Hydrophytes and Climate Change

Climate Compatible Development (CCD) is an emerging development approach which seeks to minimize the threat posed by climate change while maximize the opportunities for development. In view of the adverse impact of climate change on the general development of the country, Ethiopia, a number of polices which constitute climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies have been adopted and established. Among such polices, Ethiopian water resources and disaster risk management policy is expected to have direct and indirect role in addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation. Rainwater harvesting, water shed management, use of water efficiently, small scale irrigation and water resource protection, strengthening drought and flood early warning system are adaptation strategies for water resource policy, and water harvesting and improved energy efficiency are low carbon footprint strategies/mitigation strategies. Disaster risk management policy also comprises climate change and variability related disaster risk reduction strategies; enhancing early warning information system, and safety net program as the climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, which are the major component of CCD. These policies also have its own limitation in relation to the system base and institutional gap in implementing CCD. In fact, these barriers can be eased by updating and/or adjustment of the policies under the framework of climate compatible development; mainstreaming climate change issues into water resource and disaster risk management policy; strengthening sector-wise linkage and synergy to avoid overlap; as well as monitoring the climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies among sectors. Key words: Climate change, low-carbon footprint, adaptation, mainstreaming, Ethiopia

Background: By 2050, most of the global human population will live in coastal regions, and the climatic impacts on these areas represent a significant concern for governments, private sector companies, and societies. Thus, environmental management of coastal regions plays a central role in the global climate agenda. Methods: The study employed a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative techniques to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR). This included the construction of networks of related topics, time series analysis, literature mapping, and the identification of research gaps. The databases used were Web of Science, Science Direct, and Scopus. The inclusion and exclusion criteria encompassed articles published between 2014 and 2023, off-topic articles, unavailable articles, or paid access articles. At the end, 96 studies were included in this RSL. Results: The results revealed a predominance of studies addressing climate management in coastal regions, primarily focused on adaptation strategies. However, there is a notable deficiency in studies that address integrated mitigation and adaptation strategies. Time series analysis predicted an increase in the focus on coastal management and climate change in the coming years. Conclusion: The research underscores the central role of coastal management in addressing climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It encourages multi-level management, integrating government officials, business leaders, and civil society in the development of more effective practices for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Climate change is a major threat to farming and food supplies in Nigeria. To reduce these effects, communication strategies are needed to promote farming methods that can withstand climate change among Nigerian farmers. This study researched the role of communication in promoting climate change mitigation strategies among Nigerian farmers. It looked at the best ways to communicate, the messages that are sent, and the most effective communication channels. The study used communication strategies and best practices to create a communication framework that meets the specific needs of Nigerian farmers. The framework stresses involving local communities, using culturally appropriate messages, and employing various communication methods. This approach aims to increase knowledge sharing, establish trust, and encourage behavioral adjustments related to climate change. The research also examines obstacles to implementing climate-resilient farming methods. The goal of this paper is to provide guidance for policymakers, agricultural extension workers, and other parties interested in encouraging Nigerian farmers to adopt climate change mitigation strategies. Additionally, it promotes a more informed and self-sufficient agricultural industry in Nigeria, which is better prepared to confront the effects of climate change.

In education for sustainable development, widely regarded as a framework that offers us the opportunity to improve the ways in which we cope with climate change issues, the need for student teachers to express willingness to act in order to deal with numerous issues and challenges of sustainable development, especially climate change, is of particular importance. Therefore, the focus of this study is on the examination of predictors of student teachers’ willingness to act in a climate-change mitigation and adaptation context. For the purpose of this study, measurement instruments of willingness to act in climate change mitigation and adaptation context, attitudes towards climate change, perception of action possibilities in climate change mitigation and adaptation context, interest in climate change and concern for ecological problems were validated. A total of 201 student teachers from the University of Rijeka (Croatia) participated in the study. It was determined that (I) attitudes towards climate change, (II) perception of action possibilities in climate change mitigation and adaptation context and (III) interest in climate change represent significant predictors of willingness to act in climate-change direction and mitigation contexts. Based on the results of this study, recommendations for teacher education in the climate change context have been offered.

This chapter presents a critical survey of what some churches in Ghana are doing or have done to help address the climate change phenomenon and what more is left to be done to fully harness the unique influence and prestigious advantage churches in Ghana have within the general population. The findings of the survey show that except for the Evangelical Presbyterian (EP) Church, there is a minimal record of the role churches in Ghana play towards climate change mitigation and prevention. The EP church has engaged in education and knowledge transfer of climate change resistance and adaptation strategies to local farmers, rural communities, and students in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 that calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, especially among the poor. SDG 13, among others, essentially seeks to intensify resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related threats and natural disasters in all countries, improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning. It also aims to foster mechanisms for raising capacity for efficient climate change-related planning and management in the least developed countries, including focusing on women, youth, and local and marginalized communities.

Climate is one of the most important factors that influence and determine the behavior, abundance and distribution of species, as well as having a strong influence on the ecology of habitats and ecosystems structure. Changes in the behavior, abundance and distribution of species are linked to climate. Diversity and plant species are highly interlinked and the relationship between biodiversity and climate change should be explored from several perspectives. This variety provides the building blocks to adapt to changing environmental conditions which are caused due to climate change. Conserved habitats can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thus helping to address climate change by storing carbon in the plant biomass. Climate is one of the major limiting factors which determine the survival and growth of plants. The conservation and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services can play a key role in helping societies to adapt to climate change. Biodiversity is affected by climate change, but biodiversity, through the ecosystem services and function it supports, also makes an important contribution to both climate-change mitigation and adaptation. Maintenance of agro-biodiversity and carbon sequestration through the process of photosynthesis is the two important and complementary environmental services of agro-ecosystems. Climate change affects biodiversity and one of the causes of biodiversity loss. At the same time climate change will accelerate further if biodiversity and ecosystems are not effectively protected. Generally due to the variation of genetic makeup within pants, different plant species diversity plays a great role in climate change adaption and mitigation process.

Agroecosystems such as gardens and plantations play a crucial role in climate change mitigation through carbon capture and storage (CCS). This study aimed to analyze the carbon storage potential of these two agroecosystem types in the Tuntang Sub-Watershed and to examine the factors influencing it. A quantitative-descriptive approach was employed, involving biomass measurement both above and below round, along with analyses of soil physical and chemical properties at 41 sampling points. Results showed that the average CCS capacity in plantation areas reached 380.51 tons/ha, slightly higher than that of gardens at 333.30 tons/ha, although the difference was not statistically significant. Contributing factors to carbon storage capacity included vegetation type, soil pH, soil texture, and bulk density. Plantations were dominated by perennial woody crops producing higher biomass, whereas gardens were more commonly planted with annual crops. Therefore, well-planned vegetation management, particularly mixed agroforestry systems, has the potential to enhance CCS efficiency. These findings serve as an important foundation for planning sustainable agroecosystem management as a strategy for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Carbon stock assessment quantifies carbon stored in ecosystems, which is vital for understanding their role in sequestering carbon dioxide, informing sustainable land management crucial for human activities and climate change mitigation. Employing purposive sampling to evaluate the biomass, carbon (C) stock, and carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestered in Daclan Communal Forest, using non-destructive methods, it informs climate change monitoring, mitigation, and adaptation strategies while promoting proper forest management and sustainable development. Additionally, it underscores the potential economic value derived from the forest's carbon pools. The methodologies used include measuring trees at diameter breast height (DBH) and sampling herbaceous vegetation, litter, and soil for C content determination, using eight (8) 30m by 30m plots to gather the data and samples. The Communal Forest boasted substantial biomass totaling approximately 262 Mg ha-1, comprising 182.17 Mg ha-1 of carbon and sequestering 671.26 Mg ha-1 of CO2. This abundance holds a significant economic value estimated at Php3,038,237.09. The figures highlight the considerable role of the Communal Forest in sequestering atmospheric carbon, indicating its potential for carbon crediting and trading. Therefore, collaborative efforts from Local Government Units (LGUs), community residents, and relevant organizations are imperative for the enhancement, sustainability, and conservation of these forests.

A conceptual framework for an urban areas typology to integrate climate change mitigation and adaptation

The climate challenges confronting agriculture are multiple, interconnected and multi-scaled. Agriculture is a source of increasing greenhouse gas emissions, but it is also vulnerable to climate change impacts. Adopting resilient approaches in the agricultural industry can help to contribute to both climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation. Climate-smart agriculture has emerged as a solution to address the multiple challenges of climate change and food security by sustainably increasing productivity, enhancing resilience and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To date, there is limited scholarly evidence on what constitutes climate-smart agriculture, and how it is framed globally and practiced by smallholder farming communities. This research helps to bridge this gap by analysing the international discourse around climate-smart agriculture, and providing local empirical evidence derived from smallholder farming communities in the Philippines and Timor-Leste. At the broad level, this research aims to identify how climate-smart agriculture within community-based adaptation programs is contributing to the integration of mitigation and adaptation responses to climate change. Drawing from political ecology and climate change (adaptation and mitigation sciences) theories, the research explains how socio-institutional factors – inequality, unequal power relations and social injustice – influence climate-smart agriculture. The theoretical arguments are illustrated with empirical case studies of smallholder farmers and civil society organisations in the two case studies. Using mixed qualitative methods and descriptive analysis of over 150 semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation, the research examines climate-smart agriculture practices across three broad categories: vulnerability of smallholder farmers (socioeconomic factors), synergistic relationships (adaptation, mitigation and food security) and governance (socio-institutional determinants). This research argues that mitigation and adaptation interventions are climate-smart for smallholder farmers when they directly address local climate risks, support a combination of adaptation, food security and livelihood strategies, and empower at-risk and marginalised populations. Results indicate that climate-smart agriculture in the Philippines and Timor-Leste are characterised and influenced by multiple socio-institutional factors. The increasing burden of loss and damage as a result of extreme climate events subject women to migration, increased discrimination, loss of customary rights to land, resource poverty and food insecurity. In terms of farming practices implemented by smallholder farmers, most adaptation actions were found to have corresponding positive mitigation, food security and livelihood co-benefits. At the community level, climate-smart interventions are highly location-specific, technically rigorous, involve knowledge-intensive processes, and are influenced by the finance and capacities of local farming communities and implementing partners. Furthermore, of relevance at the global level, this research finds that there is a growing divide between how developed and developing countries frame solutions to the impacts of climate change on agriculture despite agriculture featuring prominently in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations. Such a divide is limiting the recognition of solutions that integrate mitigation and adaptation opportunities. The insights from the Philippines and Timor-Leste make a compelling case for joint adaptation and mitigation actions in the agriculture sector across three broad policy frontiers. First, implementation of climate-smart agriculture will require participatory platforms that have a focus on livelihood and income opportunities for smallholder farmers. Second, policies and institutions on agriculture, agrarian reform, land use and climate change should mainstream both adaptation and mitigation outcomes using local plans and community level programs. Third, partnerships with community-based organisations and local governments are pivotal to coordinating services with farmers, providing an array of agriculture and climate services generating new knowledge and implementing climate-smart farming solutions.

Investigating changes in compound dry and hot events (CDHEs) and evaluating the associated socioeconomic exposure under climate change are critical for developing effective climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. However, the socioeconomic exposure and the contributions of various driving factors to socioeconomic exposure under different warming levels remain poorly understood. Using the latest climate experiments from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6), this study assessed future changes in the frequency and socioeconomic exposure of CDHEs and explored the contributing drivers in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB) under 1.5 °C, 2.0 °C, and 3.0 °C global warming scenarios. Results indicate that the occurrences of CDHEs are projected to increase by 2.9, 3.9, and 4.8 times in a 1.5 °C, 2.0 °C, and 3.0 °C warmer world, respectively, compared to the present period (1985–2014). Population exposure to CDHEs increases significantly, with the greatest magnitude occurring at the 2 °C warming scenario. GDP exposure is expected to intensify continuously as the global average temperature rises, with the area experiencing significant increases continuously expanding. Climate change is the dominant driver of total projected changes in population exposure to CDHEs, accounting for approximately 105.6% at 1.5 °C, 110.3% at 2.0 °C, and 141.0% at 3.0 °C. At 1.5 °C, 2.0 °C, and 3.0 °C warming levels, changes in GDP exposure are primarily driven by the synergistic interaction between climate and GDP, accounting for 50.7%, 62.0%, and 64.8%, respectively. These findings provide valuable insights for climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Indigenous knowledge in climate change adaptation: Choice of indigenous adaptation responses to coastal erosion in Ghanaian communities

Monocultures of crops have created problems and challenges, including damage to soil fertility, reduction of biodiversity, and impact on water resources and pollinators. Increased use of fertilisers and fossil fuels has enhanced climate change, leading to a reduction in farm income. Hence, areview of the literature was conducted to diagnose the significant horticultural and short forestry systems suitable for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The review highlighted that the short forestry systems are mostly practised in developing countries rather than developed countries. Silvi-Horti-pisciculture is a short forestry system where fish, wood, fruits, and annuals are cultivated synergistically. Silvi-Horti-pisciculture with beekeeping offers better ecosystem services such as control and prevention of pollution, food security and environmental sustainability, the protection of biodiversity, and adaptation to climate change in climate change scenarios. The order of significance is: carbon sequestration, nutrient recycling, biodiversity conservation, water conservation, and economies of the different components in the short forestry system, which include fruit trees, timber trees, bees, fish, medicinal plants, flowers, vegetables and crops. In the system of short forestry, the dominant component is fruit trees, where annual vegetables are intercropped. Hortoforestry can be a multifunctional tool for high food production, poverty population reduction, input reduction, water conservation, improved soil quality, biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and climate change adaptation. Water bodies (both ground and surface water) have provided importance to hortoforestry, around the world, since the early twentieth century, with the rise of both the global population and society’s consumerism, agriculture has intensified, having a direct impact on the degradation of soils, water, air, natural landscapes and biodiversity. The study concluded that short forestry systems are a possible multifunctional solution for global food security, environmental protection, and mitigation and climate change and adaptation in the wasteland.

Abstract. In many of contexts, women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than men—primarily as they constitute the majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent for their livelihood on natural resources that are threatened by climate change. Women and men in the poorest and developing countries are especially vulnerable when they are highly dependent on natural resources particularly at the local level for their livelihood . Women charged with the responsibility to secure water, food and fuel for cooking and heating face the greatest challenges . It is important to remember, however, that women are not only vulnerable to climate change but they are also effective actors or agents of change in relation to both mitigation and adaptation . Thus the present paper intends to examine relationship between women and climate change in Developing countries by using descriptive- analytic method. Our findings indicate that Women often have a strong body of knowledge and expertise that can be used in climate change mitigation, disaster reduction and adaptation strategies. However, gender inequalities, political, economic and poverty prevents women from activities to deal with climate change Vulnerabilities.

This book is a compendium of studies on climate change challenges and adaptations at the farm level, capturing research carried out across the continents of Asia and Africa. Chapter 1 is on the introduction to climate change vulnerability and adaptation strategies with rural farm-level perspective. Chapter 2 discusses the analytical framework and methodologies for analysing farm level vulnerability in the region. Chapter 3 examines the trends of climate and extreme events in the region and expounds on the critical question of what is the extent of changing climate. Chapter 4 gives the results of farmers' perception on climate and socioeconomic trends with respect to climate change. Chapter 5 gives a meso- or macrolevel perspective of climate change on food security in Asia and Africa. Chapter 6 evaluates crop-level adaptation options to current and future climatic trends using crop simulation experiments and Chapter 7 assesses the impact of climate change adaptation strategies for small farmers in Kenya, Africa. Chapter 8 gives the results of farm-level analysis of climate change adaptation from Niger and Burkina Faso. Chapter 9 gives details of importance of sociological studies in understanding climate change resilience among communities and their coping strategies. Chapter 10 describes the results of the analysis in identifying policy options towards climate resilience in Ghana, Africa. Chapter 11 is a synthesis of key messages from the micro-level analysis and identifies constraints and opportunities in adaptation, and the final chapter, Chapter 12, gives the key recommendations for enhanced options for adaptation against climate change and furthermore in strengthening the path towards climate resilience in the region. The book reiterates that climate change adaptation and mitigation are a practical necessity, as well as a moral imperative at the grassroots level: farm, household and community, as they significantly affect agriculture. This book will definitely serve as a valuable reference for development practitioners, academics, researchers, agricultural scientists, etc. who are interested in the topic of climate change and its consequences.