Drought and the future of rural communities: Opportunities and challenges for climate change adaptation in regional Victoria, Australia

Kiem, Anthony S.; Austin, Emma

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.06.003

Cited by 124 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…There is critical lack of preparedness in Zambia. As argued by [33] building adaptation and resilience to climate change for agrarian communities is very important for sustainable rural development. That is why governments and concerned non-government organizations must work together and take a quick and board action and revalue the small-scale farming enterprise as critical to environmental, social-cultural and economic well-being for sustainable rural development.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change Adaptation and Vulnerability: A Case of Rain Dependent Small-Holder Farmers in Selected Districts in Zambia

Makondo¹,

Chola²,

Moonga³

2014

AJCC

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Food crop production by small-holder farmers in Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change, given high dependence on rainfall coupled with limited adaptive capacity. In Zambia, smallholder farmers contribute about 79% of national stable food requirements particularly maize. This paper attempted to establish levels of food security in each of the three agro-ecological zones of Zambia, and evaluated the current adaptive measures of rain dependent small-holder farmers against climate change risks. The challenges farmers are facing in adapting to the change risks were identified and livelihood vulnerability assessed. The findings indicate that rain dependent small-holder farmers in Zambia are highly vulnerable to weather related shocks which impact greatly on their food production; and that the levels of vulnerability vary across gender and per agro-ecological zone. After the evaluation of scenarios including staple food crop yields (maize), the authors conclude that most rain-fed small-holder farmers in Zambia (about 70%) are facing considerable hardships in adapting to the changing climate, which in turn, undermines their contribution to food security. While efforts by government have been made to assist farmers towards climate change adaptation, there still remains many challenges to achieve the desired outcomes. Most farmers (66%) are unable to afford certain alternatives, such as those of agro-forestry or conservation. Difficulties in accessing markets, poor road infrastructure, fluctuating market prices, high costs and late deliveries of farming in-puts were found to be among the major challenges that farmers are facing in Zambia. There are also no systematic early warning systems in place against natural hazards and disasters. This makes farming a difficult undertaking in Zambia. C. C. Makondo et al.389

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change Adaptation and Vulnerability: A Case of Rain Dependent Small-Holder Farmers in Selected Districts in Zambia

Makondo¹,

Chola²,

Moonga³

2014

AJCC

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“…In order to achieve ecological health and socio-economic sustainable development, agriculture was selected as the primary beginning sector when Australia coped with drought and water crisis [27]. For the NX region, with the constraint of the amount of available Yellow River water being fixed, the construction of modern efficient water-saving agriculture was both an objective and an important means on the way to socio-economic sustainable development.…”

Section: Adaptation Pathway and Goalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Water Act 2007 and the National Water Initiatives revised by the National Drought Policy (established in 1992) currently constitute the national framework of Australian water policy, while Our Water Our Future is a long-term plan of the Victorian State Government's water policy [25]. Under the national framework, the Australian and state governments proposed the Murray-Darling Basin Plan (MDBP) and implemented water reform at a basin level in the MDB, which is the most productive agricultural area of Australia and produces around 40% of Australia's gross value of agricultural produce [14,26,27]. The MDBP provides an integrated approach to manage the water resources of the MDB [28].…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The MDBP provides an integrated approach to manage the water resources of the MDB [28]. The plan aims to increase the amount of water allocated for environment purposes and reduce the volume available for irrigation industries mainly through initiatives of water trading [27], water-saving irrigation methods and upgrading water supply infrastructure [14,27], thus achieving a balance between environmental health and economic and social development. India, which is amongst the most vulnerable and drought-prone countries in the world [29], constructed the Crisis Management Plan (Drought) at the national level in 2006 [30].…”

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confidence: 99%

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Drought Adaptation in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China: Actions, Planning, Pathways and Barriers

et al. 2015

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Abstract:The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NX region) of Northwestern China is threatened by increased meteorological drought induced by climate change (CC) and constraints on water supply from the Yellow River. Thus, the NX region is representative of attempts to adapt to CC and variability in China's arid regions. Field visits, a questionnaire and in situ inspections were conducted in 2012-2014 to understand people's perception and awareness of drought and its impact, particularly with respect to adaptation strategies. We mainly focused on drought adaptation actions and planning implemented at the government level under the double pressures of drought and allocation. We described a suitable adaptation pathway for socio-economic sustainable development and discussed existing adaptation barriers. Construction of modern efficient water-saving agriculture lies at the core of drought adaptation, with socio-economic sustainable development being the ultimate goal. To achieve this, policies and institutional, engineering, technological, structural and social initiatives and measures-classified into macro adaptation strategies and specific coping measures-are implemented. Adaptation often encounters obstacles, e.g., policy issues from household contract responsibility systems, funding difficulties of low-income farmers, traditional behavioral habits and low education and literacy levels among farmers. The adaptation pathway involves the construction of modern efficient OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 15030 water-saving agriculture. Agricultural water savings are then transferred to developed industries, which back-feed socio-economic sustainable development in the NX region.

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“…climate change information producers) and end-users across a range of sectors and contexts (Pielke Jr 2007, Li et al 2010, Ekstrom et al 2011, Dilling & Lemos 2011, Lemos et al 2012). This disconnect is a particular issue within the agricultural sector and rural communities, as climate change compounds existing vulnerabilities caused by exposure to hydroclimatic extremes, falling commodity prices, rural demogra phic shifts and a changing farming industry (Kiem et al 2010, Rickards 2012, Kiem & Austin 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disconnect between science and end-users as a barrier to climate change adaptation

Kiem¹,

Austin²

2013

Clim. Res.

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Much research into climate change impacts and adaptation has been, and continues to be, conducted. However, the well documented themes and recommendations continue to emerge with little evidence of effective climate change adaptation strategies being implemented. This is because while climate change adaptation strategies are not hard to develop, it is difficult to evaluate their effectiveness or, in some cases, even define effectiveness. Compounding this is the fact that implementing strategies that in theory, or in pilot studies, are potentially effective is complicated due to political, economic, legislative and science constraints and the difficulties associated with decision making under uncertainty. Here we focus on Australian rural communities and have found that a major barrier to implementation of effective adaptation strategies is the disconnect between the information that end-users need (or think they need) and the existing outcomes of climate change impacts and adaptation research. While previous research, and anecdotal evidence, qualitatively establishes that a 'gap' does exist, this study represents a preliminary attempt at quantifying the causes and magnitude of the disconnect: a necessary first step in addressing the challenge posed by this barrier to adaptation. The findings are relevant beyond Australia, beyond the agriculture sector, and beyond climate change science, and highlight the need for urgent work aimed at bridging the gap between scientists and decision makers (and other end-users).

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Drought and the future of rural communities: Opportunities and challenges for climate change adaptation in regional Victoria, Australia

Cited by 124 publications

References 24 publications

Climate Change Adaptation and Vulnerability: A Case of Rain Dependent Small-Holder Farmers in Selected Districts in Zambia

Climate Change Adaptation and Vulnerability: A Case of Rain Dependent Small-Holder Farmers in Selected Districts in Zambia

Drought Adaptation in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China: Actions, Planning, Pathways and Barriers

Disconnect between science and end-users as a barrier to climate change adaptation

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