The project seeks to conduct reflective participatory research that captures the experiences and observation of natural resource users about environmental and climate change in their community. This is to assess the vulnerability of the communities to climate change and help them develop under climate change.
What skills and resources were you able to draw from the community for this project?
I drew on their indigenous knowledge and their fishing skills. Their ability to give names to marine resources in their own language (Isixhosa)
The challenges
Scientific research on climate change along the east coast of South Africa is limited. This is due to the socio-ecological conditions of this area. The east coast is associated with hostile weather conditions such as rough seas and floods, it is less developed, remote and consists of communities that have a strong relationship with the environment through their livelihoods. Meanwhile, these communities have experienced severe weather events and death tolls can reach 20. The main challenge that this project aims to address is to raise awareness and improve the preparedness of these communities to extreme weather events
Addressing the challenges
Taught the local fishermen about climate change and some safety at sea precaution
The achievements
The project has not accomplished much at this point but hopes to document the climate change indigenous knowledge of the locals in the community, and assist the community development under climate change
Johannesburg, South Africa