VULNERABILITY OF PASTORALISTS LIVELIHOOD UNDER CHANGING CLIMATIC CONDITION AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES IN YABELLO DISTRICT, BORANA ZONE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Human adaptive responses to climate change occur at the local level, where climatic variability is experienced. Therefore analyzing vulnerability and understanding peoples‘ perception at local level is important in planning effective adaptation strategies. This study assessed the vulnerability, perceptions and adaptation options of Borana pastoralist to climate change and variability in southern Ethiopia. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 131 households. A quantitative and qualitative questionnaire survey was administered to collect data at a household level. Livelihood vulnerability to climate was measured as the net effect of adaptive capacity, sensitivity and exposure. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to assign weights to the vulnerability indicators and to calculate the livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) so as to classify households according to their vulnerability level. In order to understand the determinants of vulnerability, the ordinal logistic regression (OLR) model was employed with predictor variables. The importance of existing coping strategies was rated based on their importance. Perceived climate trends were also compared with 30 years meteorological climate records. The result showed that 24.4% of households are highly vulnerable, 60.3% are moderately vulnerable and 15.3% are less vulnerable to climate-induced stresses. Factor estimates of the logistic model revealed that early warning information, bush encroachment, coping strategy, temperature change, drought frequency, provision of humanitarian service and food shortage during normal season of the year have significant influence (P ˂ 0.05) on vulnerability in the study area. The result also showed that Borana pastoralists have a good understanding of climate variability and are aware of climate change as per their experiences and observations over the decades. Strategies such as herd mobility, destocking, hay making, natural resource management, livelihood and herd diversification, sending children to school and communal enclosure are identified as the viable coping strategies used by the pastoralists to enhance their survival from climate extreme events. Therefore, those policies that address the determinants of vulnerability and local adaptation strategies will likely strengthen the resilience of pastoralist households in the study area.