rainfall of less than 100 mm, 33 per cent classified as arid, with a mean annual rainfall of between 100 and 300 mm, 37 per cent classified as semi-arid, with a mean annual rainfall of between 301 and 500 mm, and 8 per cent as sub-humid, with a mean annual rainfall of between 501 and 700 mm. Associated with these low rainfall figures are high evapotranspiration rates and a high degree of variation from year to year, including a few years of exceptionally high and low rainfall, as well as variable rainfall distribution patterns within a year. Human endeavour must adapt to this reality.

Agriculture is the predominant land use in Namibia, where some 70% of the population depends directly or indirectly on the natural rangeland resource for their economic well-being and food security. Beef production is the most important livestock-related activity in Namibia, followed by small stock (sheep and goat) production. Since 1990, the Namibian commercial livestock sector has accounted for almost 70% of the overall annual agricultural output value. This activity is almost completely dependent on the country’s natural rangelands.

The Namibia Agriculture Policy is aimed at contributing to increased agricultural production, agro-processing and marketing as well as to serve as an overarching policy in the agricultural sector. The revised Policy Framework draws from Vision 2030, the fourth National Development Plan, the 2014 SWAPO Party Elections Manifesto and MAWF’s mandate. The Policy is formulated within the confines of the Namibian Constitution and will provide a framework for adjusting relevant laws to give effect to the stated policy objectives and strategies.