Changing climates, changing lives. Adaptation strategies of pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Ethiopia and Mali

This report looks at the implications of climate change for pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Ethiopia and Mali, based on field work carried out between May and October 2009. The report focuses on local perceptions of climate shocks, how communities respond and their limits. The report tries to answer three questions:

• What are local perceptions of climate shocks and stressors, not just climate variability ? Answers emphasise the trend of declining and variable rainfall, greater severity of shocks and growing vulnerability, even though pastoral and agro-pastoral systems are particularly well-adapted to climate uncertainty and variability.
• To what extent are people able to respond to climate change and what is the impact of their coping and adaptation strategies ? People develop many different strategies, often new ones, in order to be more resilient, but their capacity for adaptation also depends on a many non-climate-related factors (conflicts, lack of market access, price volatility, etc.).
• What support - in terms of institutions and social ties - can people draw on ? Traditional social networks are changing, and this leads to new difficulties, but there are also new opportunities in terms of capacity to adapt, particularly for women. The poorest households usually have the least access to institutional support, since they have little support from local elites. External aid and support given by the state has not been able to make up for the loss of support from informal social support networks.

The report ends with a series of recommendations for NGOs, governments, donors and academia and researchers.

ACF, IDS, Tearfund - May 2010