Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

An Assessment of Determinants of Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change/Variability in the Rural Savannah of Ghana

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Adaptation to Climate Change and Variability in Rural West Africa

Abstract

The varied stressors posed by climate change and variability to the livelihoods of agrarian societies in many developing countries call for an examination of the determinants of adaptive capacity. Data collected through a questionnaire survey, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, is used to explain the determinants of adoption of five major adaptation strategies. The analysis reveals that while adaptive capacity in the northern savannah zone is generally low due to high levels of poverty and poor state presence, it varies spatially resulting from locational, individual and community socio-economic and institutional factors. Adaptive capacities are rooted in the nature of household and community assets as well as societal rules and policies. Both community level factors and characteristics of individual farmers condition the idiosyncratic variables defining the capacities to adopt specific adaptation strategies to climate change threats. Important farmer characteristics that determine critical adaptation strategies in the northern savannah include age, sex, assets, family size, size and type of land, skills/education, and perception of climatic changes. This paper recommends that local resilience building mechanisms be scaled up while modern mechanisms should be introduced for dealing with the impacts of climate change.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Funded by the Office of Research, Innovation and Development (ORID), University of Ghana [Project grant number URF/4/008/2011–2012].

References

  • Adger, N. W. (1999). Social vulnerability to climate change and extremes in coastal Vietnam. World Development, 27(2), 249–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Afifi, T., Liwenga, E., & Kwezi, L. (2014). Rainfall-induced crop failure, food insecurity and outmigration in same-kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Climate and Development, 6(1), 53–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal, A. (2008). The role of local institutions in adaptation to climate change. In Paper prepared for the Social Dimensions of Climate Change, Social Development Department, March 5–6, 2008. Washington DC: The World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antwi-Agyei, P., Fraser, E. D. G., Dougill, A. J., Stringer, L. C., & Simelton, E. (2012). Mapping the vulnerability of crop production to drought in Ghana using rainfall, yield and socioeconomic data. Applied Geography, 32, 324–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Awumbila, M., Owusu, G., & Teye, J. (2014). Can rural-urban migration into slums reduce poverty? Evidence from Ghana. In Migration out of poverty research consortium (Vol. Working Paper 13). Brigton: University of Sussex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bawakyillenuo, S., Yaro, A. J., & Teye, J. K. (2014). Exploring the autonomous adaptation strategies to climate change and climate variability in selected villages in the rural northern savannah zone of Ghana. Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability. doi: 10.1080/13549839.2014.965671

    Google Scholar 

  • Bening, R. B. (1975). Colonial development policy in Northern Ghana, 1898–1950. Bulletin of the Ghana Geographical Association, 17, 65–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Black, R., et al. (2011). The effect of environmental change on human migration. Global Environmental Change, 21(S3–S11).

    Google Scholar 

  • Boamah, F. (2014). Imageries of the contested concepts “land grabbing” and “land transactions”: Implications for biofuels investments in Ghana. Geoforum, 54, 324–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, N., Adger, N. W., & P, M. K. (2005). The determinants of vulnerability and adaptive capacity at the national level and the implications for adaptation. Global Environmental Change, Part A 15(2), 151–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryan, E., et al. (2009). Adaptation to climate change in Ethiopia and South Africa: Options and constraints. Environmental Science & Policy, 12, 413–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burton, I. (1997). Vulnerability and adaptive response in the context of climate and climate change. Climatic Change, 36, 185–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cannon, T., & Muller-Mahn, D. (2010). Vulnerability, resilience and development discourses in context of climate change. Natural Hazards,. doi:10.1007/s11069-11010-19499-11064.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, M. I. (1980). The politics of agricultural and rural development in the Upper East Region of Ghana: Implications of technocratic ideology and non-participatory development. (Doctor of Philosophy), Cornell: Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christiansen, J. H., Hewitson, B., Busuioc, A., Chen, A., Gao, X., Held, I., et al. (2007). Regional climate projections: Climate change 2007: The physical science basis. In S. Solomon, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K. B. Averyt, M. Tignor, H. L. Miller (Eds.), (pp. 847–940). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Codjoe, S. N. A., & Owusu, G. (2011). Climate change/variability and food systems: evidence from Afram Plains. Ghana: Regional Environmental Change. doi:10.1007/s10113-011-0211-3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Derbile, E. K. (2013). Reducing vulnerability of rain fed agriculture through indigenous knowledge systems in north-eastern Ghana. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 5(1), 71–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickson, K. B. (1968). Background to the problem of economic development in Northern Ghana. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 58(4), 686–696.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dietz, A. J., Millar, D., Dittoh, S., Obeng, F., & Ofori-Sarpong, E. (2004a). Climate and livelihood change in North East Ghana. In A. J. Dietz, Ruben, R. & Verhagen, A (Eds.), The impact of climate change on drylands with a focus on West Africa (pp. 149–172). Dordrecht/Boston/London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dietz, A. J., Ruben, R., & Verhagen, A. (Eds.). (2004b). The impact of climate change on drylands. With a focus on West Africa, vol 39. Environment & Policy. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eguavoen, I. (2012). Blessing and destruction. Climate change and trajectories of blame in Northern Ghana. Bonn: ZEF Working Paper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, F. (2000). Rural livelihoods and diversity in developing countries. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • EPA. (2000). Climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment of the agricultural sector of Ghana. Final report. Accra: Ministry of Environment Science and Technology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gbetibouo, G. A. (2009). Understanding farmers’ perceptions and adaptations to climate change and variability. The Case of the Limpopo Basin, South Africa. Environment and Production Technology Division. IFPRI Discussion Paper (Vol. 00849): IFPRI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goody, J. (1980). Rice-burning and the green revolution in northern Ghana. Journal of Development Studies, 16(2), 136–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • GSS. (2014). Poverty profile in Ghana (2005–2013). In Ghana living standards survey round 6. Accra: Ghana Statistical Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Held, I. M., Delworth, T. L., Lu, J., Findell, K. L., & Knutson, T. R. (2005). Inaugural article: Simulation of Sahel drought in the 20th and 21st centuries. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Vol. 102, pp. 17891–17896).

    Google Scholar 

  • Heltberg, R., Bennett, P. S., & Jorgensen, S. L. (2009). Addressing human vulnerability to climate change: Toward a ‘no-regrets’ Approach. Global Environmental Change, 19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huntingford, C., Lambert, F., Gash, J., Taylor, C., & Challinor, A. (2005). Aspects of climate change prediction relevant to crop productivity. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Biological Sciences, 360(1463), 1999–2009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. (2001). Climate change: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. In J. J. McCarthy, O. F. Canziani, N. A. Leary, D. J. Dokken & K. S. White (Eds.), A Contribution of the Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jung, G., & Kunstmann, H. (2007). Modelling regional climate change and the impact on surface and sub-surface hydrology. IAHS, 313, 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konings, P. (1984). Capitalist rice farming and land allocation in Nothern Ghana. Journal of legal pluralism, 22, 89–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maddison, D. (2006). The perception of and adaptation to climate change in Africa. CEEPA Discussion Paper No. 10. Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy in Africa, South Africa: University of Pretoria.

    Google Scholar 

  • McSweeney, C., New, M., & Lizcano, G. (2008). UNDP climate change country profiles: Ghana. Available at: http://ncsp.undp.org/sites/default/files/Ghana.oxford.report.pdf. [Accessed: 11 November 2012].

  • Mertz, O., Mbow, C., Reenberg, A., & Diouf, A. (2009). Farmers’ perceptions of climate change and agricultural adaptation strategies in rural sahel. Environmental Management, 43, 804–816.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minia, Z. (2004). Climate scenarios developed for climate change impacts assessment in Ghana. Report prepared for the Environmental Protection Council (EPA), under The Netherlands Climate Change Studies Assistance Programme (NCCSAP) Phase 2—Part 1. Accra: EPA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhemachena, C., & Hassan, R. (2007). Micro-level analysis of farmers’ adaptation to climate change in Southern Africa. IFPRI Discussion Paper No. 00714. Washington, D.C: International Food Policy Research Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, J. Ø., & Reenberg, A. (2009). Temporality and the problem with singling out climate as a current driver of change in a small West African village. Journal of Arid Environments, xxx, 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oguntunde, P. G., et al. (2006). Hydroclimatology of the Volta River Basin in West Africa: Trends and variability from 1901 to 2002. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 31, 1180–1188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Opare, S. (2012). Rainwater harvesting: An option for sustainable rural water supply in Ghana. GeoJournal, 77, 695–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Put, M., Verhagen, A., & Veldhuizen, E. (2004). Climate change in Dryland West Africa. In A. Dietz, R. Ruben & A. Verhagen (Eds.), The impact of climate change on drylands. With a focus on West Africa (pp. 27–32). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rademacher-Schulz, C., & Salifu, E. (2014). Where the Rain Falls Project. Case study: Ghana. Results from Nadowli District, Upper West Region. Report No 3. Bonn: United Nations University (UNU-EHS).

    Google Scholar 

  • Roncoli, C., Crane, T., & Orlove, B. (2009). Fielding climate change in cultural anthropology. Walnut Creek, CA.: Left Coast Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sissoko, K., Keulen, H. V., Verhagen, J., Tekken, V., & Battaglini, A. (2011). Agriculture, livelihoods and climate change in the West African Sahel. Reg Environ Change, 11(Suppl 1), S119–S125. doi: 10.1007/s10113-010-0164-y

    Google Scholar 

  • Teye, J. K., Bawakyillenuo, S., & Yaro, A. J. (2015). Local farmers’ experiences and perceptions of climate change in the northern savannah zone of Ghana. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 7(3), 327–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teye, J. K., & Owusu, K. (2015). Dealing with climate change in the Coastal Savannah Zone of Ghana: In situ adaptation strategies and migration. In F. Hillmann, M. Pahl, B. Rafflenbeal & H. Sterly (Eds.), Environmental change, adaptation and migration (pp. 223–244): Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, D., Twyman, C., Osbahr, H., & Hewitson, B. (2007). Adaptation to climate change and variability: Farmer responses to intraseasonal precipitation trends in South Africa. Climatic Change, 83, 301–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van de Giesen, et al. (2010). Adapting to climate change in the Volta Basin, West Africa. Current Science, 98(8), 1033–1037.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Geest, K. (2011). North-South migration in Ghana: What role for the environment. International Migration, 49, 69–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogel, C., & O’Brien, K. (2006). Who can eat information? Examining the effectiveness of seasonal climate forecasts and regional climate-risk management strategies. Research, 33, 111–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, M., & Bohle, H. (1993). Hunger, Famine, and the space of vulnerability. GeoJournal, 30(2), 117–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westerhoff, F., & Smith, B. (2009). The rains are disappointing us: Dynamic vulnerability and adaptation to multiple stressors in the Afram Plains, Ghana’s. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategy for Global Change, 14, 317–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yaro, J. A. (2002). The poor peasant: One label, different lives. The dynamics of rural livelihood strategies in the Gia-Kajelo community, Northern Ghana. Norwegian Journal of Geography, 56(1), 10–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yaro, J. A. (2004). Theorising food insecurity: Building a livelihood vulnerability framework for researching food insecurity. Norwegian Journal of Geography, 58, 23–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yaro, J. A. (2006). Is deagrarianisation real? A study of livelihood activities in rural northern Ghana. Journal of Modern African Studies, 44(1), 125–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yaro, J. A. (Ed.). (2013). Rural development in northern Ghana. New York: Nova Science publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yaro, J. A., Teye, J., & Bawakyillenuo, S. (2014). Local institutions and adaptive capacity to climate change/variability in the northern savannah of Ghana. Climate and Development,. doi:10.1080/17565529.2014.951018.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yohe, G., & Tol, R. S. J. (2002). Indicators for social and economic coping capacity- moving toward a working definition of adaptive capacity. Global Environmental Change, 12, 25–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

    Joseph A. Yaro & Joseph K. Teye

  2. ISSER, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

    Simon Bawakyillenuo

Authors
  1. Joseph A. Yaro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joseph K. Teye
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Simon Bawakyillenuo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joseph A. Yaro .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Geography and Resource Devl., University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

    Joseph A. Yaro

  2. Dept. of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Jan Hesselberg

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Yaro, J.A., Teye, J.K., Bawakyillenuo, S. (2016). An Assessment of Determinants of Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change/Variability in the Rural Savannah of Ghana. In: Yaro, J., Hesselberg, J. (eds) Adaptation to Climate Change and Variability in Rural West Africa. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31499-0_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation