Climate Change Cooperation In Southern Africa

First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Adverse climate impacts are already evident across Southern Africa and pose a serious threat to the development prospects of the region's societies. Sustainable development in this region will depend on the rapid development and implementation of effective adaptation measures. This volume identifies the new socioeconomic and political boundaries to development that result from ongoing climate change in Southern Africa. The collected papers explore the region's potential for a transition to development strategies that combine meaningful socioeconomic investment and adaptation measures while also improving livelihoods in the region. The chapters are backed up by detailed case studies which underscore the urgent need for national governments and multilateral agencies to develop strategies to support Southern Africa's societies in adapting to climate change.

There is sufficient evidence to support the fact that climate change is occurring and that this is set to accelerate. While some scholars argue that climate change is largely due to natural changes, others postulate that anthropogenic factors are the major cause. Climate change associated with increasing levels of carbon dioxide is likely to affect developed and developing countries differentially, with major vulnerabilities occurring in low-latitude regions. This book presents research findings and case studies with the endeavour to inform policies geared towards addressing problems emanating from these changes. Climate variability raises concerns over the future of agriculture, conditions of land and water availability. Therefore, climate change amplifies many economic and social risks, as well as deterioration of the environment. At the same time, non-climatic risk factors such as economic instability, trade liberalization, conflicts and poor governance all inflict upon vulnerable communities. Key discussions in this title rest on: Climate Change in Africa: its impact on rural communities, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, financial requirements of reducing green house gases, technological transfer and natural resources; Case Studies of Vulnerability to Climate Change and Variability in Eastern and Southern Africa: experiences of impacts and adaptation to extreme events, concrete experiences from farmers and crop production adaptation; and Challenges and Opportunities to Climate Change Adaptation: factors that influence choice of response strategies, challenges and opportunities for ecosystem-based approaches; and challenges and opportunities from the use of bio-fuels as a mitigation measure to climate change.

This book puts the spotlight on Southern Africa, presenting a cutting-edge concept never previously explored in the context of climate change and putting forward arguments for regional integration and cooperation. The Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development Facility (CRIDF) is the new water infrastructure program of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for Southern Africa. The CRIDF promotes the establishment of small to medium-scale infrastructure across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) through technical assistance aimed at developing sustainable pro-poor projects, while also facilitating access to the financial resources needed to deliver said infrastructure. Further, it focuses on regional water resource management goals and basin plans, as well as on building climate resilience for the beneficiary communities. The Facility’s Virtual Water and Nexus Project works to improve regional peace dividends by translating the Nexus concept into national and regional policies; it ultimately promotes sovereign security through greater regional integration across the water, food and energy sectors, while taking into account potential benefits in connection with carbon sequestration and emission mitigation.

How and why do business organisations contribute to climate change governance? The contributors' findings on South Africa, Kenya and Germany demonstrate that business contributions to the mitigation and adaptation to climate change vary significantly.

Featuring case studies from Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia, this record compiles research and analysis on trade and environmental policy and diplomacy in southern Africa. Disclosing the African perspective, the book addresses the global and multilateral dynamics of negotiating a climate-change deal, explaining how this complex and delicate process relates to the World Trade Organization. This thorough consideration demonstrates the very real consequences of a changing climate not only for Africa but for nations around the world.

This book investigates the social and cultural dimensions of climate change in Southern Africa, focusing on how knowledge about climate change is conceived and conveyed. Despite contributing very little to the global production of emissions, the African continent looks set to be the hardest hit by climate change. Adopting a decolonial perspective, this book argues that knowledge and discourse about climate change has largely disregarded African epistemologies, leading to inequalities in knowledge systems. Only by considering regionally specific forms of conceptualizing, perceiving, and responding to climate change can these global problems be tackled. First exploring African epistemologies of climate change, the book then goes on to the social impacts of climate change, matters of climate justice, and finally institutional change and adaptation. Providing important insights into the social and cultural perception and communication of climate change in Africa, this book will be of interest to researchers from across the fields of African studies, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, political science, climate change, and geography.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, no environmental issue is of such truly global magnitude as the issue of climate change. The poorer, developing countries are the least equipped to adapt to the potential effects of climate change, although most of them have played an insignificant role in causing it. African countries are amongst the poorest of the developing countries. This book presents the issues of most relevance to Africa, such as past and present climate, desertification, biomass burning and its implications for atmospheric chemistry and climate, energy generation, sea-level rise, ENSO-induced drought and flood, adaptation, disaster risk reduction, the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol (especially the Clean Development Mechanism), capacity-building, and sustainable development. It provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of these and many other issues, with chapters by the leading experts from a range of disciplines. Climate Change and Africa will prove to be an invaluable reference for all researchers and policy makers with an interest in climate change and Africa.