Abstract
Climate variability related events such as drought and associated food shortages are not new along the coast of Zanzibar, but are projected to increase with the impacts of global climate change. This paper examines the ‘internal’ characteristics that make Zanzibar’s coastal communities vulnerable to these and other changes, focusing on the factors that affect adaptive capacity (i.e. household and community assets) and sensitivity (i.e. livelihood activities and diversification). The sustainable livelihood approach and framework, especially the five capitals or assets, provided a lens to examine households’ capital stocks and the factors influencing access to these, as well as the outcomes for livelihood activities. Access to different capitals and assets were found to affect the range and choices of livelihood activities available to households as well as their ability to cope and adapt to existing and new risk. Our analysis shows how households on the drier and harsher east coast of the Zanzibar islands are particularly sensitive to climate variability and change in concert with other livelihoods challenges. This is primarily due to their high dependence on natural-resource based livelihood activities, which are already facing pressures. Moreover, low levels of most livelihood capitals limit the choices households have and undermine their adaptive capacity and ability to bounce back from climate and other shocks and stressors.
Highlights
Small island states constitute some of the most sensitive, uncertain and fragile environments on our planet, and are especially vulnerable to risks associated with climate change (Mimura et al, 2007)
Declining rainfall, increasing temperatures, extreme weather events including storms and cyclones, sea level rise, changes in marine conditions and biodiversity, coastal floods and salt water intrusion are just some examples of the biophysical risks threatening the economy and livelihoods of people on these small island states (Badjeck et al, 2010; Mimura et al,. 2007). Such risks are superimposed on a suite of other characteristics typical of small island states such as limited space and natural resources, high population densities, relative isolation and distance from markets, extreme openness of small economies to shocks, insufficient technical institutional and financial capacities, and highly natural-resources dependent livelihoods contribute to intensifying their vulnerability (UNFCCC, 2005)
Few studies have considered societal vulnerability in terms of the social characteristics and institutions that make individuals, households or societies sensitive to the impacts of climate change and other stressors (Adger and Kelly, 1999; Blaikie et al, 1994). It is within this context that we explore the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of rural communities living on the dry east coasts of the two main Zanzibar islands, namely Pemba and Unguja Islands
Summary
Small island states constitute some of the most sensitive, uncertain and fragile environments on our planet, and are especially vulnerable to risks associated with climate change (Mimura et al, 2007). Developing regions, of which Zanzibar forms part, face an adaptation deficit and a multitude of other stressors that interact with and/or exacerbate the impacts of climate change (Niang et al, 2014). Structural issues such as high levels of poverty, low levels of development, high unemployment and limited livelihood options, and a lack of basic services are some of the factors that undermine the ability of people in Small Island developing states to adapt to climate change. Examples of current stressors on livelihoods include a decline in natural resources such as fisheries, agricultural challenges including competition with other land uses, health concerns such as HIV/AIDS, and water and food insecurity (Boko et al, 2007; Ghina, 2003)
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