Browsing by Author "Liwenga, Emma"

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    Climate, Water and Adaptation: Climate Related Projections on Future Water Resources and Human Adaptation in the Great Ruaha River Basin in Tanzania
    (2015) Thomsen, Torben B.; Liwenga, Emma; Pauline, Noah; Tumbo, Madaka; Osima, Sarah; Mpeta, Emmanual; Norbert, Joel; Stendel, Martin; Stisen, Simon; Villholth, Karen; D’haen, Sarah
    Main findings: - Temperatures will likely increase by 1-2 degrees by the middle of the century and 3-4 degrees by the end of the century. - A likely overall increase in precipitation and larger seasonal variation might lead to water related stress during a prolonged dry season and flood risks during the wet season. - The overall climate related effect on water resources is a status quo. - Increased rainy season rainfall offers opportunities for rain fed agriculture and water storage for hydro-power and irrigation. - Local governments are already effectively dealing with these climate related impacts. Assigning more responsibilities and capacities to LG can unlock great potential for adequately delivering locally diversified climate change adaptation.
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    Implications of Climate Change Risks on Rural-Urban Agriculture and Food Flows in Blantyre City, Malawi
    (2015) Joshua, Miriam K,; Ngongondo, Cosmo; Mwathunga, Evance; Liwenga, Emma; Stathers, Tanya E.; Chipungu, F.; Lamboll, Richard; Majule, Amos; Ndau, Stella
    The study explores rural-urban linkages in order to address temporal and spatial dynamics of vulnerability to climate change at the scale of local government, focusing on Blantyre City. The study sought to assess how different groupings of urban consumers access their food and how they are impacted by climate change risks. The study established that food consumed in Blantyre City largely originates from rural areas of Blantyre District (e.g. 80% maize), some districts in the southern region, other parts of Malawi, and other countries. The food is mostly accessed through market purchase and partially own production in surrounding rural areas. The high inter-annual rainfall variations and prolonged dry spells, which pose a major challenge for agricultural production in rural areas, affect food supplies and prices in urban markets. The occurrence impacts different urban groupings in different ways, with the disadvantaged groups being the most vulnerable because of high food costs combined with mobility constraints in searching for food. The study also established that household food security assessment at the local government level mostly links quantities of food in markets with household stocks, regardless of variations in the purchasing power of different categories of urban food consumers. The study recommends that the local government should recognise the significance of urban people's vulnerability to climate change and variability linked to rural-urban agricultural and food flows and that city development policies should cushion food insecurity at local levels.
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    Natural Capital Endowment and Dynamics of the Changing Climate in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs): Experience from Africa and Asia
    (Pathways to Resilience in Semi-Arid Economies (PRISE) Project, 2015-12-21) Mabhuye, Edmund; Yanda, Pius Z.; Maganga, Faustin P.; Liwenga, Emma; Kateka, Adolphine; Henku, Abdallah; Malik, Nico; Bavo, Cynthia
    This natural capital thematic review seeks to generate new information and highlight essential issues for the implementation of the Pathways to Resilience in Semi-arid Economies (PRISE) project. The review analyses the endowment framework underlying natural resource management and drivers of natural resource degradation, including natural processes and calamities induced by climate change. Additionally, it assesses policy frameworks that embed human action in the degradation and management of natural resources in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs). The review further attempts to unlock natural capital endowments at the global level and zooms in on East Africa, West Africa and Central Asia as case studies. The reviewed literature includes academic and official reports and online databases (research papers, journal articles and donor reports). The review generates knowledge on key drivers underlying natural resource degradation, livelihood systems and climate change impacts. The review also provides explanations on the synergistic relationship between natural resource endowment and development patterns in semiarid areas. It presents the patterns of development and the constraints underlying the attainment of sustainable natural resource management. Finally, it poses key questions that should be considered for further research in the PRISE project. The following points are emphasised: • It is necessary to have an understanding of patterns found in ecosystem services, distribution, tenure rights and gender-biased access to ecosystem services and natural resources. This also entails a better understanding of the relationship between equity and access to and utilisation of ecosystem services, and how the two can contribute to the alleviation of poverty. The following points are further emphasised: o Analysis of the importance of ecosystems in the diversification of livelihoods, associated dynamics and the nature of responses; o Generation of knowledge on how issues of tenure, especially as an incentive for natural resource management, and Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in order to inform policy for local-level adaptation projects. • There is a need to analyse how existing policies can strike a balance between attaining sustainable natural resource management and supporting community livelihoods, including nomadic pastoralism. Another important issue to address here could relate to how government can integrate traditional knowledge systems and institutions as viable and sustainable alternative approaches in sustainable natural resource management and in the improvement of livelihood systems in semi-arid ecosystems. • It is important to analyse the effectiveness of pastoralism in managing resources in harsh and unpredictable environments (Nori et al., 2008). It is also vital to analyse how pastoralism can contribute to debates on climate change adaptation; Tanzanian government policies do not currently address this.