RP-Department of Environmental Science

Permanent URI for this collection

https://repository.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1416

Browse

Browsing RP-Department of Environmental Science by Subject "Adaptation"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Ecosystem services in adaptation projects in West Africa
    (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2017) Muthee, Kennedy Wahome; Mbow, Cheikh; Macharia, Geoffrey Mugo; Leal-Filho, Walter
    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which adaptation projects have incorporated ecosystem services, as well as their redesigning options. The projects selected are listed under National Adaptation Programme of Action in West African region. Design/methodology/approach – A desktop survey approach was used to review 168 projects from 13 countries across West Africa. The projects were categorized and analyzed according to their adaptation goal, thematic focus, their implementation duration and level of investment. Findings – The adaptation initiatives are dominated by actions in the agricultural sector accounting for 32 per cent of the total. Further, they were characterized by small grants consideration with 63 per cent falling under US$1m budget, short-term implementation duration with 46 per cent having three years’ execution period. A large portion of projects (55 per cent) mentioned directly one or more ecosystem services, with provisioning services being referred to in 50 per cent of the cases. Originality/value – Adaptation projects with ecosystem services components are more sustainable and beneficial to the community. Hence, more consideration of nature benefits during project design, more financial consideration and localizing of the projects to realize the global adaptation goal should be considered.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Enhancing adaptation to climate variability in the East African highlands: a case for fostering collective action among smallholder farmers in Kenya and Uganda
    (Taylor & Francis, 2016) Ombogoh, D.B.; Tanui, J.; McMullin, S.; Muriuki, J.; Mowo, J.
    There is an increasing recognition of the role of climate change adaptation among smallholder farmers in rain-fed agriculture in Africa. Collective action among smallholder farmers has been suggested as influencing local adaptation processes hence the need to evaluate its impact in different contexts. This paper provides evidence of collective action in enhancing local adaptation to climate variability. It determines the importance of different forms of collective action for enhancing adaptation. Through simple random sampling, a survey of 240 households in Embu County in Kenya and 200 households from Kapchorwa district of Uganda was undertaken. Focus-group discussions involving farmer groups and local government representatives were performed to triangulate information collected through the surveys. The results show a positive relationship between membership in farmer groups and adaptation to climate variability in both sites. Four main components of collective action were identified in Embu and these included the development of internal group capacities, assets mobilization and management, collective marketing, and management of human and natural capital. In Kapchorwa, the development of internal group capacities, risk spreading, and financial resources were significant. We argue that local-level governance and institutional arrangements for collective action are critical for successful adaptation to climate variability.