Recent reports produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2001, 2007, 2012) conclude not only that green-house gas emissions are already beginning to change the global climate, but also that Africa will experience increased water stress, decreased yields from rain-fed agriculture, increased food insecurity and malnutrition, sea-level rise, and an increase in arid and semi-arid land as a result of this process. Extreme weather events, notably flood, drought and tropical storms are also expected to increase in frequency and intensity across the continent (IPCC, 2007). These projections are consistent with recent climatic trends in southern Africa, including Zimbabwe....

At the macro level, the impacts of climate change in Zimbabwe, particularly rainfall variability and extreme events, are expected to adversely affect a variety of socio-economic sectors that are closely linked to the MDGs (revisit Table 1). A variety of interrelated vulnerability themes are identified by the background papers, including agriculture, water, health, infrastructure and energy, human settlements and gender, which are examined in detail below.

Although systematic research has been undertaken on key sectors through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) planning process, less is known about micro-level vulnerability due to a lack of research (Chagutah,...

THE PREVIOUS SECTION DEMONSTRATES THAT A variety of socio-economic sectors in Zimbabwe are likely to be adversely affected by climate change, with potentially significant costs. In response, a growing number of NGOs and research organisations, including UN agencies, are engaging in a variety of development projects, many of which have strong adaptation components. The UNFCCC (2007) defines adaptation as the process through which societies increase their ability to cope with an uncertain future, which involves taking appropriate action and making the adjustments and changes to reduce the negative impacts of climate change (UNFCCC, 2007). The two main types of adaptation...

THIS SECTION EXAMINES THE NEED TO DEVELOP A dedicated national climate change framework that is able to address the scale and scope of vulnerability in Zimbabwe and coordinate policy-making, investment and implementation, particularly at the local level. The section also examines the potential of climate governance to support these objectives.

The UNFCCC requires the world’s 49 least developed countries (LDCs) (33 are in Africa) to undertake National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs), which are policy frameworks dedicated to the identification and prioritisation of critically important adaptation activities for which further delay might increase vulnerability or lead to higher adaptation costs...

THIS SECTION BEGINS BY ANALYSING THE challenges facing adaptation practice, the lessons learnt from the case studies and the obstacles for developing an effective national climate change framework in Zimbabwe. The section then provides recommendations for future research and policy, followed by a conclusion that emphasises the important role that applied research must play in planning and policy-making.

A principal challenge facing adaptation projects in Zimbabwe is the uncertainty associated with climatic variability. Most farmers in dry lands such as Chiredzi District have experienced multiple climate risks and have confronted them with a diverse range of coping mechanisms (see Box...