Spatiotemporal Climate Change and Resilience through Nature Conservation in Ethiopia

Abstract

World Bank (2006) asserts that rainfall variability costs the Ethiopian economy 38% of its potential growth rate. Net revenue per hectare will be reduced by USD 177.62 and 464.71 consequent to a unit increase in temperature during summer and winter seasons, respectively. Climate change is therefore a threat to the Ethiopian economy. The available option for Ethiopia to reduce the wide-ranging impacts of climate change is to develop mitigation strategy for resilience. Vulnerabilities are local and require location specific adaptation and mitigation measures. Ethiopia is expected to be hardest hit by climate change and the most vulnerable sectors are agriculture, water resources, and human health (C. Arndt et al., 2009, GEF, 2009). This can significantly reverse the progress towards poverty reduction and food security in Ethiopia. Analyzing and assessing the spatiotemporal climate change trends would help better understand impacts of climate change to formulate better strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Ethiopia and encourage local proactive community participation and national efforts as a contribution to global climate change mitigation. Proactive approaches to managing climate risks within vulnerable rural communities and among institutions operating at community, sub-national, and national levels is a crucial step towards achieving the sustainable economic development [1-7].