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9 The ImpactsofClimateChangeonEcosystemServices… 229
variability, pronounced shifts in rainfall are evident. For example, in the drylands
ofMali andBurkinaFaso, the number of years that exceed theminimumrequired
to grow sorghum andmillet has changed over time (Fig. 9.4). During the period
1950–69, generally recognised as a wet period for the Sahel, there was reliable
rainfall for sorghum andmillet in many regions, but in the last two decades the
numberof years thatmet the thresholdwas60–80%lower.This demonstrates how
climaticvariabilityandchangecanthreatenfoodproduction,animportantecosystem
service.
Intra-annual variability is another issue.Within any growing season, large gaps
in rainfall or extreme rainfall events can have important impacts on crop produc-
tion—witheringcropsafter they’ve sproutedorwashing themaway.Thecombined
effectsofdecadal, inter-annual(betweenyears),andintra-annual(withinyears)vari-
ability have important repercussions for food provisioning, which is an important
ecosystemservice.
Research on losses and damages from the 2004 and 2010 droughts in northern
Burkina Faso showed that villagers have become less able to copewith droughts
becauseof adecline inpastoralismandan increase in cropping (Traore andOwiyo
2013).Pastoralismhaslongbeenanimportantandwelladaptedlivelihoodstrategyin
theregion;herderscouldmovetheircattletoareaswherepasturewasmoreabundant
toaccommodatelocalisedwaterdeficits.Thiswasawayoflifethatbroughtresilience
to droughts.With recent land use change policies and conflict, severe barriers to
pastoralists’freedomofmovementmakethemmorevulnerabletodroughts.Surveys
found96and87%of respondents felt thenegativeeffectsofdroughtsoncropsand
livestock, respectively, and that extreme droughts tend to have cascading effects.
First, thewater deficits affect seedling growth and crop yields, which then affects
theavailabilityof food forpeopleand feed for livestock (TraoreandOwiyo2013).
At the geographic center of this large dryland region, for centuries Lake
Chad—centred inWestern Chad and straddling theNiger, Nigeria andCameroon
borders—washometoabundantfisheriesandlivestockherds.Temperatureincrease,
rainfall unpredictability, and land use changes have negatively affected the Lake
Chadbasin.OnceamongAfrica’s largest lakes, the lakehasshrunkfrom25,000sq.
kmin1963 toaround1,000sq.km(Fig.9.5) (UNEP2008).
A ridge that emerged during the drought in the 1970s and 1980s now divides
LakeChad in two.Despite the recoveryof rainfall in the1990s, the lakenever fully
recovered because irrigationwithdrawals increased from the primary tributaries to
the south, where rainfall is higher (Gao et al. 2011). The lake once supported a
vital traditional culture of fishing and herding. As the lake receded, farmers and
pastoralists shifted to thegreenerareas,where theycompete for landresourceswith
host communities (Salkida 2012). This has been compounded by violent conflict
associated with the BokoHaram insurgency, which has spilled across the border
fromNigeria(Taub2017).OthershavemigratedtoKano,Abuja,Lagos,andotherbig
cities.ThedeclineofLakeChadillustrateshowchangingclimatepatternsinteracting
withotheranthropogenicmodifications,conflictandpoorgovernanceresult inlosses
anddamages toecosystemsandsocieties.
Loss and Damage from Climate Change
Concepts, Methods and Policy Options
- Title
- Loss and Damage from Climate Change
- Subtitle
- Concepts, Methods and Policy Options
- Authors
- Reinhard Mechler
- Laurens M. Bouwer
- Thomas Schinko
- Swenja Surminski
- JoAnne Linnerooth-Bayer
- Publisher
- Springer Open
- Date
- 2019
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-319-72026-5
- Size
- 16.0 x 24.0 cm
- Pages
- 580
- Keywords
- Environment, Climate change, Environmental law, Environmental policy, Risk management
- Categories
- International
- Naturwissenschaften Umwelt und Klima