Assessing the status of nature-based solutions to climate change in agro-pastoral communities of Hoima district

Abstract

Climate change is impacting all the places around the world, and these changes are unpredictable. Some of the major changes include, warming of the atmosphere and oceans, snow avalanches and diminishing ice, altered hydrological cycles, raising sea levels, ocean acidification, floods and drought. This study aimed at assessing the status of nature-based solutions to climate change in agro pastoral communities of Hoima district. Specifically, three objectives guided the study; (1) determine nature based adaptation practices practiced by agro-pastoral communities in Hoima, (2) To assess the perceptions of communities to wards nature-based adaptation practices and technologies, (3) To assess the linkage between community practices and government led interventions. A household survey was conducted using questioners and a total of 175 respondents were involved in the study and information from 15 key informants was obtained for in depth study. Data was analysed using frequencies and these were ranked so as to (1) obtain the nature-based adaptation practice practiced in Hoima district, Cross tabulations were used to (2) assess the perceptions of agro-pastoral communities towards nature-based practices and a systematic analysis was used to (3) determine linkages between community practices and government led interventions. Results showed that nature-based practices of traditional origin such as intercropping, changing location, nomadism and home gardening were more popular and highly practiced ,agro-pastoral communities in the study area had a number of perceptions towards these practices amongst them was expensive, education levels, age gender not available and affordability and finally the study also concluded that government was popularizing some nature based adaptation practices through some its programs and plans such as providing free tree seedling , water harvesting and sensitization programs. I therefore recommend that more community sensitization should be done so as to improve on the levels of awareness, government should popularize nature-based adaptation practices of traditional origin and more financial interventions should be done by government to change the community perceptions toward nature-based practices.