Abstract
Climate change in South Africa remains an issue of socio-economic and environmental concern. An increase in frequency and intensity of climatic events pose significant threats to biophysical and socio-economic aspects, namely food security, water resources, agriculture, biodiversity, tourism, and poverty. In order to counteract the socio-economic and environmental concerns pertaining to issues of climate change, emergent insights on climate change strategies suggest that building resilience in human and environmental systems is an ideal way of combating dynamic environmental conditions and future uncertainties. Using the qualitative secondary data approach, this article evaluates whether vulnerable communities in uMkhanyakude District Municipality can become resilient to the implications of climate change. UMkhanyakude District Municipality is predominantly rural and one of the most impoverished districts in KwaZulu-Natal, with the majority of socially and economically marginalised individuals and households experiencing more severe impacts as a result of climate change compared to those in urban areas. Data was analysed using content analysis and a concise summary of the biophysical and socio-economic aspects is presented. This research suggests that building resilience to climate change is possible when bottom-up, proactive and systematic measures are taken to manage vulnerable areas such as those in uMkhanyakude District Municipality. It recommends that social impact assessments (SIA) be conducted to assist in terms of assessing social consequences that are likely to follow from policy actions.
Highlights
Climate change is defined as any changes in climate over time, due to natural variability or human activities (IPCC, 2007: 6)
The search criteria included “climate change”, “vulnerability”, “adaptation”, “food security”, “agriculture”, “water”, “biodiversity”, “tourism”, “poverty” in the topic field of literature, in order to determine the impacts of climate change and their cascading consequences on the biophysical and socio-economic aspects
According to Hoffman et al (2019: 5), the main implication of climate change on biodiversity is the decrease in the availability and quantity of suitable habitats, and some ecosystems may expand into new areas, while others may decrease
Summary
Climate change is defined as any changes in climate over time, due to natural variability or human activities (IPCC, 2007: 6). There is a growing concern about the changes in climate due to anthropogenic activities (Henderson, Storeygard & Deichmann, 2017: 60). Climate change is a scientifically proven issue and poses life-threatening impacts on human beings and ecosystems. While the impacts of climate change in Africa are more severe, the continent continues to be more vulnerable to climate change as a result of high exposure and low adaptive capacity (Conway, 2009: 11; Gbetibouo, Ringler & Hassan, 2010: 177). According to Schilling, Hertig, Tramblay & Scheffran (2020: 3), South Africa is more implicated with climate change, due to the high dependence on rain-fed agriculture, coupled with poor technical, financial and institutional capacity. Climate change is regarded as a global issue, its implications are not anticipated to be homogeneous, but different across generations, classes, regions, income groups, and gender (Mbow, Rosenzweig, Barioni, Benton, Herrero & Krishnapilla et al, 2019: 464)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
