Beyond Adaptation? The Changing Nature of Seasonal Migration in Northern Ghana in the Context of Climate Change, Agricultural Decline and Food Insecurity

Author(s):  
Benjamin Schraven ◽  
Christina Rademacher-Schulz
2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Rademacher-Schulz ◽  
Benjamin Schraven ◽  
Edward Salifu Mahama

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manzoor Hussain Memon ◽  
Naveed Aamir ◽  
Nadeem Ahmed

Climate change has now become a reality that has intensified the sufferings of people living in arid ecosystems. Decrease in rainfall, rise in temperature and increase in the frequency of extreme events are some of the changes observed in the semi-arid desert of district Tharparkar. For thousands of years, people of Tharparkar are coping with drought and aridity of the land by using indigenous knowledge. However, global changes in the climatic pattern and deterioration of social and economic conditions have pushed the inhabitants of this arid region into extreme vulnerable situation. This paper investigates the link between climate-induced natural disasters, particularly drought, from the perspective of changing climate patterns which have resulted in food insecurity and water scarcity. The paper analyses the rainfall pattern in the last 38 years—dividing it into two periods i.e. from 1975-1994 and 1995-2014. The findings of the paper have challenged the prevailing notions about aridity and rainfall patterns in Tharparkar district. The research found that there is an increase in average annual precipitation in the district with erratic patterns. Thus, the nature of drought in the district has changed from its historic pattern of less or no rainfall to more but erratic rainfall that is more threatening to livelihoods of the people that in turn have multiplier effect on water and food insecurity. In particularly, women are more vulnerable in the absence of social security and lack of basic necessities for their survival amidst drought. For instance, traditionally the burden of managing water resources falls on women, which leads to an increased work load during the time of drought and also water scarcity. JEL Classification: Q54, Q56, Q25, I30 Keywords: Climate, Environment and Development, Drought, Water, Poverty


2019 ◽  
pp. 77-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karla Diana Infante Ramírez ◽  
Ana Minerva Arce Ibarra

The main objective of this study was to analyze local perceptions of climate variability and the different adaptation strategies of four communities in the southern Yucatán Peninsula, using the Social-Ecological System (SES) approach. Four SESs were considered: two in the coastal zone and two in the tropical forest zone. Data were collected using different qualitative methodological tools (interviews, participant observation, and focal groups) and the information collected from each site was triangulated. In all four sites, changes in climate variability were perceived as “less rain and more heat”. In the tropical forest (or Maya) zone, an ancestral indigenous weather forecasting system, known as “Xook k’íin” (or “las cabañuelas”), was recorded and the main activity affected by climate variability was found to be slash-and burn farming or the milpa. In the coastal zone, the main activities affected are fishing and tourism. In all the cases analyzed, local climate change adaptation strategies include undertaking alternative work, and changing the calendar of daily, seasonal and annual labor and seasonal migration. The population of all four SESs displayed concern and uncertainty as regards dealing with these changes and possible changes in the future.


Author(s):  
Courtney Rogers ◽  
Rupa S. Valdez ◽  
Juan E. Gilbert ◽  
Karen Lange Morales ◽  
Wendy Rogers ◽  
...  

There is an increasing need and interest for Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) professionals to apply our discipline to a larger context. HFE researchers are starting to conduct research outside of traditional settings, focusing their efforts on complex societal challenges; however, this type of work is still in its infancy and there is a need to define how HFE can be used in broader contexts, outside of formal institutions. In this panel, we begin a formalized conversation of how our field can scale its impact. Each panelist will introduce a societal challenge they are addressing and discuss how HFE can be adapted to this context. The topics of this panel will span elections technology, sustainability and climate change, universal access to mental healthcare, social isolation in older adults, and food insecurity. This session will conclude with a moderated discussion between the panelists and audience to brainstorm specific societal challenges that HFE can address as well as how methods can be adapted to this context.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Nyadzi

<p>The study examines how farmers’ observations of climate variability and change correspond with 42 years (1970-2011) meteorological data of temperature and rainfall. It shows how farmers in the Northern Region of Ghana adjust to the changing climate and explore the various obstacles that hinder the implementation of their adaptation strategies. With the help of an extension officer, 200 farmers from 20 communities were randomly selected based on their farming records. Temperatures over the last four decades (1970-2009) increased at a rate of 0.04 (± 0.41) ˚C and 0.3(± 0.13)˚C from 2010-2011 which is consistent to the farmers (82.5%) observations. Rainfall within the districts are characterised by inter-annual and monthly variability. It experienced an increased rate of 0.66 (± 8.30) mm from 1970-2009, which was inconsistent with the farmers (81.5%) observation. It however decreased from 2010-2011 at a huge rate of -22.49 (±15.90) mm which probably was the reason majority of the respondents claim rainfall was decreasing. Only 64.5% of the respondents had adjusted their farming activities because of climate variability and change. They apply fertilizers and pesticides, practice soil and water conservation, and irrigation for communities close to dams. Respondents desire to continue their current adaptation methods but may in the future consider changing crop variety, water-harvesting techniques, change crop production to livestock keeping, and possibly migrate to urban centers. Lack of climate change education, low access to credit and agricultural inputs are some militating factors crippling the farmers’ effort to adapt to climate change.</p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 787-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjorn Stevens ◽  
David Farrell ◽  
Lutz Hirsch ◽  
Friedhelm Jansen ◽  
Louise Nuijens ◽  
...  

Abstract Clouds over the ocean, particularly throughout the tropics, are poorly understood and drive much of the uncertainty in model-based projections of climate change. In early 2010, the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology established the Barbados Cloud Observatory (BCO) on the windward edge of Barbados. At 13°N the BCO samples the seasonal migration of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), from the well-developed winter trades dominated by shallow cumulus to the transition to deep convection as the ITCZ migrates northward during boreal summer. The BCO is also well situated to observe the remote meteorological impact of Saharan dust and biomass burning. In its first six years of operation, and through complementary intensive observing periods using the German High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO), the BCO has become a cornerstone of efforts to understand the relationship between cloudiness, circulation, and climate change.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 699-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoko Hasegawa ◽  
Shinichiro Fujimori ◽  
Petr Havlík ◽  
Hugo Valin ◽  
Benjamin Leon Bodirsky ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document