Kupika Olga Laiza, Gandiwa Edson, Nhamo Godwell, Kativu Shakkie
Chinhoyi University of Technology, School of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Private Bag 7724, Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe.
Exxaro Chair in Business & Climate Change, Institute for Corporate Citizenship, University of South Africa, P.O. Box 392, UNISA 0003, Pretoria, South Africa.
Scientifica (Cairo). 2019 Mar 11;2019:3069254. doi: 10.1155/2019/3069254. eCollection 2019.
Understanding local community perceptions on impacts, causes, and responses to climate change is vital for promotion of community resilience towards climate change. This study explored local ecological knowledge (LEK) held by local communities on climate change trends and impacts in the Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve (MZBR), Zimbabwe. The objectives of the study were to (i) investigate local community perceptions on trends and causes of climate change, (ii) identify biophysical impacts of climate change at the local level, and (iii) explore the ecosystem-based adaptation strategies towards climate change. The study used a mixed methods approach where a household questionnaire survey (=320), key informant interviews (=12), and focus group discussions (=8) were used to collect data between April 2015 and October 2016. Results from the study show that local communities have observed decreasing rainfall and increasing temperatures as key indicators of climate change. Local communities observed water scarcity, changes in vegetation phenology, livestock and wildlife mortalities, and food shortages due to drought as the major impacts on their livelihoods. LEK can contribute to adaptive management strategies that enhance resilience of socioecological systems (SES) in the face of climate change by providing information on the status and use of biophysical components of the environment and by highlighting potential local adaptation strategies that can sustain key livelihood practices.
了解当地社区对气候变化的影响、成因及应对措施的看法，对于提高社区应对气候变化的复原力至关重要。本研究探讨了津巴布韦中赞比西生物圈保护区（MZBR）当地社区所掌握的关于气候变化趋势和影响的地方生态知识（LEK）。该研究的目标是：（i）调查当地社区对气候变化趋势和成因的看法；（ii）确定气候变化在地方层面的生物物理影响；（iii）探索基于生态系统的气候变化适应策略。该研究采用了混合方法，在2015年4月至2016年10月期间，通过家庭问卷调查（=320份）、关键信息人访谈（=12次）和焦点小组讨论（=8次）来收集数据。研究结果表明，当地社区已观察到降雨减少和气温上升是气候变化的关键指标。当地社区观察到水资源短缺、植被物候变化、牲畜和野生动物死亡以及干旱导致的粮食短缺是对其生计的主要影响。地方生态知识可以为适应性管理策略做出贡献，通过提供有关环境生物物理成分的现状和利用的信息，并突出能够维持关键生计做法的潜在地方适应策略，从而增强社会生态系统（SES）面对气候变化时的复原力。
