Pastoralists in East Africa face a range of stressors, climate variability and change being one of them. Effective climate risk management involves managing the full range of variability and ...balancing hazard management with efforts to capitalise on opportunity; climate risk management information is central in this process. In this study, pastoralists’ perceptions of climate change, climate risk management information types, sources and attendant responses in a pastoral region in East Africa are examined. Through a multi-stage sampling process, a total of 198 heads of households in three districts were selected and interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. In addition, 29 focus group discussions and 10 key informant interviews were conducted to generate qualitative information to supplement survey data. Descriptive and thematic analysis were utilised in summarizing the data. Ninety-nine percent of the pastoralists noted that the climate had changed evidenced by high but erratic rainfall, occurrence of floods and variation in rainfall onset and cessation among other indicators. This change in climate had led to emergence of ‘new’ livestock and crop diseases, crop failure and low yields leading to frequent food shortages, water shortages, poor market access, and variation in pasture availability among other effects. Climate risk management information was received from multiple sources including; radio, diviners, community meetings, shrine elders, humanitarian agencies, and Uganda People’s defence forces (UPDF). Community meetings were however perceived as most accessible, reliable and dependable sources of information. Shifting livestock to dry season grazing and watering areas, selling firewood and charcoal, seeking for military escorts to grazing areas, purchasing veterinary drugs, shifting livestock to disease ‘free’ areas, and performing rituals (depending on the perceived risk) constituted a set of responses undertaken in response to perceived climate risk. It is recommended that an integrated early warning system that captures the perceptions and practices of the pastoralists is implemented as this would increase the credibility of climate risk information disseminated.
This book explains and explores how collaborations can be built and strengthened between African universities and farming communities to address real-world contemporary challenges. The book focuses ...on Community Action Research Platforms, an approach that has successfully enabled African universities to break free of the ivory tower and prove their relevance to society through deep collaborative engagements in targeted agricultural value chains. Developed in a pan-African network of universities (RUFORUM) focused on capacity building in agriculture, the approach has been tested in diverse settings over the last 15 years. The book draws on the experiences and lessons from 21 different projects initiated by RUFORUM member universities in Benin, Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. It highlights a critical yet underutilised role for African universities as collaborators and catalysts for multisector solutions. These are solutions that increase productivity and address climate change. They develop livelihoods and resilience in rural communities, as well as promote farmers’ access to markets, innovation and trade while safeguarding biodiversity and enhancing food and nutrition security. The book makes a case for repositioning African universities as fulcrums of development in society. It shares the rich experiences, learnings and scientific findings of diverse researchers, practitioners and students who have been working towards achieving this reality on the ground. This multidisciplinary book holds appeal for university leaders, higher education, agrifood and development specialists, researchers and practitioners, policymakers and development agencies engaged in African agriculture and rural development, higher education and sustainable growth.
The establishment of refugee settlements has caused profound segmented impacts on the coverage of land use/cover types. Few studies have computed the spatial drivers of land use/cover changes in ...Refugee prone areas. This study explored how refugee settlements induced geo-changes in land use/cover in Bidi-Bidi refugee settlement in Uganda. Sentinel-2B images (2015, 2017 and 2020) were used to assess and predict (2030 and 2040) the spatial areal extent of land use/cover changes. The images were classified using Supervised algorithm (Maximum-likelihood) and used CA-Markov model to generate transitions into the future. A Binary Logistic regression was used to compute the spatial drivers of geo-changes. Our results reveal that the settlements triggered more geo-changes in built-up (0.6%), refugee settlements (4.1%), and subsistence farmlands (7.0%) at the expense of woodlands (−0.3%), wetlands (−2.9%), and grasslands (−8.3%). The same trajectory will also be expected between 2030 and 2040. The most critical spatial drivers of these changes are as follows: population growth, increased temperatures, precipitation variation, distance to water sources, distance to roads, distance to police posts, and distance to trading centres. To reduce the acceleration of changes in land use/cover types, this study agitates for equal spatial establishment of woodlots, promotion of alternative sources of energy and livelihoods, and settlement construction materials.
Abstract
The impact of floods on households in Uganda is becoming increasingly severe. It is often assumed that people who reside in a riverine area have adapted to flood pulses. However, in most ...cases, household-level risk reduction strategies are inadequate for ensuring a livelihood resilient to floods. The objective of this study was to investigate the determinants of households' decisions on coping strategies in the Manafwa catchment, Eastern Uganda. The study was based on a field survey of 210 households supplemented with focused group discussions (6) and key informant interviews (4) conducted in the Butaleja district in March 2019. The study used the protection motivation theory framework and applied the multivariate probit model. The most common short-term coping strategy was building temporary embankments (37%), whereas afforestation (44%) was the most common long-term solution deployed. The determinants that consistently and significantly influenced the choice of coping strategies adopted were: family size, number of adult males in the family, location of the house within the floodplain and time of residence in the affected area (P > 0.05). For policy purposes, this study recommends that the relevant stakeholder interventions should consider these determinants, in order to enhance the adaptive capacity of rural households to flooding.
Times-series data on malaria cases (2011-2017) from five level III local health centers occurring across three altitudinal zones; low, mid and high altitude was utilized. Inverse Distance Weighted ...(IDW) interpolation regression and Mann Kendall trend test were used to analyze malaria patterns. Vegetation attributes from the three altitudinal zones were analyzed using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used to determine the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model was used to project malaria patterns for a 7 year period. Despite observed decline in malaria cases across the three altitudinal zones, the high altitude zone became a malaria hotspot as cases variably occurred in the zone. Rainfall played the biggest role in malaria trends. Human population appeared to influence malaria incidences in the low altitude areas partly due to population concentration in this zone. Malaria control interventions ought to be strengthened and strategically designed to achieve no malaria cases across all the altitudinal zones. Integration of climate information within malaria interventions can also strengthen eradication strategies of malaria in such differentiated altitudinal zones.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Information on forest structure is fundamentally important to track successional vegetation dynamics for efficient forest management. This study reports on vegetation characteristics, dominance ...patterns and species height growth in a northern mistbelt forest type in South Africa. Common alpha-diversity indices (species richness and Shannon–Weiner diversity), structural vegetation parameters (tree density and basal area), and species importance value index were used. Size class distribution and height–diameter allometry were further examined for the overall stand and most important species. Stem densities (472.0 ± 43.5 and 605.3 ± 28.1 trees ha
−1
for ≥ 5 cm to < 10 cm and ≥ 10 cm dbh (diameter at breast height) classes, respectively) and basal area values (1.99 ± 0.19 and 48.07 ± 3.46 m
2
ha
−1
, respectively) are comparable to other Afromontane forests in East Africa. The overall stand showed an inverted-J shaped distribution pattern which is a typical feature of stand size class distribution in most natural forests. Most ecologically important species also exhibited an inverted-J shaped distribution pattern, suggesting good regeneration and recruitment potential. There were significant differences in species on height, reflecting species-specific height growth patterns, possibly a result of intrinsic growth potential and competitive interactions. The present study suggests that conservation and management policies, including protection of surrounding land uses against fire, contribute to maintaining a successful recovery of these forests. However, it should be noted that these forests may be experiencing relatively slow dynamic flux as a result of the over-mature state of some trees with several years under relatively strict protection.
Many emerging and re-emerging zoonotic infectious diseases occur in Africa. These are projected to increase as human–animal host contact increases owing to increasing environmental degradation that ...shrinks nature habitats for wildlife over the continent. The current outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) responsible for causing coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) has reinvigorated discourse on the disruptiveness of the zoonotic emerging infectious diseases, owing to their transboundary character. Even as the world focuses on the COVID-19 sweeping pandemic, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS)-CoV re-emerged in Saudi Arabia infecting 18 people with five deaths; this has barely received any attention. This outbreak is particularly of concern to the pastoralists in the Horn of Africa, a region that has in recent past seen an increase in camel trade with the Gulf States, especially Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Emerging and re-emerging zoonotic infectious diseases are complex, depend on human–animal–environment interaction and pose a strain on public health systems. There is a need to address these diseases dynamically through a synergistic approach, drawing on expertise from diverse sectors. One Health approach has distinguished itself as an integrative action able to bring together multiple actors on a global, national and local scale to advance the attainment of optimal health outcomes for people, animals and the environment. One Health works by strengthening the preparedness, response, mitigation and monitoring of zoonotic infectious disease risks collaboratively. We opine that as zoonotic emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases continue to rise over pastoral Africa, comprehensive implementation of the One Health approach will be urgently required.
This study was conducted to map flood inundation areas along the Manafwa River, Eastern Uganda using HECRAS integrated with the SWAT model. The study mainly sought to evaluate the predictive capacity ...of SWAT by comparisons with streamflow observations and to derive, using HECRAS, the flood inundation maps. Changes in Land-use/cover showed by decrease in forest areas and wetlands, and conversions into farmlands and built-up areas from 1995 to 2017 have resulted in increased annual surface runoff, sediment yield, and water yield. Flood frequency analysis for 100-, 50-, 10-, and 5-year return periods estimated peak flows of 794, 738, 638, and 510 m3/s, respectively, and total inundated areas of 129, 111, 101, and 94 km2, respectively. Hazard classification of flood extent indicated that built-up areas and commercial farmlands are highly vulnerable, subsistence farmlands are moderately to highly vulnerable, and bushland, grassland, tropical high forest, woodland, and wetland areas are very low to moderately vulnerable to flooding. Results demonstrated the usefulness of combined modeling systems in predicting the extent of flood inundation, and the developed flood risk maps will enable the policy makers to mainstream flood hazard assessment in the planning and development process for mitigating flood hazards.
Afzelia africana
Sm. is a highly valued multi-purpose and overexploited tree species in Africa. Ethnobotany of
A. africana
can guide its sustainable usage, yet there is limited information on such ...aspect for the species in Uganda. Here, we assessed use values of
A. africana
and users’ traditional knowledge, and how they relate to plant parts and socio-economic factors including ethnicity, gender, education, age, marital status, profession, household size, income, land size and livestock ownership. Two hundred face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted. Use values were assessed based on plant part value (PPV) and use value per use category (UV
k
), while users’ traditional knowledge was compared using overall use value (OUV) and reported use value (RUV). All plant parts were used, with stem (PPV = 41.4%), seeds (19.6%) and leaves (19.3%) being the most important. Nine plant use categories were enumerated, with most dominant being material (UV
k
= 0.63), followed by social (0.49) and fuel wood (0.41). Bark and root were mostly used for medicinal purpose, and branch and stem for fuelwood and material, respectively. Men and youngsters had higher OUV than females and older people, respectively. In particular, men frequently mentioned the use in agriculture, for fuelwood, environment and medicine, while women reported social use. Although socio-cultural group did not influence significantly OUV and RUV, multivariate analyses revealed differentiation in use category according to socio-cultural group. Land size also predisposed informants to report more uses for the species. Taking these significant socio-economic factors into account in participative forest management will facilitate
A. africana
sustainable use.
Adaptive capacity provides a pivotal role in resilience building for socio-ecological systems to overcome both natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Persistent droughts increasingly cause abrupt ...changes in communities’ ability to mobilize scarce resources, anticipate or respond to perceived or current effects over time. This paper examines the factors influencing agropastoral farmers’ adaptive capacity dynamics in the cattle corridor of Uganda, and quantify their relative contributions. Data analysed was derived from a household survey of 426 households randomly and purposively selected from the six districts in the cattle corridor. Agropastoral farmers' adaptive capacity was assessed using the Local Adaptive Capacity (LAC) framework and measured using Principal component Analysis (PCA). Multivariate probit regression model was used to reveal the significant factors influencing adaptive capacity. The study illustrates that farmers' adaptive capacity index was low and variable across the cattle corridor sub-regions, significant indicators were; innovations, asset base, knowledge, and information. Farmers' gender, level of education, land size, off-farm activities, and membership to savings and loan-based associations significantly changed adaptive capacity. This study enlightens stakeholders with better knowledge of adaptive capacity, its component indicators, and factors at the household level. It also provides methodological approaches for assessing adaptive capacity at local level to climate change hazards. The study recommends an integrated application of the knowledge on the underlying factors to help infer innovative approaches and avert the long-term/ expected effects of drought on the context under investigation.
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