A Comparative Analysis of Vulnerability to Climate Change Between Pastoral and Agropastoral Households: A Case Study in Yabello Woreda of Oromia Regional State.
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Date
2010-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
There is naw scientific consensus that the global climate is changing. Though, impacts of
climate change are not limited spatially and temporally, the vulnerability of regions,
countries, social groups and households to effects of climatic variability and shocks are
not uniformly distributed. To reduce or /idly tackle vulnerability to climate change in a
certain community, a locally contextualized understanding and identification of the
system's adaptive capacity, exposure and sensitivity playa crucial role.With this aspect, the study was aimed at measuring and comparing the relative degree of
vulnerability by taking the case of agropastoral and pastoral households of Yabello
worda in Borena zone of Oramia Regional state. To measure vulnerability, the study
adopts the integrated vulnerability approach and used vulnerability indicator methods to
determine the level of vulnerability of households and social groups. The indicators
include socioeconomic and biophysical variables that show adaptive capacity, exposure
and sensitivity of the system.To indicate the relative vulnerability of households and social groups, vulnerability index
was constructed using systematic combinations of the indicator variables. A statistical
method, principal component analysis (peA), was used to determine the relative weight
of the indicator variables in constructing the index. Then household vulnerability index
(VIHH) and social group vulnerability index (VIs,,) were calculated for the pastoral and
agropastoral households of the study subjects using prim{llY data generated through
househald survey. Information gathered Fom in-depth case studies, KII and second{llY
sources were used to triangulate the quantitative results.The VIH/; result showed half of sample households have a VIH/; value less than 0, which
implies the net effect of households' adaptive capacity to be less than their sensitivity and
exposure. These groups of households were classified as 'highly vulnerable' to impacts of
climate change. Analysis of VIHH by households' economic activity indicates, Fom
households that are classed as 'highly vulnerable' the agropastoralists take the upper
hand and constitute 60.53% of the class. This implies the relatively higher vulnerability
of agropastoralist households in the study area. The comparison of VIsg score of
agropastoralists ' (0.003) with that of pastoralists' (0.035) indicate the relatively lesser
vulnerability of the pastoral social group. Holding exposure and sensitivity constant, this
implies a relatively higher resilience of the pastoral livelihood system to climatic shocks
and variability's in the study area.The reasons for higher vulnerability of agropastoralists in the study area include; lower
economic status of members of the group, less experience of farming practice, and low
application of modern inputs and new techniques of production. In addition to these
higher exposure (erratic rainfall conditions) of the area makes rain[ed agriculture highly
risky venture and hence, aggravated the relative vulnerability of the group.
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Keywords
Vulnerability to Climate Change Between Pastoral