CLIMATE RESILIENCE

INTRODUCTION

The scientific evidence is overwhelming: The climate is changing, and human activity is the
primary factor in the acceleration of climate change over the past century. Regardless of how
successful humans are at limiting the root causes of our warming planet, society is facing
significant impacts from more frequent and severe weather, ocean warming and acidification,
extended periods of drought and extreme temperatures, and other deleterious effects of climate
change. The ability to prepare for, recover from, and adapt to these impacts is called climate
resilience.

For decades, “sustainability” has embodied the full measure of environmental and social goals
aligned, always, with economic ones. That triple bottom line has nicely described the
overarching goal of a wide range of endeavors by individuals and families, companies and
institutions, communities and nations. Increasingly, though, a new word is on the scene, one that
similarly articulates a state of being and that acknowledges that meeting the needs of both
present and future generations in a dynamic and dangerous world likely will involve myriad
twists and turns. Unlike sustainability, resilience already resonates for the uninitiated. Being a
resilient person means withstanding shocks of many kinds; job loss and financial setbacks, death
of loved ones and other relationship endings, illness and disabilities, and other life challenges.
Being resilient means bouncing back from adversity, adapting to change, and coping with
whatever surprises come our way, in essence, being ready for anything

Therefore, climate resilience can be defined as the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and respond
to hazardous events, trends, or disturbances related to climate.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS

In Zambia, any change in climate can spell disaster. With a majority of Zambians depending on
agriculture, even a slight change in temperature can affect crops like maize with catastrophic
consequences for livelihoods. In the south of Zambia, the returns from farming have diminished
due to severe droughts. Rainfall is insufficient to give a good crop yield and wild animals wander
in the fields further destroying crops.
With more frequent droughts, but also floods the government must look for resources to provide
relief to the people. The country was already struggling to achieve development, and climate
change is putting additional strain on that process. Climate change has also begun to affect
Zambia’s national tourism industry. If extreme weather changes continue, in about 50 years, all
that will remain of the Victoria Falls, known as the “7th wonder of the world”, could turn into an
empty ravine. Since Zambia’s tourism industry rests on the country’s natural resources, this
would have devastating economic effects. Extreme weather is affecting wildlife and flora alike.
The lack of rain in Zambia’s South Luangwa region, in the east of the country, means that
animals have had to scavenge for roots. Increased numbers of hippos are dying. Vegetation has
also been affected, with landscapes translating into scores of petrified trees in dried out areas.

Recent literature illustrates the economic and social challenges facing cities around the world as
a result of climate change including energy shortages, damaged infrastructure, increasing losses
to industry, heat-related mortality and illness, and scarcity of food and water. These challenges
are interrelated. Economic losses make it difficult for residents to maintain their livelihoods and
can therefore exacerbate social issues including poverty and hunger. At the same time, some
demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of cities can make them especially vulnerable
to climate change impacts.

For instance, decreased rainfall has exposed Zambia’s overdependence on climate-sensitive

energy resources. Hydropower generates the majority of the country’s electricity through dams
distributed across the Zambezi and Kafue Rivers. Reduced river flows, especially in summer
months, negatively impact energy production potential, which trickles down to reduced
productivity in the industrial sector. Forest biomass is an important energy source for the rural
population. Flash floods and heavy precipitation, especially in the north, damage roads, bridges
and culverts already compromised by poor construction and lack of maintenance.

Socially, climate change is very likely to affect food security at the global, regional, and local
level and this leads to poverty. Climate change can disrupt food availability, reduce access to
food, and affect food quality. For example, projected increases in temperatures, changes in
precipitation patterns, changes in extreme weather events, and reductions in water availability
may all result in reduced agricultural productivity. Increases in the frequency and severity
extreme weather events can also interrupt food delivery, and resulting spikes in food prices after
extreme events are expected to be more frequent in the future. Increasing temperatures can
contribute to spoilage and contamination.

Internationally, these effects of climate change on agriculture and food supply are likely to be
similar to those seen in the Zambia. However, other stressors such as population growth may
magnify the effects of climate change on food security. In developing countries, adaptation
options like changes in crop-management or ranching practices, or improvements to irrigation
are limited.

Increasing Climate change make worse the risks of hunger and undernutrition through Extreme
weather events. Climate change increases the frequency and intensity of some disasters such as
droughts, floods and storms. This has an adverse impact on livelihoods and food security.
Climate-related disasters have the potential to destroy crops, critical infrastructure, and key
community assets, therefore deteriorating livelihoods and exacerbating poverty. Changes in
climatic conditions have already affected the production of some staple crops, and future climate
change threatens to exacerbate this. Higher temperatures will have an impact on yields while
changes in rainfall could affect both crop quality and quantity. Climate change could increase the
prices of major crops in some regions. For the most vulnerable people, lower agricultural output
means lower incomes. Under these conditions, the poorest people who already use most of their
income on food sacrifice additional income and other assets to meet their nutritional
requirements, or resort to poor coping strategies.

Climate change has the potential to affect different diseases, including respiratory illness and
diarrhea. Disease results in a reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food and increases the
nutritional requirements of sick people. Poor health in a community also leads to a loss of labour
productivity.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Resilience breaks the mammoth of climate change into locally manageable tasks such as

reducing increased flood risk due to sea-level rise or preparing agricultural markets for longer
droughts due to higher temperatures. Resilience underscores the specific impacts of climate
change for individual communities. Examples of resilient measures include: using scarce water
resources more efficiently, adapting building codes to future climate conditions and extreme
weather events, building flood defences and raising the levels of dykes, developing drought-
tolerant crops; choosing tree species and forestry practices less vulnerable to storms and fires and
setting aside land corridors to help species migrate.

To help achieve climate resilience Zambia has to build an inventory of greenhouse gas
emissions; assess the impacts of climate change on the most vulnerable sectors; analyze potential
measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions; and develop capacities for reporting on climate
change through the relevant authorities.

Furthermore, Zambia needs processes to help enhance its chances of entering the international
carbon market. One such process is the Clean Development Mechanism which supports Zambia
in readiness for emerging carbon markets in Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest
Degradation (REDD).

Lastly, small grant programmes should be allocated to non-governmental and community-based

organizations for climate change mitigation and adaptation, conservation of biodiversity among
others.
KEY RESOURCES

1.Folke, C., Carpenter, S., Elmqvist, T., Gunderson, L., Holling, C.S., Walker, B. and Svedin, U. 
2002. Resilience and sustainable development: Building adaptive capacity in a world of
transformations, Stockholm: Environmental Advisory Council.  [Google Scholar]

2. Fumpa-Makano, R. (2011). Forests and Climate Change: Integrating Climate Change Issues
into National Forest Programmes and Policy Frameworks.

3. Government of the Republic of Zambia. (2007). Formulation of the National Adaptation

Programme of Action on Climate Change: Final Report.

4. International Finance Corporation. 2011. Climate Risk and Business: Hydropower, Kafue
Gorge, Lower 6. ZambiaMoench, M., Tyler, S., & Lage, J. (Eds.). (2011). Catalyzing urban
climate resilience: Applying resilience concepts to planning practice in the ACCCRN program
(2009–2011). Boulder, CO: The Institute for Social and Environmental Transition.  [Google
Scholar]

5. United Nations Development Programme.( 2012). Zambia: Climate Change Country Profile.

6. USAID.( 2012). Climate Change Adaptation in Zambia Factsheet.