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Understanding the Climatic and Non-climatic Drivers of Livelihood Vulnerability in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia

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Climate Vulnerability and Resilience in the Global South

Part of the book series: Climate Change Management ((CCM))

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Abstract

This study examined both the climatic and non-climatic drivers of livelihood vulnerability in Raya Azebo district, the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The case study draws on a survey of 400 farmers and participatory methods including focus groups, in-depth interviews, historical timeline exercise, and pairwise ranking and scoring methods across four villages. The findings suggest that the drivers of livelihood vulnerability in Raya Azebo district are complex and multidimensional and originate from climate-linked factors (mainly drought) as well as other socio-economic, political, institutional, and policy-related challenges. Declines in crop and animal production, farmers’ loss of income and exposure to food insecurity and malnutrition cases were linked to the frequent occurrence of droughts. Beyond climatic factors, the study found that development policies (e.g., imposed fertilizer adoption, large-scale agricultural investments), a lack of access to climate information, ineffective agricultural extension system, inadequate rural infrastructure and poor agricultural markets have negatively contributed to livelihood vulnerability of small-holder farmers. These findings have important implications for climate adaptation policies in Ethiopia and Africa. They highlight the need to consider wider development challenges in the formulation and implementation of planned adaptation measures to reduce farmers’ vulnerability to climate change and enhance their capacities to respond to future risks.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the University of Adelaide for funding which allowed this study to be completed and the research participants who took the time to participate in this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Climate and Society, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia

    Rahwa Kidane

  2. Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Thomas Wanner

  3. Department of Geography, Environment and Population, Faculty of Arts, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Melissa Nursey-Bray

Authors
  1. Rahwa Kidane
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  2. Thomas Wanner
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  3. Melissa Nursey-Bray
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh

    G. M. Monirul Alam

  2. Sustainable Enterprise Division, Asia Pacific College of Business and Law, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia

    Michael O. Erdiaw-Kwasie

  3. Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Gustavo J. Nagy

  4. Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

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Kidane, R., Wanner, T., Nursey-Bray, M. (2021). Understanding the Climatic and Non-climatic Drivers of Livelihood Vulnerability in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. In: Alam, G.M.M., Erdiaw-Kwasie, M.O., Nagy, G.J., Leal Filho, W. (eds) Climate Vulnerability and Resilience in the Global South. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77259-8_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77259-8_14

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-77258-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-77259-8

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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