Low Adaptive Capacity in Africa and Climate Change Crises

Source:
By:Author(s)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30564/jasr.v4i4.3723

Abstract:

The changing climate is unequivocal, and it is generally recognised as a threat to the terrestrial environment due to its cross-sectoral and irreversible impacts. Since the inception of industrial revolution (1750), the concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) in the atmosphere has been compromised. Until the past two centuries, the quantity of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere had never surpassed about 280 part per million (ppm) and 790 part per billion (ppb), respectively. Rise in greenhouse gases (GHGs) has impacted almost every biotic component on the surface of the earth, and regions which have low adaptive capacity and greatly depend on agriculture and biodiversity for livelihood are hard hit. This phenomenon has resulted in global warming, extinction of some fora and fauna species, precipitation variability, extreme weather conditions, migration of biotic creatures from one geographical area to another, melting of icecap, sea level rise, coral breach and so on during the last century. The contribution of emission of greenhouse gases of Africa is insignificant, however, the repercussion of the changing climate is crucial in the region due to the presence of other stressors such as poverty, corruption, diseases, geographical position of the continent, low adaptive capacity, rain-fed agriculture etc., and this has led to conflict over resources usage, food insecurity, forced migration, ill-health and many more.

References:

[1]Müller-Kuckelberg. Climate Change and Its Impact on the Livelihood of Farmers And Agricultural Workers In Ghana. 2012. [2]United Nations Secretary-General, Secretary-General’s press encounter on climate change, 29 March 2018, https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/press-encounter/2018-03-29/secretary-generals-press-encounter-climate-change-qa [3]Romm, J. Climate change: what everyone needs to know, New York: Oxford University Press, 2018, 7. [4]IPCC. Stabilisation of atmospheric greenhouse gases: physical, biological and socioeconomic implications, IPCC Technical paper 3,WMO, UNEP 1997b [5]IPCC Summary for policymakers. In: Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A: Global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change [Field CB, Barros VR, Dokken DJ, Mach KJ, Mastrandrea MD, Bilir TE, Chatterjee M, Ebi YL, Estrada YO, Genova RC, Girma B, Kissel ES, Levy AN, MacCracken S, Mastrandrea PR, White LL (eds)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, USA. 2014. pp 1–32 [6]Krause, F., Bach, W. and Koomey, J. Energy Policy in the Greenhouse, Volume 1: From Warming Fate to Warming Limit. Benchmarks for a Global Climate Convention. International Project for Sustainable Energy Paths. El Cerrito, California. 1989 [7]Welborn, J. Africa and climate change Projecting vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Institute for Security Studies, 2018 [8]Warren, R. Role of interactions in a world implementing adaptation and mitigation solutions to climate change, The Royal Society, 234, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2010.0271 [9]National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Climate at a glance: global time series.NOAA National Centres for Environmental information. (Retired on June, 2021). 2018. [10]Seneviratne S.I., Nicholls, N., Easterling, D. et al. Changes in climate extremes and their impacts on the natural physical environment. In: Field CB, Barros V, Stocker TF et al (eds) Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation. A special report of working groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2012. pp 109–230. [11]Kirtman B, Power SB, Adedoyin JA et al. Near-term climate change: projections and predictability. In: Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner G-K et al (eds) Climate change 2013: the physical science basis, Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 2013 [12]Hartmann, D. L., Klein Tank, A. M. G., Rusticucci, M., Alexander, L. V., Brönnimann, S., Charabi, Y., Dentener, F. J., Dlugokencky, E. J., Easterling, D. R., Kaplan, A., Soden, B. J., Thorne, P.W., Wild, M. & Zhai, P. M. (2013). Observations: Atmosphere and surface. In: T. F. Stocker, D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S. K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex & P. M. Midgley (Eds.), Climate Change (2013). The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press. [13]Adjei, V. & Kyerematen, R. Impacts of Changing Climate on Maize Production in the Transitional Zone of Ghana. American Journal of Climate Change, 2018.7, 463-476. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ajcc.2018.73028 [14]Adjei, V., Anlimachie, M.A & Ativi, E.E. (2020). Understanding the Nexus between Climate Change, the Shift in Land Use toward Cashew Production and Rural Food Security in Ghana; the Experiences of Farmers in the Transition Zone of Ghana. Journal of Atmospheric Science Research. [15]Girvetz E. H., Zganjar C. Dissecting Indices of Aridity for Assessing the Impacts of Global Climate Change. 2014. 126:469–483 [16]New M, Porter J.R., Xie L. et al. Evidence of trends in daily climate extremes over southern and West Africa. J Geophys Res 111:D14102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD006289 [17]IPCC. Summary for policymakers. In: Field CB, Barros V, Stocker TF et al (eds) Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation, A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 2012 [18]Girvetz E. H, Zganjar C, Shafer S. et als. Applied climate-change analysis: the Climate Wizard tool. 2009 PLoS One 4(12):e8320 [19]Sillmann, J., Kharin, V.V., Zhang X. et al. Climate extremes indices in the CMIP5 multimodel ensemble: part 1. Model evaluation in the present climate. J Geophys Res Atmos, 2012, 118:1716– 1733. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50203 [20]Ramirez-Villegas J., Challinor, A.J., Thornton P.K. et al. Implications of regional improvement in global climate models for agricultural impact research. Environ Res Lett, 2013. 8:24018 [21]Niang, I., Ruppel O.C., Abdrabo M.A., Essel, A., Lennard C., Padgham J., Urquhart, P. Africa. In: Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.UK, 2014. [22]Vizy, E. K., & Cook, K. H. Mid-twenty-first-century changes in extreme events over northern and tropical Africa. Journal of Climate, 2012, 25(17), 5748–5767. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-1100693.1 [23]Patricola, C.M. & Cook, K.H. Northern African climate at the end of the twenty-first century: an integrated application of regional and global climate models. Climate Dynamics, 2010, 35(1), 193-212. [24]Sylla, M. B., Gaye, A. T., & Jenkins, G. S. On the fine-scale topography regulating changes in atmospheric hydrological cycle and extreme rainfall over West Africa in a regional climate model projections. International Journal of Geophysics, 2012, 981649. doi: https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/981649 [25]Haensler, A., Saeed, F., & Jacob, D. Assessing the robustness of projected precipitation changes over central Africa on the basis of a multitude of global and regional climate projections. Climatic Change, 2013, 121(2), 349–363. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/10584-013-0863-8 [26]Sylla, M. B., Elguindi, N., Giorgi, F., & Wisser, D. Projected robust shift of climate zones over West Africa in response to anthropogenic climate change for the late 21st century. Climatic Change, 12016, 34(1), 241–253. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-015-1522-z [27]Po¨rtner H-O, Karl, D.M., Boyd P.W., Cheung, W.W.L., Lluch-Cota, S.E., Nojiri Y., Schmidt D.N., Zavialov, P.O. Ocean systems. In: Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A:global and sectoral impacts. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., and New York, U.S, 2041. [28]Müller C, Cramer W., Hare W.L. et al. Climate change risks for African agriculture. Proc Natl Acad Sci., 2011, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1015078108 [29]Rippke, U., Ramirez-Villegas J., Jarvis, A. et al. Timescales of transformational climate change adaptation in sub-Saharan African agriculture. Nat Climte Change, 2016 6(6):605–609 [30]Ramirez-Villegas, J., Thornton P.K. Climate change impacts on African crop production, CCAFS Working Paper no. 119. CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), 2015, Copenhagen (retrieved on May, 2021) [31]Myers, S.S., Zanobetti, A., Kloog, I., Huybers, P., Leakey, A.D.B., Bloom, A.J., Carlisle, E., Dietterich, L.H., Fitzgerald, G., Hasegawa, T., Holbrook, N.M., Nelson, R.L., Ottman, M.J., Raboy, V., Sakai, H., Sartor, K.A., Schwartz, J., Seneweera, S., Tausz, M. & Usui, Y. Increasing CO2 threatens human nutrition. Nature, 2014, 510(7503): 139–142. [32]Medek D.E., Schwartz J., & Myers S.S. Estimated effects of future atmospheric CO2 concentrations on protein intake and the risk of protein deficiency by country and region. Environ Health Perspect, 2017, 125(8):087002 [33]Centre for International Governance Innovation (2009). Climate Change in Africa: Adaptation, Mitigation and Governance Challenges. [34]Smit B. et al., Climate change: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability, IPCC, 2001, 894, https://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/wg2/pdf/wg2TARchap18 [35]World Bank. Turn down the heat: climate extremes, regional impacts, and the case for resilience. Extremes_Regional_Impacts_Case_for_Resilience_ Print%20 version_FINAL.pdf, 2013. [36]Adjei V. & Kwantwi Boafo L. Maize and Cashew Farming in the Face of Climate Change Variability in the Transitional Zone of Ghana: A Case Study of Nkoranza South Municipality. American Journal of Environmental Sciences, USA 2019, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/ajessp [37]Food and Agriculture Organisation. An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security. Food Security Information for Action Practical Guides. Rome, FAO. 2008 [38]Adjei & Alorm. Cashew Production as a Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Tool for Agriculture. Advances in Earth and Environmental Science (2020). https://www.unisciencepub.com [39]United Nations. Food security in Africa: learning lessons from the food crisis. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2009. [40]McMichael AJ, Lindgren E. Climate change: present and future risks to health, and necessary responses. J Intern Med, 2011, 270(5):401–413. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2796.2011.02415.xMidgleyGF [41]WHO. Protecting health from climate change: connecting science, policy and people. World Health Organization, Geneva, 2009, pp 1–36 [42]Smith, K.R., Woodward, A., Campbell-Lendrum, D., Chadee, D.D., Honda, Y., Liu, Q., Olwoch, J.M., Revich, B., Sauerborn, R. Human health: impacts, adaptation and co-benefits. In: Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., and New York, US. 2014 [43]Azongo D.K., Awine T., Wak G., Binka F.N., Oduro A.R. (2012). A timeseries analysis of weather variability and all-cause mortality in the Kasena-Nankana Districts of Northern Ghana, 2012, 1995–2010. Glob Health Action. doi: https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v5i0.19073 [44]Codjoe S.N.A., & Nabie V.A. Climate Change and Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the Ghana Belt. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2014. (6923-6939) [45]Patz, J.A., Olson S.H., Uejo C.K., Gibbs, H.K. Disease emergence from global climate and land use change. Med Clin North Am, 2008. 92:1473–1491. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2008.07.007 [46]Lobell D.B., Schlenker W., Costa-Roberts J. Climate trends and global crop production since 1980. Science, 2011. 333(6042):616–620. doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1204531 [47]Caminade C., Ndione, J.A., Kebe .CM.F., Jones, A.E., Danuor, S., Tay, S., Tourre, Y.M., Lacaux J.P., Vignolles C., Duchemin J.B., Jeanne I, Morse A.P. Mapping Rift Valley fever and malaria risk over West Africa using climatic indicators. Atmos Sci Lett, 2011, 12:96–103. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.296 [48]Caminade C, Kovats S, Rocklov J, Tompkins AM, Morse AP, Colo ´nGonza ´lez FJ, Stenlund H, Martens P, Lloyd SJ (2014). Impact of climate change on global malaria distribution. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 111(9):3286–3291. doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1302089111 [49]Chaves LF, Koenraadt CJM (2010) Climate change and highland malaria: fresh air for a hot debate. Q Rev Biol 85(1):27–55. doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/650284 [50]Hertel, T.W., Burke, M. B., & Lobell, D.B. (2010) The poverty implications of climateinduced crop yield changes by 2030. Global Environmental Change,20(4), 577585. [51]Tacoli, C. (2009). Crisis or adaptation? Migration and climate change in a context of high mobility. Environ Urban 21:513–525. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247809342182 [52]Gemenne F (2011.) Why the numbers don’t add up: a review of estimates and predictions of people displaced by environmental changes. Glob Environ Change 21(S1):S41–S49. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j. gloenvcha.2011.09.005 [53]Douglas I, Alam K, Maghenda M, Mcdonnell Y, Mclean L., Campbell J (2008). Unjust waters: climate change, flooding and the urban poor in Africa. Environ Urban 20(1):187–205. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247808089156 [54]WHO/UNICEF (2017). Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, Joint Monitoring Programme on Water and Sanitation, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news [55]O’Neill B. C et al., (2017). The roads ahead: narratives for shared socioeconomic pathways describing world futures in the 21st century, Global Environmental Change, 42, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.01.004 [56] UNEP (2012). Climate Change Challenges for Africa: Evidence from selected Eu-Funded Research Projects: https://www.unep.org/research4policy