The Impact of Climate Change on Drylands: With a focus on West Africa (Environment & Policy)

sahelian West Africa Has Recovered From The Disastrous Droughts Of The 1970s And 1980s. People Have Learned To Adapt To Risk And Uncertainty In Fragile Dryland Environments. They, As Well As Global Change Scientists, Are Worried About The Impact Of Climate Change On These West African Drylands. What Do The Experiences Of The Last Thirty Years Say About The Preparedness For Higher Temperatures, Lower Rainfall, And Even More Variability? Detailed Studies On Dryland West Africa As A Whole, And On Burkina Faso, Mali And Northern Ghana In Particular Show An Advanced Coping Behaviour And Increased Adaptation, But Also Major Differences In Vulnerability And Coping Potential. Climate Change Preparedness Programmes Have Only Just Started And Require More Robust Support, And More Specific Social Targeting, For A Population Which Is Rapidly Growing, Even More Rapidly Urbanising, And Further Integrating In A Globalised Economy. this Book Is The First Of Its Kind With A Comprehensive Analysis Of Climate Change Experiences In West African Drylands, With Attention For Pathways Of Change And The Diversity Of Adaptation Options Available. This Book Is Of Interest To Scientists Studying Global And Climate Change, Especially Dealing With Issues Of Adaptation. Social Scientists, Economists, Geographers And Policy Makers Concerned With West Africa Should Also Read This Book. Preliminaries......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Contributing Authors......Page 10 ‘Voices from the Sahel’......Page 14 Foreword......Page 16 1 THE ICCD RESEARCH......Page 22 2 THE WORLD’S DRYLANDS: A CLASSIFICATION......Page 38 3 CLIMATE CHANGE IN DRYLAND WEST AFRICA?......Page 46 4 UNCERTAINCIES IN MODELLING CLIMATE CHANGE......Page 52 5 CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS FOR DRYLAND WEST AFRICA, 1990-2050......Page 62 6 CLIMATE CHANGE AND DROUGHT RISKS FOR AGRICULTURE......Page 68 7 SAHELIAN LIVELIHOODS ON THE REBOUND......Page 80 8 POPULATION DYNAMICS......Page 98 9 DRIVING FORCES FOR CHANGES IN LAND USE......Page 102 10 COTTON AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN WEST AFRICA......Page 116 11 A LITERATURE SURVEY ABOUT RISK AND VULNERABILITY IN DRYLANDS, WITH A FOCUS ON THE SAHEL......Page 136 12 CLIMATE AND LIVELIHOOD CHANGE IN NORTH EAST GHANA......Page 168 13 PATHWAYS TO MITIGATE CLIMATE VARIABILITY......Page 192 14 RESPONSES TO CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN THE KAYA REGION......Page 226 15 CHANGE AND ADAPTATION IN A LIVESTOCK-PRODUCING REGION......Page 262 16 LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES AND DEVELOPMENT......Page 286 17 SOME COMMENTS ON PORTFOLIO DIVERSIFICATION......Page 312 18 URBAN-RURAL LINKAGES AND CLIMATIC VARIABILITY......Page 320 19 CLIMATE DETERIORATION AND REGIONAL SPECIFICITY......Page 342 20 THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIO-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES......Page 360 21 CLIMATE VARIABILITY, RISK COPING AND AGRARIAN......Page 384 22 CLIMATE CHANGE AND MANAGEMENT OF CATASTOPHIC RISK......Page 404 23 CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS......Page 416 24 CLIMATE CHANGE PREPAREDNESS IN WEST AFRICA......Page 422 References......Page 428 Index......Page 454 Colour Section......Page 470 "This book is the first of its kind with a comprehensive analysis of climate change experiences in West African drylands, with attention for pathways of change and the diversity of adaptation options available. This book is of interest of scientists studying global and climate change, especially dealing with issues of adaptation. Social scientists, economists, geographers and policy makers concerned with West Africa should also read this book."--BOOK JACKET "The impact of climate change on water availability, agriculture and food security in semi-arid regions" was the title of a project that started in 1997.