<Research Objectives>

The objective of this research is 1) to consider impacts of environmental variability on vulnerability and resilience of human activities in the semi-arid tropics; 2) to study factors affecting social-ecological systems and their recovery from shocks; 3) to analyze factors determining ability of households and communities to recover from environmental shocks and the roles of institutions in improving household resilience; and 4) to identify the factors affecting resilience of social-ecological systems and ways in which the resilience of subsistence farmers in the semi-arid tropics to environmental variability can be strengthened. 

 

<Background>

A vicious cycle of poverty and environmental degradation, such as forest degradation and desertification, is a major cause of global environmental problems. This is especially the case in the semi-arid tropics (SAT) including Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where a majority of the world’s poor are concentrated. Within the SAT, communities’ livelihoods depend critically on fragile and poorly endowed natural resources, and poverty and environmental degradation are widespread. People in these regions depend largely on rain-fed agriculture, and their livelihoods are vulnerable to environmental variability. Environmental resources such as vegetation and soil are also vulnerable to human activities. To surmount these environmental challenges, human society and ecosystems must be resilient to (recover quickly from) environmental shocks. Thus in this project we consider society and ecology as one social-ecological system and empirically analyze its resilience.

 

<How do you utilize the results of the project to help solving “global environmental issues”?>

Through data collection, observation and analysis, our research will identify key resilience indicators able to provide ecosystem and resource management options for communities in the SAT. These results will be disseminated through workshops, conferences, working papers and peer-reviewed publications to share information with concerned governmental and non-governmental agencies and groups.

In FY2006 we established research collaborations with variousinstitutions in Zambia. 

In FY2007 we prepared experimental field sites and installed monitoringequipment such as weather stations, on-farm rain gauges and soil moisturemeasurement devices. Comprehensive weekly household surveys including bodymeasurement and monitoring of rainfall and crop growth commenced in November2007. Intensive field data for the 2007/2008, 2008/2009, 2009/2010 agriculturalseasons were collected and data compiled completed for full analysis. 

InFR2011, we organized a series of meetings for disseminating research outcomesto all stakeholders concerned.

 

Findings to the objective1) Rainfall variability and the impact to crop production

· The seasonal pattern of rainfallvaried across these three rainy seasons and farmers were facing not only annualvariation but also seasonal variation of precipitation. In the last threecropping seasons 2007/2008, 2008/2009 and 2009/2010, our study site received morerainfall than the annual average. The December 2007 heavy rain (473 mm/week) caused significant damagesto agricultural production and regional infrastructure such as roads andbridges. After the flooding, farmers responded quickly by replanting maize, and shiftingto other crops.

·  In agronomicfield experiments in Eastern Province, the impacts oftree burning on soil nutrient status and maize yield varied according to theamount of tree biomass burnt. The field experiment in Southern Provincesuggested that maize yield was strongly influenced by topography andtemperature. Cultivation under different topographic contexts partly mitigatedclimatic shocks.

 

Findings to the objective 2) Impact of heavy rain on householdconsumption and factors affecting recovery

· Resilience at the householdlevel was quantitatively measured and factors affecting resilience wereidentified. A sharp decline in food consumption before harvest was observed afterheavy rain in December 2007. After March 2008, food consumption gradually recovered,however the speed of recovery was very slow. Heavy rainfall in 2007 resulted ina sharp increase in maize prices in February 2009 affecting the ability ofhouseholds to purchase food. It took more than one year for most households torecover food consumption to the level before December 2007 heavy rainfall. Therecovery speed was high in lowland due to personal gift, public food aid andnon-agricultural income. Cattle holdings helped household recovery in upperterrace. Some new activities for getting cash income, such as livestock sales,fishery and wage labor emerged to offset a shortfall of income. Flexibility inemploying diverse strategies to successfully cope with climatic shocks is asuggestive of household resilience.

 

Findings to the objective 3) Copingstrategies to recover food consumption and livelihoods

·  The level of vulnerability differs among different types of actors,such as farmers, households and rural societies. Rural households and communities in Africa are facing not only risks from natural disastersbut also risks from social and economic changes, such as international pricehikes of cash crops, political transitions, and changes in land tenure systemsand agricultural policies. During the course of transitions from old systems tonew systems, access to some resources decreased while other access to otherresources expanded.

·  We also revealed that vulnerability increased for various reasonsand it could be attributable economic, socio-political and even cultural spheresand their interactions. With regards to social networks, communication toolssuch as cellular phones are recently playing an important role in helpingfarmers to cope with climatic as well as economic shocks for requesting goodsin need.

 

Findings to the objective 4) Howto enhance resilience of households of food security

· Resilience in SAT context can be defined as the short-run recovery offood consumption, food production and livelihoods. In the long-run, resilienceis the adaptive capacity of household, community and region to absorb shocks,adapt to change and to learn, innovate and transform.

· Various assets including agricultural technology,livestock and land holdings and cash income opportunities/abilities areconsidered as crucial for recovery of households and communities. Diversifiedaccess to resource use help households to recover from shock quickly.

· The availability and the access to ecologicalservices that supply wild food during the lean period to household is alsoimportant for consumption smoothing.

· Strengthening social safety net in differentlevels is necessary to increase adaptive capacity.

· Development of infrastructure that enablehouseholds to access market for crop sales and  food purchase, as well as for stabilizing foodprices in the region is also important.

· Social system and ecological system sometimesmoved at a different speed. Comprehensive approaches and long-run observations arenecessary to understand complex responses and feed backs due to environmentaland socio-economic factors affecting rural households.

· For enhancing adaptive capacity of individualsand households, long-term strategies are required to improve basic servicessuch as education, medical services, public road and transport.

· In the long-run, not only is increasingspecific resilience against climatic change and/or disaster risks but alsoincreasing general resilience of the society required to prepare foruncertainty.

【Plan for CR1 and CR2 】

－Resilience is a wider concept that plays an important role in the discussionof sustainability. Resilience concept is applied to many research agenda ofGlobal Environmental Change (GEC) including climatic change and disaster risk reduction(DRR) by providing analytical framework. In recent years, practical applicationand demand is increasing rapidly.

－Especially, after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 11March 2011, the report submitted to the Prime Minister in June 2011 by theReconstruction Design Council “Towards Reconstruction: Hope beyond the Disaster”incorporates many ideas of resilience thinking. We plan to utilize resilienceconcept for research and practices for disaster reconstruction.

－We plan to organize the 4^th Lusaka Workshop in August2013 for making resilience network within Southern Africa Region.