Community adaptation to climate variation effects :

Abstract

The study examined community adaptation to climate variation effects: the case of floods in Acowa sub county, Amuria district, eastern Uganda. The main objective was to analyse the ways in which people have adapted to flood conditions in Amuria district specifically; to identify the major causes of floods in Amuria District; to evaluate the socio-economic effects of floods to the community in Amuria district; to assess the different ways of community adaptation to floods in Acowa sub-county in Amuria district. Research questions included; What are the major causes of floods in Acowa sub-county, Amuria district? What are the effects of floods to the community living in Acowa sub-county, Amuria district? How has the community in Acowa sub-county, Amuria district adapted to flood conditions? How effective are the community adaptation mechanisms in coping with the problem of floods in the study area? What are the national, local government interventions and the effectiveness on mitigating the socio-economic effects of floods? Methods of the data collection used were oral interviews and questionnaires. The data collected from, a sample of 60 respondents was analyzed using excel and SPSS (version 16). Local causes floods in the area were wetland cultivation 431.3%, cutting down of trees 25%, heavy rains 23.3% and constructing in wetlands 8.30/0. Human factors were fueled by mainly poverty. The most sever effect due to floods included, food insecurity which was at 95% according to the respondents followed by diseases, contamination of water points, dam age of homesteads and infrastructure. Government intervention to curb socio-economic effects of floods included food supply; mosquito nets, tents, tree seedlings, and sensitization according to the respondents. Adaptations included shifting to areas less prone to floods, opening the water channels planting trees, permanent houses and food store. A prominent and urgent response is to relocate vulnerable populations according to the findings from the main stream of floods mainly those adjacent to the wetland to areas quite safe from the attack of floods. Findings clearly shows that, while the farmers of Amelo parish have already come a long way in trying to adapting to the changing climate, their level of innovativeness, knowledge and skills, as well as external support is still very low therefore more efforts by mainly government, NGOs and research institutions is needed to boost their adaptive capacities.