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Socio-Environmental Evaluation of Drip Irrigation System Implementation as a Climate Change Adaptation Measure Within the N’hambita Community Carbon Project Area, Mozambique

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Climate Change and the Sustainable Use of Water Resources

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

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Abstract

According to a recent document produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Le Treut et al., Climate change 2007: the physical science basis, contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2007), climate change is expected to increase the impact of droughts and water shortages in sub-Saharan Africa, which is already significant, intensifying the need to acquaint local people with adaptation measures in the near future. One of the tools that can be used to help rural areas adapt to climate change can be Drip Irrigation Systems (DIS). The research described on this paper was undertaken in rural Mozambique, as part of the N’hambita Community Carbon Project (NCCP), in order to evaluate the efficiency of DIS and the success of its implementation in the area. The methodology of the research consisted of on interviews, questionnaires, GPS mapping of water sources and observation of the water use within agricultural activities. The efficiency of DIS irrigation, investigated among the local farmers, is estimated as higher than manual irrigation, but less efficient than its presumed theoretical potential. In addition, the results also showed that the investigated approach to DIS implementation in the NCCP area did not appear as successful as expected and has yet to be improved by increasingly involving social aspects in the process. Nevertheless, it was concluded that DIS have a high potential for improving water management, productivity of farms and households’ food security within the NCCP area.

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Acknowledgments

Above all, thanks to the local farmers who were willing to share their experience and information regarding their agricultural activities. Special thanks to NCCP managers Piet van Zyl, Antonio Serra and Philip Powell; local employees Gary Goss and Nhamo Gochococho, and the local forest researcher Jose Carlos Monteiro. A grateful acknowledgement goes to the European Commission for funding this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop Protection, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Centre for Environmental Sciences, CSIC, Calle Serrano 115, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Jelena Barbir & Walter Leal

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  1. Jelena Barbir
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  2. Walter Leal
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Wissenschaften Hamburg, Forschungs- und Transferzentrum,, Hochschule für Angewandte, Lohbruegger Kirchstr. 65, Hamburg, 21033, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

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Barbir, J., Leal, W. (2012). Socio-Environmental Evaluation of Drip Irrigation System Implementation as a Climate Change Adaptation Measure Within the N’hambita Community Carbon Project Area, Mozambique. In: Leal Filho, W. (eds) Climate Change and the Sustainable Use of Water Resources. Climate Change Management. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22266-5_40

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22266-5_40

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