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Climate Variability and Change in Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone, Nigeria: Assessment of Cattle Herders’ Responses

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Handbook of Climate Change Resilience

Abstract

Understanding climate variability and change impacts on the livelihood of farming communities, especially the herders, is essential in designing effective technological and policy interventions for increasing the adaptive capacities of the herders. This study aims at assessing the herders’ responses to climate variability and changes using the Guinea Savannah region of Nigeria as a case study. The assessment was made through qualitative and qualitative approaches, and the household survey was used to identify the responses of herder to climate variability and change. Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) method was used to assess the drought events in the study area. Results revealed severe drought in recent years. From survey results, 97.5% of the herders identified drought as the major extreme weather event affecting livestock. These scenarios have led to the migration of cattle herders from the northern part of the study area toward the southern part in recent years, in order to adapt to change in climate. During prolonged dry spell and drought, the majority of cattle herders covered several distances. Some migrate between 5 km and 10 km from their sojourn to get water and green pasture. The study recommended that for herders to improve their adaptive capacities during climate change there is an urgent need for adequate support from the government and stakeholders in Nigeria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

    Ayansina Ayanlade & Stephen M. Ojebisi

Authors
  1. Ayansina Ayanlade
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  2. Stephen M. Ojebisi
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Correspondence to Ayansina Ayanlade .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. International Climate Change Information and Research Programme (ICCIRP), Faculty of Life Sciences, Research and Transfer Centre Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

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Ayanlade, A., Ojebisi, S.M. (2020). Climate Variability and Change in Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone, Nigeria: Assessment of Cattle Herders’ Responses. In: Leal Filho, W. (eds) Handbook of Climate Change Resilience. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93336-8_18

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