IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v8y2016i8p672-d75360.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perceptions of Climate Change and the Potential for Adaptation in a Rural Community in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Sejabaledi A. Rankoana

    (Department of Sociology & Anthropology, University of Limpopo, Private Bag x 1106, Sovenga 0727, South Africa)

Abstract

Perceptions of climate change by rural communities are centered on observations of variations in temperature and rainfall patterns supported by observations and projections on climate alterations in the form of increased temperatures and scarce rainfall by scientists worldwide. The present study documented perceptions of climate variation and the community’s ability to adapt to climate change hazards threatening the production of subsistence crops. Data were collected through interactions with 100 participants. In the study, climate change is explained as variations in temperature and rainfall patterns which resulted in excessive heat, erratic rainfall patterns and drought negatively impacting on subsistence crop production. Community members have the potential to limit the impacts of climate hazards on subsistence crop production. The negative impacts of climate hazards are limited by community members’ indigenous knowledge of rainfall prediction, the seasons, crop diversification and mixed cropping. Mulching and the application of kraal manure improve the soil structure and fertility to reduce crop failure. These adaptation measures are resilient to the negative impact of climate hazards and may be helpful in the development of adaptation policies to assist rural communities vulnerable to climate change hazards.

Suggested Citation

  • Sejabaledi A. Rankoana, 2016. "Perceptions of Climate Change and the Potential for Adaptation in a Rural Community in Limpopo Province, South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-10, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:8:p:672-:d:75360
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/8/672/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/8/672/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Gustafson & Alona Gutman & Whitney Leet & Adam Drewnowski & Jessica Fanzo & John Ingram, 2016. "Seven Food System Metrics of Sustainable Nutrition Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Danny Simatele & Tony Binns & Munacinga Simatele, 2012. "Urban Livelihoods under a Changing Climate*: Perspectives on Urban Agriculture and Planning in Lusaka, Zambia," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 269-293, May.
    3. Edward Kato & Claudia Ringler & Mahmud Yesuf & Elizabeth Bryan, 2011. "Soil and water conservation technologies: a buffer against production risk in the face of climate change? Insights from the Nile basin in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(5), pages 593-604, September.
    4. Ralph Lasage & Sanne Muis & Carolina S. E. Sardella & Michiel A. Van Drunen & Peter H. Verburg & Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts, 2015. "A Stepwise, Participatory Approach to Design and Implement Community Based Adaptation to Drought in the Peruvian Andes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-32, February.
    5. Nazmul Huq & Jean Huge & Emmanuel Boon & Animesh A.K. Gain, 2015. "Climate change impacts in agricultural communities in rural areas of coastal bangladesh: A tale of many stories," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/217954, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    6. Pradosh Nath & Bhagirath Behera, 2011. "A critical review of impact of and adaptation to climate change in developed and developing economies," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 141-162, February.
    7. Daniel Kwabena Twerefou & Paul Chinowsky & Kwame Adjei-Mantey & Niko Lazar Strzepek, 2015. "The Economic Impact of Climate Change on Road Infrastructure in Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-18, August.
    8. Nazmul Huq & Jean Hugé & Emmanuel Boon & Animesh K. Gain, 2015. "Climate Change Impacts in Agricultural Communities in Rural Areas of Coastal Bangladesh: A Tale of Many Stories," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-24, June.
    9. Lei Kang & Hongqi Zhang, 2016. "A Comprehensive Study of Agricultural Drought Resistance and Background Drought Levels in Five Main Grain-Producing Regions of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-20, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Suwarno & Anang Widhi Nirwansyah & Sutomo & Ismail Demirdag & Esti Sarjanti & Dhi Bramasta, 2022. "The Existence of Indigenous Knowledge and Local Landslide Mitigation: A Case Study of Banyumas People in Gununglurah Village, Central Java, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-15, October.
    2. Joseph K. Kamara & Blessing J. Akombi & Kingsley Agho & Andre M. N. Renzaho, 2018. "Resilience to Climate-Induced Disasters and Its Overall Relationship to Well-Being in Southern Africa: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-27, October.
    3. Bethuel Sibongiseni Ngcamu & Felix Chari, 2020. "Drought Influences on Food Insecurity in Africa: A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-17, August.
    4. Anshuman Singh & Ranjay K. Singh & Neeraj Kumar & Suresh Kumar & Parvender Sheoran & Dheeraj Singh & Satyendra Kumar & P. C. Sharma, 2022. "Adapting to Social–Ecological Risks to the Conservation of a Muskmelon Landrace in India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-20, August.
    5. Muziyun Liu & Hui Liu, 2023. "Influence of Climate Change on Carbon Emissions during Grain Production and Its Mechanism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-15, June.
    6. Jessica E. Taylor & Cristina Poleacovschi & Michael A. Perez, 2023. "Climate change adaptation trends among Indigenous peoples: a systematic review of the empirical research focus over the last 2 decades," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 28(6), pages 1-28, August.
    7. Lidzhegu, Zwidofhelangani & Kabanda, Tabaro, 2022. "Declining land for subsistence and small-scale farming in South Africa: A case study of Thulamela local municipality," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    8. Huizhao Yang & Sailesh Ranjitkar & Wenxuan Xu & Lei Han & Jianbo Yang & Liqing Wu & Jianchu Xu, 2021. "Crop-climate model in support of adjusting local ecological calendar in the Taxkorgan, eastern Pamir Plateau," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 1-19, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Md. Zonayet & Alok Kumar Paul & Md. Faisal-E-Alam & Khalid Syfullah & Rui Alexandre Castanho & Daniel Meyer, 2023. "Impact of Biochar as a Soil Conditioner to Improve the Soil Properties of Saline Soil and Productivity of Tomato," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-18, March.
    2. Nazmul Huq & Antje Bruns & Lars Ribbe & Saleemul Huq, 2017. "Mainstreaming Ecosystem Services Based Climate Change Adaptation (EbA) in Bangladesh: Status, Challenges and Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-20, June.
    3. Khatun Mst Asma & Koji Kotani, 2019. "Salinity and water-related disease risk in coastal Bangladesh," Working Papers SDES-2019-9, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Nov 2019.
    4. Stewart-Koster, Ben & Dieu Anh, Nguyen & Burford, Michele A. & Condon, Jason & Qui, Nguyen Van & Hiep, Le Huu & Bay, Doan Van & Sammut, Jesmond, 2017. "Expert based model building to quantify risk factors in a combined aquaculture-agriculture system," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 230-240.
    5. Adnan, Mohammed Sarfaraz Gani & Abdullah, Abu Yousuf Md & Dewan, Ashraf & Hall, Jim W., 2020. "The effects of changing land use and flood hazard on poverty in coastal Bangladesh," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    6. Sabikun Nahar Himi & Mohammad Amirul Islam1 & Shankar Majumder, 2020. "Determinants Of Food Insecurity Status Of Fisheries Community In Coastal Regions Of Bangladesh," Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, vol. 41(2), December.
    7. Gemma Hayward & Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson, 2021. "‘Seeing with Empty Eyes’: a systems approach to understand climate change and mental health in Bangladesh," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 1-30, March.
    8. Shaikh Moniruzzaman, 2019. "Crop Diversification As Climate Change Adaptation: How Do Bangladeshi Farmers Perform?," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 10(02), pages 1-22, May.
    9. Risper Nyairo & Takashi Machimura & Takanori Matsui, 2020. "A Combined Analysis of Sociological and Farm Management Factors Affecting Household Livelihood Vulnerability to Climate Change in Rural Burundi," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-20, May.
    10. Gyanendra Karki & Balram Bhatta & Naba R Devkota & Ram P Acharya & Ripu M Kunwar, 2021. "Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) Interventions and Indicators in Nepal: Implications for Sustainable Adaptation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-17, November.
    11. Murad, Khandakar Faisal Ibn & Hossain, Akbar & Fakir, Oli Ahmed & Biswas, Sujit Kumar & Sarker, Khokan Kumer & Rannu, Rahena Parvin & Timsina, Jagadish, 2018. "Conjunctive use of saline and fresh water increases the productivity of maize in saline coastal region of Bangladesh," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 262-270.
    12. Sylvester Mpandeli & Luxon Nhamo & Sithabile Hlahla & Dhesigen Naidoo & Stanley Liphadzi & Albert Thembinkosi Modi & Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, 2020. "Migration under Climate Change in Southern Africa: A Nexus Planning Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, June.
    13. Mustafa Hakki Aydogdu & Kasim Yenigün, 2016. "Farmers’ Risk Perception towards Climate Change: A Case of the GAP-Şanlıurfa Region, Turkey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-12, August.
    14. Shaima Chowdhury Sharna & Asif Reza Anik & Sanzidur Rahman & Md. Abdus Salam, 2022. "Impact of Social, Institutional and Environmental Factors on the Adoption of Sustainable Soil Management Practices: An Empirical Analysis from Bangladesh," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-20, December.
    15. Md Kamrul Hasan & Lalit Kumar, 2020. "Perceived farm-level climatic impacts on coastal agricultural productivity in Bangladesh," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 161(4), pages 617-636, August.
    16. Muhammad Ziaul Hoque & Shenghui Cui & Lilai Xu & Imranul Islam & Jianxiong Tang & Shengping Ding, 2019. "Assessing Agricultural Livelihood Vulnerability to Climate Change in Coastal Bangladesh," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-21, November.
    17. Md. Shafiqul Islam & Shimul Roy & Rezuana Afrin & Md. Younus Mia, 2020. "Influence of climate-induced disasters and climatic variability on cropping pattern and crop production in Bangladesh," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(7), pages 6709-6726, October.
    18. Md Lamiur Raihan & Kenichiro Onitsuka & Mrittika Basu & Natsuki Shimizu & Satoshi Hoshino, 2020. "Rapid Emergence and Increasing Risks of Hailstorms: A Potential Threat to Sustainable Agriculture in Northern Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-18, June.
    19. Regasa Dereje Tesema & Akirso Nega Abera, 2019. "Determinants of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies: An Application of Protection Motivation Theory in Konta District, South Western Ethiopia," European Review of Applied Sociology, Sciendo, vol. 12(19), pages 49-73, December.
    20. Komali Kantamaneni & Louis Rice & Komali Yenneti & Luiza C. Campos, 2020. "Assessing the Vulnerability of Agriculture Systems to Climate Change in Coastal Areas: A Novel Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-24, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:8:p:672-:d:75360. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.