Community Climate Change Adaption Assessment
With support from USAID/East Africa and within the Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research and Economic Development (PREPARED) Program and within the cooperation framework with SusWatch Kenya, RECOR, as the responsible executive institution in Rwanda, participated on a Community Climate Change Adaptation Assessment (C3A2) intending to redistribute and replenish identified Hot Spot Communities (HC) in Ngeruka (Bugesera District) and Gikomero (Gasabo District), who are the most strongly exposed to climate risks. In this research program RECOR worked closely with communities to acquaint expedient knowledge and information about adaptation, decision making, promoting and enhancing adaptive capacities of communities while teasing out inherently vulnerabilities.
RECOR has carried out field assessment in order to determine community perceptions of historical change, impacts on cropping systems, land use and livelihoods. Strengthening the development of climate change adaptation strategies and action planning is part of the core incentives. The C3A2 Research Framework involves food/ livelihood security, infrastructure, energy and health, sanitation and settlement and terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems as overarching aspects to be enhanced.
An imperative objective of C3A2 is to disseminate climate change mitigation strategies and adaptation advocacy conducting Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation Assessment (VIA) in Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) in East Africa. Proceedings of the assessment, carried out on two levels namely “Meso Level” and “Micro Level”, during field surveys, observation for primary data collection and Focus Group Discussions as well as community mapping were part of the participatory appraisal, conducted by 6 field researchers.
The applied tools, worked out in cooperation with sector staff, Civil Society Organizations but also with community members at the villages, helped to concentrate on the main vulnerability risks concerning climate change and to establish livelihood activities and local adaptation strategies.
Following pictures provide an impression of the tools and methods the research team used in the Field Assessment.
During the observation the research team identified natural resources and climate change risks
Failed crops due to climate change and natural resources in the hotspot
