Impacts of Climate Change, Vulnerability and Adaptation Capacity in the Limpopo Basin of Semi-Arid Land Southern Africa: The Case of Eastern Botswana (Opha Pauline Dube, Department of Environmental Science, University of Botswana, Botswana)

A detailed assessment of impacts of climate change on water and food resources in the Limpopo basin in the eastern part of Botswana will be conducted in close association with local communities, government departments, the private sector and relevant NGOs. The study will ascertain the degree of vulnerability and capacity to adapt to climate change and identify strategies to enhance locally based adaptation options. Past responses to climate variations and socio-economic and climatic interactions will be used as a baseline to project future impacts and vulnerability to climate change on food and water across different income groups. Future projections will extend over 20 years and a range of climate and socio-economic scenarios based on the IPCC SRES scenarios will be used. An integrated assessment approach will be used to elucidate linkages in food and water with respect to climate, land use activities, socio-economic, political and cultural factors. This information will form the basis for valuing the likely loss from climate change impacts on the Limpopo basin, estimated in monetary value relative to the national GDP where adaptation measures are not implemented.

Countries and sectors: Botswana in particular, southern Africa in general. Ecosystems, water and food resources.