Resilience of informal settlements to climate change in the mountainous areas of Konso, Ethiopia and QwaQwa, South Africa.

Tamirat W Melore,Verna Nel

doi:10.4102/jamba.v12i1.778

Abstract

Managing change is essential for human survival; thus, the importance of adapting to climate change has been increasingly recognised by researchers and governments alike. This is reflected in the growing literature on climate change and the imperative for action including building resilience in our socio-ecological systems. Despite the large body of research that now exists, few studies have considered the resilience of informal rural or peri-urban settlements in mountainous regions. This article considered the resilience of two rural settlements in mountainous areas, namely Konso, Ethiopia, and QwaQwa, South Africa, to the influences of climate change based on the assets available to them. The authors obtained the local communities’ perception of their risks throsugh interviews with community leaders and a survey of 384 residents, divided equally between each settlement. Furthermore, the resilience of each community was assessed on the basis of their environmental, social, economic, human, institutional and physical capitals using a climate change resilience indicator. The findings showed that both communities faced major challenges because of climate change, particularly from drought and poverty. We found that both communities retained some forms of indigenous knowledge, but its greater application in Konso appeared to improve resilience to a greater extent than QwaQwa, where it played a lesser role and the community was more dependent on the government. However, indigenous knowledge alone is not sufficient to support these communities in the long term, given the growing aridity of the regions, and other approaches are also necessary, including government support, to enhance and grow their capitals.

Highlights

Climate change is affecting large parts of the world with more destructive and frequent hurricanes and typhoons, melting ice caps and the warming of the oceans along with devastating droughts and floods (Bai et al 2018)
Informal settlements in developing countries, in general, and Africa, in particular, have heightened risks associated with climate change (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction [UNISDR] 2011:1–7)
All respondents identified a very high risk of droughts and water shortages and heat waves or hot summers that is commensurate with the predicted effects of climate change

Summary

Introduction

Climate change is affecting large parts of the world with more destructive and frequent hurricanes and typhoons, melting ice caps and the warming of the oceans along with devastating droughts and floods (Bai et al 2018). One of the push factors for urbanisation is the degradation of the natural environment and low agricultural productivity because of climate-change-induced risks, while natural increase contributes to the burgeoning population (Fox 2014:257–283). The larger settlements and the smaller towns and villages are increasingly vulnerable to political, economic and social risks exacerbated by climate change. These factors, along with chronic poverty, threaten the living conditions of poor people and increase the complexity of the challenges they face (Dodman et al 2015:5). ‘The combination of demographic pressures, rapid urbanisation, environmental and climate change appear to reinforce a host of negative urban externalities’ (UN-Habitat 2014:7). The poor are more susceptible to the consequences of climate change threats; this is because of limited resources they have that are necessary to cope with the adverse impacts (Adelekan et al 2015; Mearns & Norton 2010:5)

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Conclusion