Forest adjacent households’ voices on their perceptions and adaptation strategies to climate change in Kilombero District, Tanzania
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Date
2016
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Plus
Abstract
Climate change is a global and local challenge to both sustainable livelihoods and
economic development. Tanzania as other countries of the world has been affected.
Several studies have been conducted on farmers’ perceptions and adaptation to
climate change in the country, but little attention has been devoted to forest adjacent
households in humid areas. This study assessed this gap through assessing forest adja-
cent households’ voices on perceptions and adaptation strategies to climate change in
Kilombero District, Tanzania. Data collection involved key informant interviews, focus
group discussions and household questionnaires. Results showed that the majority of
households perceived changed climate in terms of temperature increase, unpredict-
able rainfall, frequent occurrence of floods, increased dry spells during rainy season
coupled with decreased water sources and emergence of new pests and diseases. The
perceived change in climate has impacted agriculture productivity as the main liveli-
hood source. Different coping and adaptation strategies are employed. These are; crop
diversification, changing cropping calendar, adopting modern farming technologies,
and increasing reliance on non-timber forest products. These strategies were positively
and significantly influenced by socio-economic factors including household size,
residence period, land ownership and household income. The study concludes that,
there are changes in climatic conditions; and to respond to these climatic changes, for-
est adjacent households have developed numerous coping and adaptation strategies,
which were positively and significantly influenced by some socio-economic factors.
The study calls for actual implementation of local climate change policies and strate-
gies in order to enhance adaptive capacity at household level.
Description
Journal Article
Keywords
Climate change, Perceptions, Forest adjacent households, Coping and adaptation strategies, Non-timber forest products, Tanzania
Citation
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40064-016-2484-y