http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/8 2026-05-06T00:21:08Z 2026-05-06T00:21:08Z Baldeh, Demba http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/1157 2026-05-05T12:20:27Z 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Effects of Climate Extremes on Illegal Migration of The Gambia's Youth Authors: Baldeh, Demba Abstract: Migration is as old as human existence and it has been a suitable option for residence faced with disasters. The movement of people within the African continent can be traced far back to precolonial era. When people in the western Sudan were deeply engaged in trade with their northern counterparts. However, the irregular/clandestine/illegal migration of people between Africans and Europeans had predated colonisation of Africans. But this was not made an issue until recently, when mass exodus of African youths to Europe gained public attention both in the print and electronic media. The irregular migration of The Gambia’s youths to Europe is well documented in the country’s history. These youths are mostly from the rural areas where farming is the predominant economic activity and the source of livelihood. With the advent of climate change and climate variability, farming is likely be impacted so seriously that many more youths relying on rainfed agriculture will be tempted to migrate. Consequently, the study therefore investigates the effects of climate extremes on illegal migration of The Gambia’s youths. It specifically: assesses the perception and causes of illegal migration; examine the effects of floods and droughts on illegal migration; identify problems faced by youths during journeys to their destination; identify their coping strategies during the perilous journey; and evaluate measures taken by the government, civil society groups and other organized institutions to address illegal migration of youths. The research employed both qualitative and quantitative research designs were illegal migrants and returnees formed the sample of 105 respondents. These interviewees were selected by snow ball sampling. A second group of interviewees were parents of the illegal migrants that were 10 groups of 8 in the four Regions. Also 12 Key Informants Interviews drawn from institutions dealing with climate change and migration nexus were done. The data was analysed using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS Version 20), Micro soft excel (2013) and Arc GIS 10.3 software application. The research established that climate extreme events specifically flood and drought had been pronounced in the four regions under study. Long dry spells are more severe in NBR and CRR than in URR and WCR. This is negatively impacting all farming communities in the regions and it is fast-tracking the migration of the youths. Furthermore, the odds evicting youths from their home to take the perilous journey commonly called the “Backway” is worsen by dreadful scenes they encounter. Notwithstanding, the illegal migrants sought numerous strategies earmarked to keep them moving at all cost. Finally, both Government and its development partners like the EU are actively engaged in addressing illegal migration of the youths. But their efforts are thwarted by inadequate understanding of the hybrid of issues surrounding the theme. The uncertainty of climate change phenomenon and limited understanding of climate variability and migration nexus complicated the issues further. Many climate extremes related mobility and mortality are preventable through education, good floodplain management, and early warning systems. These make it a sine qua non to integrate climate change related extremes like floods and drought into the national school curriculum. The findings will further contribute to shape and reform public policies relevant to youth development, and societal resilience to hostile effects of climate change. Description: The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z Dibba, Bintou http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/1156 2026-05-05T12:05:12Z 2023-05-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change: Understanding and Awareness Among Coastal Communities in The Gambia Authors: Dibba, Bintou Abstract: The coastal zone of The Gambia provides important ecosystems services, including habitats and breeding grounds for aquatic animals, plants and migratory birds. This area is vulnerable to climate change hazards as cited in literature. Therefore, this study aims to assess the awareness and understanding of climate change among coastal communities in The Gambia and their level of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. The research utilised Landsat imageries of the years 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020, freely downloaded from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) website to evaluate the extent of land cover transformation along the coastal zone. Mann–Kendall trend test and Sen’s slope estimator were utilized to assess the trend and slope magnitude of key climate variables (i.e. total annual rainfall (mm), minimum temperature, maximum temperature (oc), windspeed (knots) and relative humidity (%)) along the coast. Furthermore, climate change vulnerability index assessment was conducted to evaluate and compare the vulnerability of coastal cells to extreme climate events from 1990 to 2020. Finally, qualitative approach was used to assess the level of participation of state and non-state actors in building resilience to climate change. The findings of the research had demonstrated that the coastal environment had undergone significant modifications as a result of multiple stressors within the last 30 years. The extent of transformation for each of the land cover characteristics indicated an increase in barren land by 46% and built up by 680% and a decrease in vegetation cover by 35%, water bodies by 31% and wetlands by 14%. Consequently, these changes are associated with increased human population around 10-25km of The Gambia’s coastline from 1990 to 2020. The results further showed an increasing positive precipitation (mm), maximum and minimum temperature (oc) trends along the coastal zone. Furthermore, the study shows that there is low level of climate change understanding (31%) among coastal communities even though majority (78%) are aware of climate change. Moreover, the coastal zone of The Gambia on average is vulnerable to climate change with a vulnerability index score of 0.58 and an exposure index of 0.57. However, the differences in adaptive capacity and socio-economic characteristics of the coastal households had resulted to differences in sensitivity, exposure and vulnerability observed among the study cells. With the limited ability of individual households to adapt to the varying consequences of climate change and with insufficient interactions and support from state and non-state actors in building resilience to climate change, these communities also lack organisational structures to enable them to tackle climate change issues affecting their livelihood. Therefore, there is need for mobilisation of appropriate level of capacity, funding, diverse skills and knowledge systems within households, communities and state and non-state institutions to address the socioeconomic and environmental hazards affecting the coastal environment and inhabitants. Description: A Thesis submitted to the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use and the University of The Gambia, Banjul, The Gambia, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Climate Change and Education

2023-05-01T00:00:00Z Gyimah, Amma Birago Kantanka http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/1155 2026-05-05T11:58:55Z 2023-05-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Women as Agents of Change: The Gender Factor to Climate Change and Education Nexus for Improved Livelihoods in Ghana Authors: Gyimah, Amma Birago Kantanka Abstract: Global research on Climate Change Education (CCE) interventions has emphasized the school-based (formal) sector with little accent on the informal sector and negligible evidence from the global south. Notably, interventions targeting women, who are highly vulnerable to Climate Change (CC) impacts, are largely missing in the literature. This is particularly important for Ghana, where rural women rely on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture and forestry. This research assessed the critical factors in CCE that can enable rural women farmers build resilient livelihoods. Employing a mixed method approach, a formal questionnaire and a question schedule were used to collect data from a sample of 497 individual respondents and six focus group discussions consisting of Rural Women Farmers (RWF) from two agro-ecological zones. Thirteen expert interviews were also conducted with national and local stakeholders. Quantitative data were analysed using frequencies, percentages, Relative Importance Index, Adaptive Capacity Index, Chi-Square statistic and Binary Regression. Qualitative data were analysed through theme generation and synthesis. In assessing the situational awareness of RWFs, the study projected a disconnect between climate change knowledge and climate actions on the scale of perception (87.0%), comprehension (84.0%) and climate actions – [mitigation (31.0%) and adaptation (79.0%)]. Adaptation actions were found to be temporary and spontaneous rather than planned. Existing individual and systemic factors characterising RWFs, such as low literacy, workloads, high household size, unfavourable land ownership rights and limited access to expert knowledge, influenced the prevailing disconnect. Respondents were also challenged with timely (43.9%), reliable (51.1%), and particularly understandable (64.0%) CC information from various sources. The study found a moderate (0.405) adaptive capacity level for RWFs. It was also revealed that access to capitals by women farmers did not necessarily result in benefit from the capital assets. Access to different climate knowledge sources and climate actions predicted a significant drive on livelihood capitals, indicating appropriate climate knowledge's ability to influence adaptive capacity. Lessons from National and local stakeholders in CCC and CCE provided a guide to what strategies worked. Stakeholders subscribed to identifying personally relevant framing of CC knowledge considering women's unique backgrounds. Hands-on, interactive approaches were encouraged, including user-friendly and local-dialect-sensitive virtual platforms. The absence of proper operational structures and appropriate technical staff coupled with entrenched sociocultural norms limited respondents' ability to build resilience. The existing climate knowledge gaps and critical enablers to CCE from stakeholders were synthesised into a proposed framework for educating rural women farmers on climate change for livelihood resilience. The study concluded by highlighting the role of CCE in building the resilience of RWFs whose roles in reproduction, production and community make them important agents of change. However, systemic factors expressed through access, ownership and control rights of rural women limited their potential. It is therefore recommended that CCE and CCC should be framed taking into consideration the unique context of RWFs. A long-term benefit will be a progressive reconstruction of societal norms that disenfranchise women through multi-stakeholder engagements from the local to National levels. Description: A Thesis submitted to the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use and the University of The Gambia, Banjul, The Gambia, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Climate Change and Education

2023-05-01T00:00:00Z Makponse, Dossa Armand http://197.159.135.214/jspui/handle/123456789/1088 2026-02-20T14:22:14Z 2023-08-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Land Use Land Cover and Climate Change Impacts on Agro- Ecosystem Services Provisioning in Riverine Areas of Pendjari Reserve in Benin, West Africa Authors: Makponse, Dossa Armand Abstract: Examining the effects of land use and land cover change (LULCC) on biodiversity loss and human wellbeing in the Pendjari Reserve, a biodiversity hotspot in West Africa that has seen human disturbances for years, is the primary goal of this study. The study employed Landsat images and utilized the Random Forest classification software to analyze the dynamics of LULC for 1998, 2007, 2013, and 2020. The expected LULC for 2035 was projected using Terset 18.21. To learn more about household socio- economics characteristics and the advantages of trees in the townships from Tanguieta and Materi, information from 361 farmers was gathered. The influence of farm size, landholding, and district on tree diversity, tree species richness, and tree abundance, were examined as their combined impacts. The study unveiled notable alterations in LULC patterns, such as a reduced wooded savannah and a rise in shrub, cropland, and fallow land. Settlement areas experienced an increase in the studied period. The predicted results indicated an imminent slight decrease in wooded savannah, increase in shrub savannah, cropland, and fallow land, as well as a reduction of settlement areas in the future. Furthermore, farmers' preferences for tree and crop associations were assessed, with Parkia biglobosa identified as the tree species with the largest mean diameter at breast height (dbh) and height. At the same time, Vitellaria paradoxa had the highest height in Materi and Tanguieta. Tree benefits played a crucial role in selecting trees for agroforestry systems, with provisioning services followed by supporting services being the most common ecosystem benefits derived by local communities. Tree-crop associations varied among the farmers. The study examined the effects of tree conservation on agricultural output in agroforestry systems within the same study region as well as the impact of climate trends on critical crop yields. Findings revealed a substantial positive (warming) trend in temperature and a decrease in rainfall. There was a general positive warming trend observed between 1981 to 2020. Results showed that the lowest temperature positively and considerably impacted maize yields, while rainfall and relative humidity adversely affected respectively negatively and positively maize yields. The minimum temperature and relative humidity had a positive and substantial impact on sorghum. The maximum temperature and relative humidity negatively impacted cotton yield, but rainfall had affected positively cotton yields. Maximum and minimum temperature positively and significantly impacted cowpea yields. The Exponential regression model indicated that soil physicochemical characteristics and distance between tree and crop were the primary variables influencing crop yields in agroforestry systems. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that the maximum carbon stored by wooded savannah was projected to be 494,198.1 Mg C ha-1 in 2050, which decreased to 387,059.4 Mg C ha-1 in 2020 and 387,047.2 Mg C ha-1 in 2035. The lowest value of carbon is projected to be sequestered from 2020 to 2035, over a period of fifteen years. The highest gain and loss of projected carbon to sequestered for the period 2020 - 2050 is 108,947 Mg C ha-1 and -57, 996 Mg C ha-1 and the period 2035 -2050 is 108878 Mg C ha-1 and -57984.6 Mg C ha-1, respectively. Conversely, the lowest gain and loss were anticipated from 2020 to 2035, with value of 845.56 Mg ha-1 and -47.52 Mg C ha-1, respectively. Description: A Thesis submitted to the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Climate Change and Land Use

2023-08-01T00:00:00Z