Loss and damage from droughts and floods in rural Africa

van der Geest, Kees and Warner, Koko, "Loss and damage from droughts and floods in rural Africa" in Inside Africa’s agricultural, food and nutrition dynamics: Digging deeper ed. Akinyoade, Akinyinka, Klaver, Wijnand, Soeters, Sebastiaan and Foeken, Dick (Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2014), 276-293.

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Book Chapter
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UNU-EHS Book Chapters

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  • Author van der Geest, Kees
    Warner, Koko
    Book Editor Akinyoade, Akinyinka
    Klaver, Wijnand
    Soeters, Sebastiaan
    Foeken, Dick
    Chapter Title Loss and damage from droughts and floods in rural Africa
    Book Title Inside Africa’s agricultural, food and nutrition dynamics: Digging deeper
    Publication Date 2014-11
    Place of Publication Leiden
    Publisher Brill Publishers
    Start page 276
    End page 293
    Language eng
    Abstract ‘Loss and Damage’ refers to the adverse effects of climate variability and climate change that occur despite efforts in global mitigation and local adaptation. This chapter reports on five case studies on loss and damage as a result of drought and floods in rural areas in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and The Gambia using a questionnaire survey (N = 1,973) and participatory research tools. The research goes beyond existing knowledge on adaptation and coping mechanisms by examining the limits, constraints and residual impact of household measures to cope and adapt. Only 28% of the households surveyed successfully avoided loss and damage from drought or floods but those that introduced agricultural adaptations, such as planting drought-resistant crop varieties, or diversified their livelihoods with non-farm activities were significantly more successful than others. Migration, on the other hand, was associated with the failure to avoid loss and damage. The chapter uses examples from five case studies and is structured around three ‘loss and damage pathways’ to illustrate the consequences of not being able to cope and adapt adequately. The findings presented here indicate that climaterelated losses and damage are already a reality in many rural African communities
    UNBIS Thesaurus CLIMATE CHANGE
    Keyword Loss and damage
    Adaptation
    Copyright Holder Brill Publishers
    Copyright Year 2014
    Copyright type All rights reserved
    ISBN 9789004282698
    DOI 10.1163/9789004282698
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    Created: Tue, 25 Aug 2015, 23:56:44 JST