Adapting to climate change with indigenous knowledge
According to the UN Environmental Programme, Africa is more vulnerable to climate change than any other region. Ironically, it contributes the least to the problem – less than 4% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. Extreme heat, unpredictable rainfall, locust plagues, coastal flooding, storms, cyclones, and a drought so severe it is killing more elephants in Kenya than poaching.?
It sounds like one epic disaster movie after another. But such extreme weather events are a real-time reality around the globe. As they grow in frequency and intensity, the threat to the physical and mental health of millions of Indigenous people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) escalates.
A recent paper from the Aga Khan University, “Mental health and climate change in Africa”, highlights the need for increased efforts, research funding, and interventions to address the twin issues of climate change and mental health and mitigate a potential mental health crisis. Researchers call on not only African governments to pay attention but the “institutions, philanthropists and governments in wealthier countries that have contributed disproportionately to the climate crisis the world faces today.”
Meanwhile, just like those prodigious polluters, LMICs must find ways to respond to the shifts and changes in the climate. In their study, the AKU researchers found that many African communities are drawing on indigenous and local knowledge to do that.
In Ethiopia, Afar pastoralists have a long history of predicting weather and climate variations by observing livestock, insects, birds, trees, and wildlife. The greening of certain Acacia tree species, for instance, signals coming rains. But when Dobera glabra?(the “Garsa” tree) blooms and produces abundant fruits, a drought can be expected. This intel, combined with other indicators, helps determine when to collect and store famine foods, sell unproductive animals, buy grains, or consider temporary migration.
When Will the Rains Come? Ask a Ground Squirrel
From close observation of cattle behaviour to listening to the sounds of certain birds, frogs, and hyenas, to reading livestock entrails, interpreting star-and-moon alignment, or noting when the ground squirrel digs out the soil… the Borana community of southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya has a rich indigenous knowledge system. It is passed from one generation to the next to guide decisions about the season ahead and how to adapt to the shifting environment.
In Kenya’s Rift Valley, the Endorois people have introduced climate-smart agroecological systems to minimize water use, reduce conflict with wildlife, and foster more sustainable food security and land management. Crop diversification such as cultivating drought-tolerant cereals, tubers, and vegetables, and sustainable herd management are other adaptions to the effects of climate change among the Endorois.
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Local and Scientific Knowledge: A Key Combination
The AKU researchers are urging greater attention be given to these adaptive mechanisms as Africa faces a mental health crisis as a result of climate change. They call on research institutions and governments to incorporate indigenous and local knowledge into climate action that complements scientific research. Without additional support, indigenous knowledge is “threatened by being sidelined, marginalised or lost.”?