Abstract
The present study was carried out in the Southern Afar region in Ethiopia to assess the vulnerability of pastoral communities to climate change and variability. A household questionnaire survey was employed to collect data at a household level. A total of 250 pastoral households were sampled using stratified random sampling. The results revealed that 28.8% of the pastoral households were highly vulnerable. Most of the households (53.6%) were moderately vulnerable. Only 17.6% of the households were capable of coping even though there would be a high probability of moving from less vulnerable to a moderate or high vulnerability level in the future if no appropriate adaptive measures would be taken by decision-makers. Policies with emphasis on empowerment of women, such as improving their access to and control over resources through a better institutional set-up; improving irrigation facilities and skills; expanding the participation of pastoral households on irrigation farming; creating opportunities for non-farm income; and improving access to credits, markets, health and veterinary services, are expected to enhance pastoralists’ resilience.Keywords: climate; irrigation; livestock; pastoralists; vulnerability.
Highlights
In pastoral communities of Ethiopia, climate-induced shocks and stresses, such as droughts, rising temperature and irregular rainfall, reduced the extent of pastoral areas and negatively impacted water availability and led to animal deaths owing to hunger and diseases (Conway 2000)
The results indicated that the average size of the family in the study area consists of about eight people
The results revealed that only 28.8% of the households had access to extension services, which suggests that access to extension services in the Southern Afar region was very poor
Summary
In pastoral communities of Ethiopia, climate-induced shocks and stresses, such as droughts, rising temperature and irregular rainfall, reduced the extent of pastoral areas and negatively impacted water availability and led to animal deaths owing to hunger and diseases (Conway 2000). Rainfall anomalies and the delayed onset of the rainy season, along with rising temperatures, lead to impoverishment of grassland, lack of livestock feed and water as well as heat stress to livestock. This has, in turn, increased the mortality rate of herds, susceptibility of livestock to disease and emaciation as a result of the long distances they travel in search of pasture and water (Muluneh & Demeke 2011). Regional projections of climate models predicted a rising frequency of extreme flooding because of global warming in Ethiopia (Institute of Development Studies 2008). This increase in temperature gives several impacts and effects such as heat stress to livestock, and high evapotranspiration
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