The Impact of Climate Change on Francolins (Francolin bicalcaratus) habitat Adaptation in the farming Areas of Bangem City, Southwest Region Cameroon (Published)

Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing the natural world today, with far-reaching consequences for ecosystems, wildlife, and human communities alike. Rising global temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and more extreme weather events are dramatically altering the environmental conditions that species have adapted to over centuries and millennia. For many vulnerable animal and plant populations, the pace of these changes far exceeds their ability to adapt, putting their long-term survival at risk.  This study investigated the impact of climate change on the habitat adaptation of Francolins (Francolin bicalcaratus), a species of francolin bird found in the farming areas of Bangem. Additionally, Bangem region was selected for this study due to its important Francolin populations as well as the rapidly changing environmental conditions being experienced in this agricultural landscape. The study was conducted over a 5-month period, and research data collection through field observations, and interviews with local farmers and community members. Key parameters measured included changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, vegetation cover, and Francolin population dynamics. This study revealed a significant association of climatic conditions on birds’ aggregation behavior X²=60.861 df6 P=0.000, the social behavior of francolin birds X²=28.861 df9 P=0.001, and human activities in francolin ecosystem r=0.462 P=0.000 respectively. The role of climatic changes on the aggregation behavior of Francolins (Francolin bicalcaratus) has been a subject of increasing research interest, as climate change continues to impact ecosystems worldwide. Also, the study showed an association between climatic conditions and various food consumed by francolin birds X²=161.819 df=12 P=0.000. Additionally, climatic conditions significantly linked with francolins’ vocalization pitch intensity. X²=58.697 df=6 P=0.000. Besides, climatic conditions significantly associated with seasonal changes X²=36.093 df=3 P=0.000. The seasonal changes in the ecosystem of Francolins (Francolin bicalcaratus) are significantly influenced by various climatic factors, such as sunlight, rainfall, cloud cover, and wind patterns. Furthermore, photo-period showed a significant link on climatic conditions X²=37.062 df=3 P=0.000. The day-period changes, including morning and evening hours, in the ecosystem of Francolins (Francolin bicalcaratus) are also influenced by various climatic factors, such as sunlight, rainfall, cloud cover, and wind patterns. The study recommends targeted conservation efforts to protect Francolin habitats, including reforestation initiatives, adjustments to farming practices, and community-based monitoring programs. Continued research is also needed to better understand the long-term impacts of climate change on this and other vulnerable species in the region. Timely interventions will be crucial to ensure the Francolin can adapt and persist in the face of a rapidly changing environment.

Keywords: Aggregation behavior, Climate Change, Francolin population, human communities

Temperature and Precipitation Trends Using CMIP6 Model Data Using the Different Senarios in Jimma Zone, ONRS of Ethiopia (Published)

The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) dataset is used to examine projected trend in temperature and precipitation over Jimma zone. The changes are computed under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs; SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP6 and SSP5-8.5) from 1980-2020.  This study was undertaken to analyze rainfall and Temperature trend in Jimma zone, ONRS of Ethiopia. The study employed Mann-Kendall’s test to detect change in rainfall trends. Results for rainfall trend analysis for Jimma zone indicated decreasing trends, Overall, the observed trends were not statistically significant at 1% and 5%. Temperature is projected to increase over the entire domain under all three SSPs, by as much as 6 °C under SSP5-8.5, and with more pronounced increased. The mean temperature in the study area ranges from 20’C to 25 ‘C with annual average temperature of 22 ‘C. The rate of change of temperature was found to be 0.0181, 0.3536, 0.2041 and 0.026 ‘C per decade for mean, minimum and maximum respectively during the period of 1980–2020. The results of MK test for monthly precipitation data revealed a statistically significant decreasing trend (at 10% level of significance). attributed to an increase in the minimum temperature. It is, therefore, imperative to adjust the agriculture activity with the variability situation and design planned climate change adaptation strategies so as to enhance the adaptive capacity and resilience of rainfed dependent smallholder farmers

Keywords: CMIP6, Climate Change, Temperature, precipitation

Community Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) to Climate Change of a Hilly Area of Rangamati District in Bangladesh (Published)

The global challenge of Climate change poses a significant threat to humanity, with its impacts already being felt in various parts of the world through unpredictable and severe weather events leading to property damage and loss of life (IPCC, 2014). Community resilience is vital in reducing the losses caused by climate change, and it depends on an understanding of perceived risks, vulnerabilities, and local efforts to mitigate them. The Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh is one of the regions that is particularly vulnerable to climate change, due to its geography, degradation of forests, sensitivity of livelihoods, and low capacity in comparison to other parts of the country (World bank 2018).Although vulnerability assessments to climate change have been conducted previously, there remains a gap in involving indigenous communities residing in hilly areas of Bangladesh. The recognition of climate change risks as perceived by local communities could serve as a foundation for developing locally-led adaptation plans aimed at building local resilience.The Basonto Mon watershed is located in Rangamati district of Bangladesh, with GPS coordinates of 22˚ 40.218″N 92˚ 16.620″ E (GPS coordinates derived from Google Earth) and an elevation of 390 feet above sea level. The area comprises of five villages from varying elevations and is primarily inhabited by the Chakma community. There are 269 households in the region, primarily relying on Jhum cultivation, agriculture on fringe lands, and seasonal labor for their livelihoods, with an average annual household income of BDT 96000 (approximately US$ 1132). About 76% of the community consider themselves under serious threat from the effects of climate change, while 24% have limited understanding of the issue. Approximately 20% of the respondents believe that their livelihoods will be mostly affected by climate change, while 78% identified multiple impacts including health, disaster intensity, family workload, and more. The region is also facing severe soil erosion caused by deforestation, incorrect agricultural practices, and the monoculture of forest species such as teak. The community is at risk from agricultural drought, flash floods, landslides, cyclones, among other things, with the most impacted months being March to August.Climate drivers in the area include erratic rainfall, sudden heavy downpours, increased number of rainless days, and rising temperatures. Acute water scarcity caused by the drying of streams is another major concern for the community and has a widespread impact on women and their families. The most vulnerable sectors identified are the forest and ecosystem, livelihoods, and water security.Approximately 75% of the population is literate and has access to educational institutions and health clinics. However, the environment is fragile. To address this, there are three main priorities: 1) preserving the forests through cooperative efforts, reforestation, and public education, 2) promoting sustainable and climate-resistant agriculture, as well as alternative livelihoods and market access, and 3) improving access to clean water and preserving water sources through community-led management. Key stakeholders, such as the CHT institutions and local government bodies, are crucial in supporting the community in becoming more resilient to the effects of climate change.

Citation: Rahman A K M A., and Rahman M O.  (2023) Community Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) to Climate Change of a Hilly Area of Rangamati District in Bangladesh, International Journal of Weather, Climate Change and Conservation Research, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp.15-35

Keywords: Climate Change, Ecosystem, Vulnerability, Watershed, climate resilience

Exploration of the Private Sector Roles Including Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) in Climate Finance (Published)

Climate change as a topic has gained great interest all over the world and countries and organizations are increasingly in need of such information as will help in mitigating the adverse effects of climate changes. This research aimed to deepen knowledge on the roles played by the private sector including Small and Medium Enterprises on climate finance and environmental sustainability. The research explores the rise of the private sector involvement in climate finance with a focus on SME’s. There however are not many studies that gather and systematize the available knowledge about the issue of SMEs’ involvement in environmental sustainability and the concern with sustainable development in the face of climatic changes. This paper presents the analysis and main gaps from a systematic review of literature together with empirical studies based on the exploration of private sector roles including SME’s in climate finance. The research drew upon both primary and secondary sources including websites, journals, memoirs, published papers, letters and a collection of primary sources within the scope of study. The overall approach of this research was inductive whereby it was concerned with the creation of new body of knowledge from the data that was generated and analyzed whose findings were summarized. Key findings were that most prior research dwelt on generation of awareness about changing climates and increasing research in the area of climate finance, though most SMEs and the private sector have not actively been participating in the area. The research concluded that the private sector needs to play a greater and non-partisan role in sponsoring formulation of policies, generation of finance and sustaining awareness in the area of climate finance. The key recommendations from this study included a shift from generation of finance to sustainability of the financing solutions that will have lasting solutions.

Elias B. Walela & Peter K. Kahihu (2023) Exploration of the Private Sector Roles Including Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) in Climate Finance, International Journal of Weather, Climate Change and Conservation Research, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 39-56

Keywords: Climate Change, Environmental sustainability, Private Sector, Sustainability, climate finance, financial management

Rethinking Grid Governance for Texas in the Climate Change Era (Published)

Climate change has been plaguing the United States, most recently with increasingly extreme weather (Chediak & Malik, 2021). The February 2021 blackouts in Texas impacted over 4 million individuals for several days (Reuters Staff, 2021). The Texas blackouts disproportionately affected many low-income and marginalized communities (Srikanth, n.d.). In this paper, the author will analyze whether there is a lack of regulation in the energy sector. The current statutory framework provides power-sharing between federal and state governments with respect to energy regulation (Srikanth, n.d.). Energy deregulation in Texas has both advantages and disadvantages. This research will evaluate the impact of deregulation in the energy sector. In addition, the author will explain how public needs should affect the constitutional allocation of power between federal and state governments. The goal of this research is to provide historical context with which to evaluate some difficult challenges facing Texas today due to the February 2021 blackouts. Furthermore, this research will provide recommendations on how to prevent future blackout problems. This research encourages regulation reform for the transmission grid and the regional power market. Ensuring resiliency in grids is important in preventing severe natural disasters (Waseem & Manshadi, 2020). The author will argue that the federal government, Congress, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should cooperate more in implementing grid regulations.

Keywords: Climate Change, Grid governance, electric reliability, technological innovation and microgrids

Impacts of Climate Change on Environment and the Remedies (Published)

World’s global climate has been changing for many decades now.  Natural events and human activities are the major contributors of climate change. The impacts are manifest through the adverse effects posed on environmental temperature rise, extinction of wild animals, status change in water resources availability, agriculture, vegetation, air quality and sea level. These are critically influenced by climate change and variability. Many studies by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggest a discernible human influence on global climate change. While recent studies showed that human activities play a leading role in increasing climate change impacts. The projected results of these changes include flooding, damage to crops, soil erosion, adverse effects on surface and groundwater quality, water scarcity, water contamination, disease outbreak, loss of properties, disruption of the settlement, and other socio-economic challenges.  In this paper the causes of climate change, the impacts on humanity and the remedies are discussed.

Citation: Kolawole E.  and Okonkwo W. I (2022). Impacts of Climate Change on Environment and the Remedies, International Journal of Weather, Climate Change and Conservation Research, 8 (2), 1-9

Keywords: Climate Change, IPCC, Renewable Energy, anthropogenic emissions

Review on the Link between Technological Change, Climate Finance, and Market in Mitigating Climate Change (Published)

Global Climate change has a negative impact on all sectors of the economy, eco-regions, and social groups. Identifying the risk, the international community is working to reverse the movement. By considering the climate change impacts, the global community is driving an effort of their capacity to prevent the trend. To reduce the impacts of climate change through measures such as reduction of GHG emissions. Linking technological change, climate finance, and the market is a key element for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in climate-smart agriculture. The purpose of this review is to highlight that technological change is closely linked to climate finance and the market in mitigating climate change, the role of technological change in mitigating climate change, the role of climate finance and financing mechanisms in mitigating climate change, and the market perspectives in mitigating climate change.

Keywords: Climate Change, Technological Change, and market, climate finance, mitigating.

Community Based Environmental Education a Strategy for Mitigating Impacts of Climate Change on Livelihood of Riverine Communities in Rivers State (Published)

This article offers a community participatory education strategy for mitigating impacts of climate change on livelihood activities of Riverine communities’ dwellers in Rivers State. Climate change impact is partly anthropogenic (human) factor, it is pertinent for human to participate in activities that will possibly mitigate the impact of the human action on the environment and regain their sources of livelihood. In order for riverine communities to actively participate in climate change mitigation, they need to be properly guided through community-based environmental education which is based on community participatory model which encompasses elements of community based, collaboration, information based, and action oriented

Keywords: Climate Change, Livelihood, climate mitigation, community-based environmental education

Development of a Climate Change Anxiety Instrument: What is Your Heartbeat Reading? (Published)

Nigeria is experiencing the reality of climate change more than ever with Sea level rise, coastal and riverine flooding; erosion and desertification as ‘clouds of witnesses’. People’s perception and experiences appears to be the core issues that will influence their climate change anxiety level, a potent factor behind climate action. The younger generation would have a larger share of this experience and propensity for the worst hit including women. This background necessitated the need for the development of a Climate Change Anxiety Instrument (CCAI) for secondary school students. This research attempts to develop and test a reliable and valid instrument that will assess students’ level of anxiety towards the changes that climate change brings to bear on humans and the environment in general. The development phase, patterned alongside Computer Anxiety Scale (CAS) developed by Okebukola and Woda (1993), first involved 50 senior secondary school students and the final phase involved 90 senior secondary school students. Results compared students’ learning outcomes using constructivism, pictorial/discussion and traditional techniques. Pedagogy significantly influenced students’ climate change anxiety. The Tukey analysis shows pictorial/discussion significant differences among the group on climate change anxiety. Location significantly influenced students’ level of climate change anxiety in favour of rural students.

 

Keywords: Climate Change, Critical Pedagogy, anxiety instrument, culturo-techno-contextual approach, secondary students; Nigeria

The Thin Line between Climate Change Believers, Climate Change Sceptics and Climate Change Dismissives (Published)

This paper intends to reveal how the residents and professionals in Yobe State, Nigeria truly feel about climate change as a result of skeletal commitment by policy makers and suppression of ideas by administrators officially dedicated to its cause. A sample of the population that consists of academics, clerics, environmental enthusiasts, farmers, forest rangers, policy makers, traditional title-holders, women and youth groups were purposively selected and administered 450 structured questionnaires. Subsequently, correlation of the ‘Respondent Category’ and their ‘Educational Level’, frequencies, charts, correlation coefficient and QQ Plots were generated using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to emphasise on their perceptions. Key Informant Interview (KII) was also conducted with notable scholars and clerics on prohibitions of cutting down of trees, and encouragement for their planting. It was found out that; majority of the respondents have heard about climate change, understood its concept, believe their environment is changing and knew what is causing it. Although, more than half of them have not heard about the Conference of Parties (COP) annual meetings, the other half are nonetheless sceptical about the outcome of the meetings. They do not believe climate change is a propaganda tool, or whether the treaties and agreements are meant to slow the development of third world countries. Nevertheless, half of the respondents do not consider themselves as sceptics, the majority view themselves as believers. The findings of this research could serve as a subtle reminder to policy makers and administrators that; unless they come to terms with their beliefs about climate change, most policies formulated and programmes initiated could end up becoming a “white elephant” project, a subject that could only please the naysayers. It is the first research that categorised the residents of the study area based on their beliefs and scepticism of climate change.

 

Keywords: Climate Change, Yobe state, climate-change believers, climate-change dismissive, climate-change sceptics