The Social Dimensions of Adaptation to Climate Change in Mozambique

The purpose of the Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change (EACC) study is to better understand and estimate the true costs of adapting to climate change in less developed countries. The study is made up of three components. At a global level, there is an analysis of costs across different economic sectors. At a country level, there is an economic component and a social component, taking place in a set of representative case study countries. Mozambique is one of these countries. The economic component of the Mozambique country study has the objective of identifying a set of robust adaptation options for the country, then comparing the direct costs and benefits of those options. To calculate the costs, the team has utilized a computable general equilibrium method. This method is data intensive, it requires a good model of the national economy, but can generate an estimate of the costs of targeted government interventions, in terms of reduced overall economic growth, once those effects have trickled through the labor and capital markets and the economy has returned to equilibrium. The economic team considered a range of adaptation options, which were gathered from the literature and from interactions with national level policy makers and other stakeholders

Drought response of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) landraces at leaf physiological and metabolite profile levels

Drought threatens the world’s food production, particularly in Sub Saharan Africa low external input and rain fed agricultural systems, where cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is an important food crop. In the context of growing concerns regarding climate changes implications on water availability, this study aimed at 1) to evaluate the drought responses in cowpea landraces with contrasting drought tolerance levels (A55 – high sensitivity; A80 - mild sensitivity; A116 - tolerant), 2) using an integrated physiological (leaf gas exchanges; chlorophyll a fluorescence) and biochemical (photoprotective pigments; RuBisCO activity; primary metabolite profiling) analysis to identify drought tolerance probes, in plants submitted to three water availability levels (well-watered, WW; mild drought, MD; severe drought, SD). A116 plants maintained a better water status under drought, what could justify the higher Pn and Pnmax values in MD, as well as higher photochemical use of energy (reflected in the photochemical quenching (qL) and in the quantum yield of non-cyclic electron transport (Y(II))), and the lower need of photoprotective thermal dissipation mechanisms (given by the non-photochemical quenching (qN), and the quantum yield of regulated energy dissipation at photosystem PSII (Y(NPQ))), in MD and SD plants. Greater declines of net (Pn) and potential (Pnmax) photosynthesis were observed in A55 plants, which frequently showed significant impacts already under MD conditions in most parameters, whereas A80 usually displayed and intermediate behaviour. Still, even A55 showed some acclimation response, regarding photoprotective mechanisms associated with high contents of zeaxanthin, lutein, and carotenes, and high Y(NPQ), and qN values, supporting the absence of an increase in the non-regulated energy dissipation at PSII (Y(NO) did not increased) even in SD plants. Additionally, A55 was not significantly affected in RuBisCO activity, which showed to be quite resilient in cowpea. A primary metabolite profiling, complemented with a partial least square discrimination analysis (PLS-DA), allowed a better separation of A116 and A55 plants according to their degree of drought tolerance. In response to drought, A116 showed the greatest accumulation of most responsive metabolites, 14 in total, with sucrose, fucose, urea, alanine and putrescine being exclusively increased in this genotype, suggesting that they can be candidates as drought tolerance proxies. Other compounds, as proline, valine, isoleucine (among amino acids), and rhamnose and raffinose (among sugars) showed close increase patternsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Temporal changes in minimum and maximum temperatures at selected locations of southern Africa

Open Access JournalAgriculture is threatened by ever increasing temperatures and this trend is predicted to continue for the near and distant future. The negative impact of rising temperatures on agri-food systems is also compounded by the erratic and highly variable rainfall in most parts of southern Africa. Minimum and maximum temperatures’ variability and trend analysis were undertaken using daily time series data derived from 23 meteorological stations spread across Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The modified Mann–Kendall and Theil–Sen slope models were used to assess temperature trends and their magnitudes. Temperature varied with location and minimum temperature was more variable than maximum temperature. Semi-arid regions had higher variation in minimum temperature compared to humid and coastal environments. The results showed an upward trend in minimum (0.01–0.83 °C over a 33–38 year period) and maximum (0.01–0.09 °C over a 38–57 year period) temperatures at 9 and15 locations, respectively. A downward trend in minimum temperature (0.03–0.20 °C over 38–41 years) occurred in South Africa at two locations and Dedza (Malawi), while a non-significant decline in maximum temperature (0.01 °C over 54 years) occurred at one location in coastal dry sub-humid Mozambique. The results confirm the increase in temperature over 33–79 years, and highlight the importance of including temperature when designing climate change adaption and mitigation strategies in southern Africa and similar environments

A goal programming model for planning management of Miombo woodlands

This paper presents a methodology employed in reconciling demands of households, private sector, and government on miombo woodlands of Southern Africa. A Weighted Goal Programming approach is presented for planning management and use of the woodlands as well as a framework for policy analysis. The approach is based on essentially two models, viz., household and private sector models, which are linked into a miombo woodlands model (MIOMBOGP). The MIOMBOGP provides a framework for evaluating the impact, on these two sectors and the woodlands, of some government macro-economic policies as well as some forestry and agricultural sector policies

Reconciling household goals in southern African woodlands using weighted goal programming

Weighted goal programming (WGP) is employed to reconcile the goals of food security, improved incomes and woodland conservation in households from selected sites in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The three goals are attainable simultaneously, albeit with trade-offs useful in guiding development of rural development policies. The WGP model provides a framework for evaluating impact, on the household goals and woodland condition, of some macroeconomic and sectoral policies and demographic changes. Keywords: goal programming, woodlands, households, simulation, southern Africa

Goal programming: application in the management of the Miombo woodland in Mozambique

Community-based management of natural resources is a priority in Mozambique's policy on forestry and wildlife resources. In essence the government’s policy is to manage the natural resources in partnership with the rural communities and the private sector. This represents a change in policy in the agricultural and natural resources sectors, and has potential for significant impact in economic development. This paper demonstrates the potential for employing goal programming as a planning tool in participatory natural resource management in Mozambique. The focus is on the miombo woodlands which are the main natural forest resources in the country and which most of the local communities, the forestry and tourist industries depend on for a variety of forest products and services