This policy brief takes a regional perspective based on a rapid review of the extant literature to cascading climate risks and their links with migration in North Africa. Understanding the climate-migration nexus in the context of North Africa is a cornerstone for taking informed decisions and developing strategies to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change, including potential human mobility.
In recent decades, Egypt has experienced rapid internal migration movements triggered by urbanization, socioeconomic development, and environmental changes. From a literature perspective, few scholarly studies have empirically examined the drivers and welfare impacts of internal migration in Egypt, despite the increasing recognition of its inextricably links to urban sustainability. The present study utilized data from two waves of an Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey (ELMPS) conducted in 2012 and 2018 and consisting of 63,909 observations to examine factors that determine internal migration decisions and their subsequent welfare effects. The results of the two-stage Heckman selection model indicate that both the determinants of internal migration decisions and welfare outcomes differ appreciably depending on migration stream as well as the socioeconomic characteristics of the migrants. In particular, females were found to be more likely to migrate from rural to urban areas, lending support to the growing literature on the “feminization of migration” in developing countries. The OLS regression results, after correcting for self-selection, make a strong case for the positive welfare gains from internal migration in Egypt. Specially, we found that the welfare gains for older and female migrants are much higher than other age and gender groups. A comparison of the welfare effects between different migration streams shows that all migratory movements were associated with positive and statistically significant welfare gains, except for rural-to-urban migration that was surprisingly found to be associated with significant welfare loss for the migrants. Urban-to-urban migration was found to have the strongest welfare enhancing effects on all migrant groups. The empirical findings underline a number of research and policy implications for a sustainable management of internal migration in Egypt and other countries with similar internal migration trends.
Like many other developing countries, urban sprawl is a growing phenomenon in India, which poses socio-economic and environmental challenges that worryingly affect urban sustainability. In this study, a latent class clustering approach was used to investigate perceptions of urban sprawl among 622 urban and peri-urban dwellers in Hyderabad. The empirical results clustered the respondents into three distinct classes based on their perceptions of urban sprawl impacts: ‘undecided respondents’, ‘negative perceivers’, and ‘opportunity perceivers’. The majority of respondents were undecided with no strong views towards the impacts of urban sprawl, which may increase their vulnerability and hinder effective adaptation to the adverse economic, social and environmental effects of urban sprawl. This also provokes concerns about the effectiveness of government interventions to build public awareness of urban development and its impacts on the city. With regard to the role of demographic and socio-economic characteristics in shaping the perception of the respondents, the results revealed that social caste plays a determining role in forming dwellers’ perception. In particular, members of marginalised social castes were more likely to form positive perceptions of the impacts of urban sprawl as urban expansion generates better and stable income that improve their social status. In addition, individuals with higher levels of education were more likely to form negative or positive perceptions, implying that efforts to raise social capital could be a useful means for mitigating the impacts of urban sprawl. Finally, membership in community development organisations was a key factor in dictating membership of the negative perceivers’ class. Overall, our findings suggest that an appropriate policy framework and specific programmes are needed for enhancing dwellers’ perception towards the impacts of urban sprawl, which can enhance the design, acceptance, and implementation of a more sustainable governance of urbanisation and contribute to achieving urban sustainability in developing countries.
Small towns have often been considered as unimportant or even as anomalous phenomena and consequently have been largely ignored by policy makers and researchers. Instead, attention was focussed on the large city or on rural development and agricultural change without consideration being given to the positive contribution that small towns can make to rural transformation.
But for the overwhelming majority of Africa's population which is rural, it is the small town with which they have the most frequent and intense contacts and which provides the foci for economic, social, political and cultural rural-urban interaction. The papers in this book address a wide range of issues relating to the small town in rural context from both the macro perspective, including the role of the state, to the micro perspective where attention is given to the vitality and adaptability of individual actors through their utilisation of rural and urban opportunities. Case studies are drawn from Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
This study explored the use of conservation agriculture (CA) as a climate adaptationstrategy among smallholder farmers in Eastern Zambia. Using 761 household interviewsand 33 focus group discussions (FGDs) with smallholder farmers from six districts, datawas collected on how smallholder farmers in the region experience climate change,what CA practices they had adopted, and benefits and challenges associated withCA practice. Results show that men and women farmers had similar experiences ofclimate change, namely late onset of a shortened rainy season, intra-seasonal droughtand higher temperatures. Farmers’ perceptions of gender-mediated effects of climatechange had important nuances. The three most cited effects of climate change onwomen mentioned by women were lower crop yields, outbreaks of armyworms andreduced livestock fodder. The men thought women were most affected by increasedhunger, lower crop yields and reduced domestic water sources. According to the womenFGDs, men were most affected through reduced crop yields, increases in livestockdiseases and increased hunger. The men self-reported reduced crop yields, reducedwater for livestock and outbreaks of armyworms. Both men and women saw CA ashaving climate change adaptation benefits. For the women, men most benefitted fromCA through the high moisture holding capacity of basins, higher crop yields and reducedlabor requirements through use of oxen ripping. The men most appreciated the highcrop yields, improved soil fertility and reduced costs as less fertilizer is used. The womencited the high moisture holding capacity of basins, high crop yields and improved soilfertility as benefits they most commonly derived from CA, while the men thought thewomen most benefitted from CA through the higher crop yields, improved soil fertilityand crop tolerance to droughts. The study concludes that there is room for CA to serveas a climate smart agricultural system for both men and women smallholder farmers inEastern Zambia. However, this will require addressing important challenges of high weedpressure, high labor demands, and low access to manure, and CA farming implements.The CA package for Zambia should include access to timely climate information andclimate informed crop choices
This study investigated how land rights formalization had affected land tenure security among landowners in two informal settlements of Lusaka and Chongwe districts, Zambia. It explored how social norms on land inheritance, decision making over land, marital trust and land related conflicts had been affected by the changed nature of land rights. Data was collected through a questionnaire survey of all the 302 households that had obtained title deeds at the time of the survey, two 3-in-1 focus group discussions and four key informant interviews. Results suggest that land tenure security is now a reality for residents that hitherto lived under constant threat of eviction. Landowners have benefitted from the formalization initiative through land laws and local norms that allow equitable access to land. Land rights formalization has curtailed land rights for secondary claimants such as extended family members, in preference for man, spouse and biological children. A sense of ownership undisputedly increased for men and women in the two study sites. About 50% of the respondents in both study sites indicated that formalization of land rights had not resulted in family conflicts. At least one-third from both sites reported an increase in love and trust between spouses after land rights formalization. About half of the respondents reported that no change in decision-making authority had occurred for men while 42% reported an increase. Formalizing land rights in informal settlements has entailed legalizing illegalities as regulations on plot boundaries are set aside by the state to achieve its aspirations of providing land tenure security to poor urbanites who would not otherwise have recourse to legal or regularized land. We recommend that caution be taken in promoting what is unarguably a pro-poor initiative to ensure that such initiatives should not incentivize future land encroachments.
Jinja Town in Uganda, selected as one of five centres of growth in the post-WWII era of colonial developmentism, is perennially represented in the Ugandan media as the quintessential industrial town gone off-track. This is particularly evident for the case of the African housing estates built in Jinja in the 1950s where the dominant everyday rhythm is no longer dictated by the factory siren or the monthly wage but is instead a landscape scored by multiple rhythms. By conceptualising these estates as inherited machines – still loaded with a profusion of signs and objects from the era of the modern industrial ‘refrain’ – this paper seeks both to illustrate the colonial planning rationality and to examine contemporary processes of vernacular urbanism and contestations surrounding ‘re-occupations’ of the post-colonial city. It is argued that we need to seriously question any a priori invocation of a generic form of vernacular urbanism that is (or is not) to be prioritized over or ‘mixed’ with a Western planning cycle. Instead, the case study shows how historically mediated place specificities complicate the notion that the logics of place making can be unproblematically abstracted from.
Overcoming the gender gap in agriculture is nowadays one of the focal points of major international institutions, governments and development agencies. In this paper, we discuss some effects of international aid in rural contexts on gender dynamics and women’s empowerment. Through the analysis of some small-scale projects in Northern Senegal – implemented within a wide rural development aid program in West Africa - we develop some reflections on the observed women-oriented projects: we stress the risk that women end up being “locked” into pre-defined roles, namely in small-scale food processing activities, by a standardized logic of aid projects. We develop an analysis of the practices that may lead to this outcome and of the characteristics of such “women roles” in value chains. We discuss this observation in the light of the gendered division of tasks in primary products value chains and of the literature on the integration of “gender” in development thinking. By means of this analysis, we draw some reflections on the discrepancy between explicit empowerment goals and unintended outcomes of aid.
Making cities inclusive is one of the goals of Agenda 2030, and access to publicspaces is identified as an important sub-goal. However, in urban Africa, access by street vendors and other marginalised groups to public spaces seems to be on the decline. This policy note discusses why this is so, what processes lie behind the decline and what the effects are for groups that depend on public space for survival.
South Africa was expecting to benefit by hosting the World Cup 2010. For urban disadvantaged groups, however, the reality proved very different. Street vendors and marketers were among the excluded. Evictions caused many of them to lose their livelihoods, and strict regulations made it difficult for them to derive economic benefit from the mega-event. This Policy Note explores their predicament, as well as the responses of grassroots organizations. Finally, lessons are drawn for cities aspiring to host similar events in the future.
In the midst of widespread urban deprivation, African governments increasingly give priority to large-scale ultra-modern urban projects, intended to increase national income and propel their urban settlements onto the global stage of ‘world-class’ cities. However, such projects are often in tension with the realities of local residents.
Climate change is considered to be a significant threat that faces mankind in this century. In Ghana, it isexpected to have a significant effect on agriculture and other climate dependent livelihoods in all ten regionsof the country. The development and implementation of policies on climate change in Ghana require theincorporation of local people’s perception and knowledge of the risks they are exposed to. A study to assessthe perceptions and knowledge of climate change was undertaken in the Offinso Municipality in Ghana. The study used a cross-sectional design where the information gathered represented what was going on at onepoint in time. Respondents (307) were selected from Kwapanin, Koforidua, Kyebi, Sampronso and Anyinasusocommunities using the systematic sampling method. The study used questionnaires, focus group discussionsand targeted interviews to collect primary information on local people’s perception on climate change. Theanalysis used descriptive statistics (frequency and percentages) and chi-square to detect any associationbetween demographic characteristics of local people and their perception of climate change. In addition theknowledge levels of respondents on climate change was analysed. The results indicate that perception ofclimate change is not influenced by origin, gender or level of education; however, it is significantly influencedby age. A knowledge portfolio showed that local people did not have in-depth knowledge on climate change ingeneral. There is therefore the need to create awareness and sensitize local people on causes, indicators andeffects of climate change.
Water is the medium through which society experiences the most dramatic and direct manifestations of climate change. At the same time, water has a critical role to play in climate change adaptation and is central towards achieving Africa Water Vision 2025, and the targets set for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the Kenya Vision 2030. There are fundamental challenges that need to be addressed in order to achieve sustainable water resources management, mainly, the inherent uncertainty associated with the changing climate, the inflexibility in infrastructure and institutions that manage water, and the poor integration of all stakeholders and sectors in water resources management. This study investigates the challenges and opportunities in implementing integrated water resources management and its critical role towards climate change adaptation. A preliminary assessment of sustainable management of water resources and its role in effective climate change adaptation and resilience building in Kenya is carried out through questionnaire survey and stakeholder interactions. Climate change-induced uncertainty, diminishing water sources aggravated by growing water demand, weak institutional and financial governance, and lack of transparency and stakeholder inclusiveness are identified as the main challenging factors that need to be addressed to build a climate resilient society. The study furthermore emphasizes the critical role of water management in achieving Agenda 2030, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
In There Used to Be Order, Patience Mususa considers social change in the Copperbelt region of Zambia following the re-privatization of the large state mining conglomerate, the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM), in the mid-1990s. As the copper mines were Zambia’s most important economic asset, the sale of ZCCM was considered a major loss to the country. More crucially, privatization marked the end of a way of life for mine employees and mining communities. Based on three years of ethnographic field research, this book examines life for those living in difficult economic circumstances, and considers the tension between the life they live and the nature of an “extractive area.” This account, unusual in its examination of middle-income decline in Africa, directs us to think of the Copperbelt not only as an extractive locale for copper whose activities are affected by the market, but also as a place where the residents’ engagement with the harsh reality of losing jobs and struggling to earn a living after the withdrawal of welfare is simultaneously changing both the material and social character of the place. Drawing on phenomenological approaches, the book develops a theoretical model of “trying,” which accounts for both Copperbelt residents’ aspirations and efforts.
The development of Zambia’s copper mines since the 1930s has spurred extensive regional migration and mobility. This chapter investigates the complex relationship between mining and mobility in Zambia, by focusing on the case studies of Luanshya, Mufulira, and Kalumbila. It brings together survey results, life histories, and the rich scholarship on regional mining localities. By doing so, the chapter demonstrates that mobility has been informed by multiple factors, including socio-economic conditions in rural localities; opportunities in agricultural production, forestry, and trade in mining areas; as well as the connections created through social ties and networks. Underlining the need to understand mining-induced mobility beyond frameworks of push-and-pull migration, the chapter highlights the multiple linkages that mining hubs forge and maintain with their expansive hinterlands. Through a focus on both older and more recently established mining localities, the chapter advances a new understanding of the patterns of mobility through which Zambian mining localities are made.
With contributions from both Mozambican and non-Mozambican scholars of multi-disciplinary backgrounds and approaches, this book provides a range of new perspectives on how Mozambique has been characterized by profound changes in its rural communities and places.
Despite the persistence of poverty in Mozambique, significant investments have been made in rural areas in extractive industry or agribusiness, resulting in both the transformation of these areas, and a new set of tensions and conflicts related to land tenure and population resettlement. Meanwhile, the Mozambican rural landscape is one dominated by smallholders whose livelihoods depend on both farming and non-farming activities, and who are often extremely vulnerable to shocks and pressure over resources. The emergence of new civil society organizations has led to clashes with in the interests of local political, administrative and economic powers, creating fresh social conflicts.
Transformations of the Rural Spaces in Mozambique examines the process of transformation across a range of settings; from the impacts of large-scale industries and the transformation of agriculture, to relations between state and non-state actors and issues related to land.
Water, energy and food security are critical for realizing the Green Economy initiative. This article aims to assess the implications of climate change on the Water–Energy–Food Nexus in Tanzania within the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) context. It analyses smallholder livelihoods in terms of access to and control over resources and investigates how their livelihoods are impacted by contested access to and control over land and water. We review relevant empirical knowledge and policy context in Tanzania and analyse the extent to which the policy environment promotes (or does not promote) smallholder adaptive capacity.
The Nile River Basin supports the livelihoods of millions of people in Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda, principally as water for agriculture and hydropower. The resource is the focus of much contested development, not only between upstream and downstream neighbours, but also from countries outside the region. This book investigates the water, land and energy nexus in the Nile Basin.
It explains how the current surge in land and energy investments, both by foreign actors as well as domestic investors, affects already strained transboundary relations in the region and how investments are intertwined within wider contexts of Nile Basin history, politics and economy. Overall, the book presents a range of perspectives, drawing on political science, international relations theory, sociology, history and political ecology.
Luanda, the capital of Angola, has recently been subjected to extraordinary changes, supported by increased wealth and investments associated with the end of the war. The ideas of modernity that clearly stand out are deeply rooted in the city’s configuration and reconfiguration over the years. They inform not only the modernising perspectives and philosophy of policymakers and investors but also those of the urban dwellers. Often, however, the imagined modernity and its benefits do not match the lived realities. This chapter makes reference to the evolution of the city, emphasising the differences between main periods and identifying the underlining strategies in terms of inclusions and exclusions. The conclusions presented, based on empirical and documentary research, point to shifting strategies of urban inclusion and changing categories of the excluded.
With nearly five centuries of history and major war-related impacts in the second half of the twentieth century, Luanda has recently been subject to outstanding changes that make the capital of Angola an important urban case study for Africa. Today, the city is not only an evident materialization of the oil wealth being channelled into reconstruction after decades of civil war, but also reflects and translates the diverse perspectives of its residents and policy makers regarding the city and urban life. As it is reconfigured, it also transforms the mentalities and daily lives of urban dwellers and policy stakeholders, reinforcing the idea of improvement and modernity. In order to better understand the processes of physical and social change that have taken place within the city and the intertwined logics, this article makes reference to three distinct key stages of its history, pointing out their main features and the transformations that have occurred: the colonial period of sociospatial dualization (1576-1974), the period between independence and the last peace agreement (1975-2002) of profound and extensive urban mixture, and the post-war period (2002-present) marked by accelerated sociospatial reconfigurations. More specifically, it analyses the very recent urban phenomena, the urban plans and new urban features, discussing the correlations between physical transformations and the rationalities and perspectives that accompany them, both of the urban planners and of the urban dwellers, discussing the implications in terms of new inclusions and exclusions in the city.
Starting from temporary settlements turning into permanent urban centers, this paper discusses the transformations taking place through the process of so-called ‘boomtown’ urbanization in Central and Southern Africa. Based on data collected in Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the paper identifies the different conditions for migration and settlement and the complex socio-economic, spatial, as well as political transformations produced by the fast growth and expansion of boomtowns. Different historical and contemporary processes shape boomtown urbanization in Africa, from colonial territorial governance to large- and small-scale mining or dynamics of violence and forced displacement. As centers of attraction, opportunities, diversified livelihoods and cultures for aspiring urbanities, boomtowns represent an interesting site from which to investigate rural-urban transformation in a context of resource extraction and conflict/post conflict governance. They equally represent potential catalyzing sites for growth, development and stability, hence deserving not only more academic but also policy attention. Based on the authors’ long-term field experience in the countries under study, the analysis draws on ethnographic fieldwork data collected through observations as well as interviews and focus group discussions with key actors involved in the everyday shaping of boomtown urbanism. The findings point to discernible patterns of boomtown consolidation across these adjacent countries, which are a result of combinations of types of migration, migrants’ agency and the governance structures, with clear implications for urban policy for both makeshift and consolidating towns.