Impact of Floods on Livelihoods and Vulnerability of Natural Resource Dependent Communities in Northern Ghana

Abstract

Sub-Sahara Africa is considered to be most vulnerable to climate variability including flooding. The frequency and severity of floods in Northern Ghana over the last decade has increased considerably. Through qualitative modelling the paper explores the impact of floods on natural resource dependent communities in Northern Ghana. Simplified causal loop diagrams are used to conceptualise flood-induced coping strategies in the study area. The results indicate that some characteristics of the socio-cultural environment appear to mitigate risk and reduce vulnerability. In this context, the role of social networks in enhancing livelihood security is essential. The paper concludes that both in case of seasonal variations in agricultural output and floods, individuals that have effectively diversified their livelihoods, both occupationally and geographically, are less sensitive than individuals who mainly achieve entitlement to food via crop cultivation. However, diversification in this case, is effective only in the short term.

Urban Growth and Livelihood Transformations on the Fringes of African Cities: A Case Study of Changing Livelihoods in Peri-Urban Accra

“…For example, they may shift from subsistence to intensive or commercial agriculture, invest in non-agricultural income-generating activities, find non-farm waged employment or diversify their income sources (Armah et al, 2010).…”

Climate and Food Production: Understanding Vulnerability from Past Trends in Africa’s Sudan-Sahel

“…The link and importance of climate (especially rainfall) in the Sudan-Sahel has been made by previous research [10,23,26]. Notwithstanding the ability for global climate models in predicting seasonal variability over the Sahel, very little consensus exists on climate change projections (especially with regards to future precipitation trends).…”

“…From a farmers' perspective, besides damaging crops on farms and reducing soil fertility, increasing rainfall intensities can also damage crops during storage at home, as well as limit access to farms for the delivery of farm products. In recent years, studies have reported cases of flood-related damage to crops at different levels of the production and distribution chain, with disastrous outcomes for smallholder farming households and farming communities in Africa's Sudan-Sahel [10,22].…”

“…It is an imperative for achieving different dimensions of sustainable development for this region. Identified threats to such sustainable futures, which directly relate to rainfall variability, are food security [10,11], water conflicts, threats to livelihoods [10], economic growth [7,8] and regional political strife [11,12]. This study set out to examine the relationship between climate and food crop production in the Sudan-Sahel agro-ecological zone of Africa at a very local scale.…”

Vulnerability Indicators of Adaptation to Climate Change and Policy Implications for Investment Projects

“…One of the most common ways to measure local coping strategies to mitigate resource dependency found in local vulnerability case studies are diversification and/or specialization of occupation or crops. (Adger, 1999;Bradshaw et al, 2004;Alcamo et al, 2007;Eakin et al 2007;Acosta-Michlik and Espaldon, 2008;Kelkar et al, 2008;Kuruppu, 2009;Liu et al, 2008;Hahn et al , 2009;Deressa et al, 2009;Armah et al,2010).…”