MAINSTREAMING CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
APPENDIX 2
2012
Slide 1
The Impact of Climate Change on
Livelihoods
Slide 4
Assets
• Financial – sources of income, assets which can be traded or sold, savings,
financial services, etc.
• Natural – soil, water, forest, environmental assets, etc.
• Physical – houses, schools, clinics, roads, ploughs, producer goods
accessible by community, etc.
• Human – health, skills, education, knowledge, confidence etc.
• Social - family links, groups, support networks, conflict, leadership,
influences over political decisions, etc..
Slide 2
Problems farmers are facing
• Delayed onset of rains, poor distribution, intensity
• Increased length & frequency of mid-season drought
• Increase in temperature
• Reduced yields
• Increased runoff and erosion
• Leaching of nutrients
• Heat stress of livestock -> reduced yields, mortality
• Increased costs of production
Slide 5
Vulnerability
Vulnerability defines the characteristics of an individual
or group and their situation that influences their
ability to withstand, cope with and recover from the
impact of hazards and stresses.
People’s livelihoods strongly determine their level of
vulnerability. People with secure and diversified
livelihoods will be better equipped to cope and
recover than people with a single productive activity
and poor access to resources.
Slide 3
Livelihoods
• A livelihood comprises the assets, skills, technologies and activities
required to make a living and have a good quality of life.
• The strategies employed to make a living are complex, location
specific and have often evolved over generations.
• People’s livelihoods strongly determine their level of vulnerability.
People with secure and diversified livelihoods will be better
equipped to cope and recover than people with a single productive
activity and poor access to resources and knowledge.
• It is important to understand how people make a living, why they
chose the strategies they do and what makes them vulnerable to
the hazards that affect them.
Slide 6
Hazards
• Hazards are external factors or events that can
impact on people’s lives with the potential to
affect wellbeing or to do harm – depending on
the circumstances in which they hit.
• Different types of hazards include shocks such
as floods (rapid onset) and stresses such as
changing rainfall patterns and droughts (slow
onset).
A Training Manual on Use of Climate Information and Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment for
Agricultural Extension Staff in Zimbabwe
Page 110