Perceptions on climate change and its impact on livelihoods in Hwange district, Zimbabwe

Journal of Disaster Risk Studies

Muwanigwa, Virginia¹  Nhemachena, Charles¹  Mudombi, Shakespear¹  Mano, Reneth¹ 

关键词: Vulnerability;    Livelihood;    Sensitivity;    Adaptive capacity;    Exposure;   

DOI  :  10.4102/jamba.v6i1.123

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: African Centre for Disaster Studies

【 摘 要 】

This study investigated perceptions of rural communities on climate change and its impacts on livelihoods. The research was conducted in the semi-arid Hwange district in Matebelel and North province of Zimbabwe. The perceptions were compared with empirical evidence from climatic studies on trends on temperature and rainfall, and impacts on livelihoods in the country and region. The findings from the current study are generally in agreement with those of other studies that indicate changes in the climate, especially in terms of rainfall. This largely applies to short-term periods; however, for long-term periods it is difficult to accurately relate rural community perceptions to changes in rainfall over time. Despite perceived changes and impacts of climate change on local livelihood activities, mainly agriculture, there are multiple stressors that the communities face which also affect their livelihoods. Further evidence-based research is required to disentangle climate change impacts on livelihoods, including livelihood impacts arising from interactions of climate and non-climatic factors.

【 授权许可】

Unknown