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Climate change is a concern which is receiving a lot of global attention in both scientific and political circles hence the need to implement projects that mitigate the adverse effects of this weather phenomenon as well as to adapt to the change.
Mr Collen Mutasa, a climate change expert at Environment Africa said there are two strategies for dealing with climate change — adaptation and mitigation. Adaptation methods are those strategies that enable the individual or the community to cope with or adjust to the impacts of the climate while mitigation strategies are procedures or activities that help prevent or minimise the process of climate change.
He said adapting to climate change involves the adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities. Different sectors, populations, regions are affected differently thus adaptation to climate change must be appropriate to the needs of those affected.
Communities have, throughout history coped with changing environments as they have the knowledge and practices to cope with adverse environments and shocks such as floods, droughts and storms. Nevertheless, additional adaptation will be required to reduce the adverse impacts climate change and variability.
There are many ways to do this. One of the ways is by enhancing the indigenous capacity of local communities to adapt to climate change, as people are better able to adapt to new ideas when these can be seen in the context of existing practices. A study carried out in 2002 observed that Zimbabwean farmers were more willing to use seasonal, scientific climate forecasts when they are presented in conjunction with and compared with indigenous forecasts.
Improved early warning systems and their application may reduce vulnerability to change. Using such climate information, it may be possible to give outlooks with lead times of between two and six months before the onset of the event.
Zimbabwe participates in the Sadc early warning systems. It hosted the Sadc Drought Monitoring Centre from 1991 to 2008. The centre monitors near real-time climatic trends and generates long -range climate outlooks on monthly and seasonal time scales.
These outlook products are disseminated to the regional community to afford greater opportunity to decision makers to develop strategic plans in dealing with adverse climatic conditions.
It is however, imperative that the country, with its network of 66 stations and more than 1 000 rainfall stations, provide the nation with daily, monthly and seasonal forecasts. The responsible department should be resourced to be able to give early warning forecasts of impacts that might accompany climate change.
Enhanced resilience to future periods of drought stress may be supported by improvements in existing rain-fed farming systems such as water harvesting systems in semi arid farming systems. Research and field trials are being carried out in Zimbabwe on various water harvesting technologies in the dry areas.
Funding that Zimbabwe has secured from recently-launched global initiatives on vulnerability and adaptation to climate change should be used on more projects on adaptation.
There are several projects on adaptation. One of them is the Coping with Drought and Climate Change Project, a collaboration between the Government and the United Nations Development Programme. It is funded by the Global Environment Facility Special Climate Change Fund. The project aims to demonstrate and promote adoption of a range of gender-segregated approaches in agriculture among rural communities for adaptation to climate change in vulnerable areas of Chiredzi as a national model. The project is at inception phase. If successful, it will be replicated throughout the country.
Adaptation in the agriculture sector involves developing and promoting drought-tolerant and early-maturing crop species. Breeding drought and disease-resistant crops and climate forecasting and provision of timely advice to governments, private sector, extension services and farmers is also necessary.
Weather-related crop and livestock insurance, rainwater harvesting, intensifying use of irrigation, cross-breeding and keeping smaller livestock such as sheep or goats, promoting and strengthening alternative livelihood options will be ideal in adapting to the effects of climate change.
Mitigation is an intervention to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases. Strategies include: improved energy efficiency, promotion of conservation enhancement of carbon stocks through sustainable management of land use, land-use change, and phasing out CFCs. CFCs are organic compounds that contain only carbon, chlorine, hydrogen and fluorine and are harmful to the environment. Promoting investment in renewable energy technologies, improved livestock waste management and the altered use and formulation of fertilisers are also considered as effective mitigation strategies.
Humans contribute to climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases. The main greenhouse gases are: carbon dioxide, methane, hydro fluorocarbons and so on. Sources of greenhouse gases include burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) and deforestation.
The greenhouse gases that cause the gradual warming of the earth’s surface are those that stay in the atmosphere for a long period and build-up over time like carbon dioxide. These gases allow sunlight (solar energy) to enter the atmosphere freely. The earth’s surface absorbs solar energy and releases it back to the atmosphere as infrared radiation (heat), some of which goes right back into space. But some of the infrared radiation emitted by the earth is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and sent back towards the earth’s surface. This warms the earth’s surface and this is called the greenhouse effect.
Three main gases in the atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect are carbon dioxide, methane, and water carbon dioxide.
Historic and future climate change scenarios that have been studied and observed suggest that annual rainfall will decline by five percent in Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter