Between the years 2008 and 2010 CSIR Built Environment embarked on a joint project with the Walte... more Between the years 2008 and 2010 CSIR Built Environment embarked on a joint project with the Walter Sisulu University (WSU) to develop a rural community sustainable development portal. The portal provides a point for interaction, dialogue and exchange of experiences, practices and success stories in rural areas of developing countries. The vision of the rural development portal is to provide leadership in rural development matters through focusing on developing countries.
Table of Contents: Brief 1: The Impact of Climate Variability and Climate Change on Water and Foo... more Table of Contents: Brief 1: The Impact of Climate Variability and Climate Change on Water and Food Outcomes: A Framework for Analysis by Claudia Ringer Brief 2: Vulnerability and the Impact of Climate Change in South Africa's Limpopo River Basin by Sharon Shewmake Brief 5: Measuring Ethiopian Farmers' Vulnerability to Climate Change Across Regional States by Temesgen T. Deressa, Rashid M. Hassan, and Claudia Ringler Brief 6: Perceptions of Stakeholders on Climate Change: and Adaptation Strategies in Ethiopia by Assefa Admassie, Berhanu Adenew, and Abebe Tadege Brief 7: Micro-Level Analysis of Farmers' Adaptation to Climate Change in Southern Africa by Charles Nhemachena and Rashid M. Hassan Brief 9: Analysis of the Determinants of Farmers' Choice of Adaptation Methods and Perceptions of Climate Change in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia by Temesgen T. Deressa, Rashid M. Hassan, Claudia Ringler, Tekie Alemu, and Mahmud Yesuf Brief 12: Impacts of Considering Climate Variability on Investment Decisions in Ethiopia by Paul J. Block, Kenneth Strzepek, Mark Rosegrant, and Xinshen Diao Brief 14: Integrated Management of the Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopia under Climate Variability and Climate Change by Paul J. Block, Kenneth Strzepek, Mark Rosegrant, and Xinshen Diao Brief 16: Risk Aversion in Low-Income Countries: Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia by Mahmud Yesuf and Randy Bluffstone
The study analysed climate change adaptation for rural communities co-dependent on agriculture an... more The study analysed climate change adaptation for rural communities co-dependent on agriculture and the tourism industry in marginal farming areas in Hwange District, located in the north-west of Zimbabwe. The study was based on primary data collected from a cross-sectional household survey, key informant interviews and focus group discussion with rural communities. The results indicate that most of the respondents reported that most of their adaptation efforts to address the impacts of climate change and other stressors are primarily focused on agricultural crop activities. Deploying appropriate climate sensitive technologies and marketing innovations to make rural agriculture work better with climate change; is one possibility not yet fully exploited. Better access to climate change information and screening of appropriate technologies for climate change adaptation beyond seasonal climate adaptation and provision of technical and market incentives for farmers to invest in climate c...
This chapter reviews evidence from green growth trajectory literature in order to assess the exte... more This chapter reviews evidence from green growth trajectory literature in order to assess the extent to which developing countries such as South Africa can move to a greener path through contributing to global reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, without compromising economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction. This is important because the poor, who are mainly subsistence-based and natural-resources dependent, are especially vulnerable to environmental damage and to growth paths that do not take sustainability into consideration. The poor’s livelihood sources are sensitive and exposed to natural hazards, the severity and higher frequency of which undermine the assets needed to adequately cope with and adjust to them. The current and expected future impacts of the unsustainable exploitation of environmental assets, as well as a carbon-dependent growth path in South Africa, will have significant socio-economic repercussions, including challenges to local livelihoods. ...
This paper focuses on a local resource based approach to maintaining and preserving rural local a... more This paper focuses on a local resource based approach to maintaining and preserving rural local access roads assets using the Siyatentela project in Mpumalanga as a case study. The weaknesses of the existing rural local access road asset management institutions and the potential for improvements are discussed. On one hand the existing institutional structures provide a basic framework for rural asset road maintenance and preservation. However, on the other hand, the evolving structures present opportunities for both policy makers, project participants and beneficiaries in terms of strengthening the project further taking into account the life cycle requirements of people, roads and institutions interacting in this service delivery domain. A major recommendation of the study is that the Siyatentela institutional and governance structures require further strengthening for sustainable development to be assured.
This study analyzed determinants of farm-level climate adaptation measures in Africa using a mult... more This study analyzed determinants of farm-level climate adaptation measures in Africa using a multinomial choice model fitted to data from a cross-sectional survey of over 8000 farms from 11 African countries. The results indicate that specialized crop cultivation (mono-cropping) is the agricultural practice most vulnerable to climate change in Africa. Warming, especially in summer, poses the highest risk. It encourages irrigation, multiple cropping and integration of livestock. Increased precipitation reduces the probability of irrigation and will benefit most African farms, especially in drier areas. Better access to markets, extension and credit services, technology and farm assets (labor, land and capital) are critical for helping African farmers adapt to climate change. Government policies and investment strategies must support education, markets, credit and information about adaptation to climate change, including technological and institutional methods, particularly for poor f...
Between the years 2008 and 2010 CSIR Built Environment embarked on a joint project with the Walte... more Between the years 2008 and 2010 CSIR Built Environment embarked on a joint project with the Walter Sisulu University (WSU) to develop a rural community sustainable development portal. The portal provides a point for interaction, dialogue and exchange of experiences, practices and success stories in rural areas of developing countries. The vision of the rural development portal is to provide leadership in rural development matters through focusing on developing countries.
Table of Contents: Brief 1: The Impact of Climate Variability and Climate Change on Water and Foo... more Table of Contents: Brief 1: The Impact of Climate Variability and Climate Change on Water and Food Outcomes: A Framework for Analysis by Claudia Ringer Brief 2: Vulnerability and the Impact of Climate Change in South Africa's Limpopo River Basin by Sharon Shewmake Brief 5: Measuring Ethiopian Farmers' Vulnerability to Climate Change Across Regional States by Temesgen T. Deressa, Rashid M. Hassan, and Claudia Ringler Brief 6: Perceptions of Stakeholders on Climate Change: and Adaptation Strategies in Ethiopia by Assefa Admassie, Berhanu Adenew, and Abebe Tadege Brief 7: Micro-Level Analysis of Farmers' Adaptation to Climate Change in Southern Africa by Charles Nhemachena and Rashid M. Hassan Brief 9: Analysis of the Determinants of Farmers' Choice of Adaptation Methods and Perceptions of Climate Change in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia by Temesgen T. Deressa, Rashid M. Hassan, Claudia Ringler, Tekie Alemu, and Mahmud Yesuf Brief 12: Impacts of Considering Climate Variability on Investment Decisions in Ethiopia by Paul J. Block, Kenneth Strzepek, Mark Rosegrant, and Xinshen Diao Brief 14: Integrated Management of the Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopia under Climate Variability and Climate Change by Paul J. Block, Kenneth Strzepek, Mark Rosegrant, and Xinshen Diao Brief 16: Risk Aversion in Low-Income Countries: Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia by Mahmud Yesuf and Randy Bluffstone
The study analysed climate change adaptation for rural communities co-dependent on agriculture an... more The study analysed climate change adaptation for rural communities co-dependent on agriculture and the tourism industry in marginal farming areas in Hwange District, located in the north-west of Zimbabwe. The study was based on primary data collected from a cross-sectional household survey, key informant interviews and focus group discussion with rural communities. The results indicate that most of the respondents reported that most of their adaptation efforts to address the impacts of climate change and other stressors are primarily focused on agricultural crop activities. Deploying appropriate climate sensitive technologies and marketing innovations to make rural agriculture work better with climate change; is one possibility not yet fully exploited. Better access to climate change information and screening of appropriate technologies for climate change adaptation beyond seasonal climate adaptation and provision of technical and market incentives for farmers to invest in climate c...
This chapter reviews evidence from green growth trajectory literature in order to assess the exte... more This chapter reviews evidence from green growth trajectory literature in order to assess the extent to which developing countries such as South Africa can move to a greener path through contributing to global reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, without compromising economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction. This is important because the poor, who are mainly subsistence-based and natural-resources dependent, are especially vulnerable to environmental damage and to growth paths that do not take sustainability into consideration. The poor’s livelihood sources are sensitive and exposed to natural hazards, the severity and higher frequency of which undermine the assets needed to adequately cope with and adjust to them. The current and expected future impacts of the unsustainable exploitation of environmental assets, as well as a carbon-dependent growth path in South Africa, will have significant socio-economic repercussions, including challenges to local livelihoods. ...
This paper focuses on a local resource based approach to maintaining and preserving rural local a... more This paper focuses on a local resource based approach to maintaining and preserving rural local access roads assets using the Siyatentela project in Mpumalanga as a case study. The weaknesses of the existing rural local access road asset management institutions and the potential for improvements are discussed. On one hand the existing institutional structures provide a basic framework for rural asset road maintenance and preservation. However, on the other hand, the evolving structures present opportunities for both policy makers, project participants and beneficiaries in terms of strengthening the project further taking into account the life cycle requirements of people, roads and institutions interacting in this service delivery domain. A major recommendation of the study is that the Siyatentela institutional and governance structures require further strengthening for sustainable development to be assured.
This study analyzed determinants of farm-level climate adaptation measures in Africa using a mult... more This study analyzed determinants of farm-level climate adaptation measures in Africa using a multinomial choice model fitted to data from a cross-sectional survey of over 8000 farms from 11 African countries. The results indicate that specialized crop cultivation (mono-cropping) is the agricultural practice most vulnerable to climate change in Africa. Warming, especially in summer, poses the highest risk. It encourages irrigation, multiple cropping and integration of livestock. Increased precipitation reduces the probability of irrigation and will benefit most African farms, especially in drier areas. Better access to markets, extension and credit services, technology and farm assets (labor, land and capital) are critical for helping African farmers adapt to climate change. Government policies and investment strategies must support education, markets, credit and information about adaptation to climate change, including technological and institutional methods, particularly for poor f...
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Papers by Charles Nhemachena