School of Forestry, Environmental and Geographical Sciences (SFEGS) Collection

Permanent URI for this collection

https://dissertations.mak.ac.ug/handle/20.500.12281/6449

Browse

Browsing School of Forestry, Environmental and Geographical Sciences (SFEGS) Collection by Subject "Adaptation strategies"
  • Item
    Assessing Community resilience and adaptation strategies to flooding in Mbale city.
    (Makerere University, 2023-10-11) Kakayi, Cynthia ; Ochaya, Godfrey
    With the ever changing and continuous climate change, flooding continues to be one of the most widely spread natural calamity. However, with flooding in place, a number of key strategies have been put in place to mitigate the effects of flooding with elevating structures being the most effective followed by emergency response, adoption of good farming methods, land use planning, desilting river beds, relocation, risk assessment, riverbank restoration, community engagement and outreach, structural rehabilitation and proper waste management. While mapping flood risk areas, it was observed that the areas susceptible to floodings were mainly made up of agricultural lands that were over cultivated. Those close to the streams and in low-lying areas had a high chance of being hit by flooding. Based on the results for community resilience assessment, Exposure to risk was identified as the key determinant of community resilience. Therefore, it influences the level of community resilience in a way that, the more the exposure to risk, the more the resilience and the lesser the exposure, the lower the level of community resilience. However, other important determinants included; age, gender, level of education, attitude, risk perception, knowledge, health status and level of income and these were key factors that determine community resilience in response to an adverse condition which is flooding.
  • Item
    Assessing small holder farmers’ perception on rainfall variability and adaptation strategies in Bugiri district
    (Makerere University, 2023-12-07) Nankya, Racheal
    This study assessed smallholder farmers’ perceptions on rainfall variability and the adaptation strategies adopted by the farmers in Buwuni, Bugiri District. Over the years, small-scale farmers in this location have depended on rain-fed agriculture and there has been frequent crop failure due to the irregular rainfall patterns, which have been common. Rainfall variability affects the soil’s water availability to crops, causing reduced crop production. The specific objectives of this study were to; (a) To evaluate trends in rainfall between 2012 and 2022 in Buwuni. (b) To explore farmers’ perceptions on rainfall variability in Buwuni (c) To explore small-scale farmers’ perceptions on adaptation strategies in Buwuni and (d) To explore the relationship between small-scale farmers’ perceptions on rainfall variability and adaptation strategies in Buwuni. The mixed-method approach was used in addressing the objectives of the study. The sample size of the study involved 100 respondents where simple random sampling was used to select the farmer households for which the study constituted and purposive sampling was used in selecting key informants with broad experience, opinions and deeper insights on issues of concern for this study. Questionnaires, interviews, field observations and review of documents were employed to generate the relevant data. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques were adopted and the results that were subjected to STATA were presented using pie charts, bar graphs and frequency tables. The result of the study revealed that smallholder farmers in Buwuni experienced rainfall variability in the period of 2012-2022. The results of this study established a positive relationship between rainfall variation and the farmers’ perceptions in Buwuni. The major adaptation strategies adopted by small-scale farmers were mixed cropping (29%), growing crops that mature faster (25%), changing planting seasons (15%) and planting drought resistant crops (14%). The study concluded that rainfall variability is a fundamental challenge to smallholder farmers and they have adopted various adaptation strategies which are limited to address it in Buwuni. The study recommends that small-scale farmers should be encouraged to adopt the recommended adaptation strategies. 
  • Item
    Assessing the implications of Lake Victoria water level patterns on community livelihoods in Kalangala district.
    (Makerere University, 2022) Twesigye, Ian Gyezaho
    Lakes are experiencing significant fluctuations across the globe. Amongst the major global environmental challenges around the world, drying up of lakes is the most critical one. Water level fluctuations are very critical hydrological factors of lakes and shallow watersheds. Current water levels of Lake Victoria are below normal and the lowest ever since 1961 and the water are very sensitive to moderate changes in rainfall. Studies focusing on water level fluctuations but focusing on Lake Victoria are not prevalent. The current study therefore assessed the implications of Lake Victoria water patterns on the community patterns and develop more feasible measures to combat such implications. The study further analyzed the factors contributing to Lake Victoria water level fluctuations in Kalangala district. A cross sectional research approach was undertaken using mixed approaches (qualitative and quantitative methods) where simple random sampling was employed in selection of the households and purposive sampling on the key informants. Data was collected through field surveys, interviews and direct field observations; and then analyzed using thematic content analysis where descriptive statistics (percentages and frequencies) were generated in Microsoft excel spread sheets and then presented inform of tables, pie charts and bar graphs. The study findings revealed that the lake however is subjected to seasonal fluctuations and at times overflows manifest as floods leading to loss of lives, destruction of property, displacement among others. People who have stayed in the area more tend to adapt more compared to those that have just come into the area. From the study findings, it was reported that majority of the respondents had stayed in the area for more than 10 years that is 46.7% of the respondents, 33.3% had stayed between 6-10 years, 16.7% had stayed between 1-5 years and only 3.3% had stayed for less than 1 year. The study further investigated the relationship between size of the household and the implications of the water fluctuations. After running a chi-square analysis, the study revealed that p<0.05 and basing on those P-values, the size of the household has significant relationships with the implications of the lake water level fluctuations.
  • Item
    The determinants and effectiveness of farmer’s’ adaptation strategies to rainfall variability in Lwampanga Sub-county, Nakasongola district.
    (Makerere University, 2023-08-15) Abago, Marbel
    Rainfall variability has posed significant challenges to ecosystems and societies, prompting the need for vigorous adaptation strategies. The overall goal of the study was to examine effectiveness and determinants of farmer’s adaptation strategies to rainfall variability in Lwampanga sub-county. Specifically, the study sought to identify strategies used by farmers to adopt to rainfall variability, and their determinants of farmer’s adaptation strategies, and their effectiveness towards minimizing the impacts of rainfall variability. The study employed mixed research approaches that is quantitative and qualitative research approaches. To further validate and strengthen the research’s conclusions, a descriptive approach of a cross sectional study was employed. Data was collected through field and household surveys, interviews and direct field observations; descriptive data was analysed using frequencies and percentages. The findings were then presented inform of tables, pie charts and bar graphs. The study findings revealed that rainfall variability has had numerous impacts on local communities such as wilting of crops (97.5%), increased food insecurity (93.8%), cattle starvation and death (83.8%) and reduced water availability (77.5%), reduced grass for animals (52.5%), outbreak of livestock diseases (46.3%) and loss of income (42.5%). Farmers have employed a number of strategies to lessen the impacts of rainfall variability such as mulching, cover cropping, mixed cropping, small scale irrigation, planting drought resistant crops among others. Adaptation was determined by numerous determinants like age, education, income levels, gender, land tenure, farmer’s experience among others. The level of effectiveness of existing community adaptation strategies was significantly evaluated through household interviews and surveys. Furthermore, the effectiveness of implemented strategies was found to vary significantly based on conditions and the alignment of strategies with local needs and vulnerabilities. The study findings revealed that 54(67.5%) respondents reported the strategies being very effective, 24(30.0%) respondents reported the strategies being fairly effective and 2(2.5%) respondents also revealed that the strategies were not effective. The study also found out that the existing strategies especially mulching and mixed cropping have been effective in helping farmers cope with rainfall variability and enhancing resilience. The study concluded that improving and strengthening human capital through education, programmes and extension services at all levels will improve the capacity to adapt to rainfall variability impact. Key words: Rainfall variability, Determinants, Effectiveness, Farmers.