The Impact of Climate Change on Rainfall Patterns in Ghana: A Zoning Adaptation Strategy through Developing Agroforestry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30564/jasr.v4i1.2703Abstract
As a developing country in Africa, the effect of climate change is one of the sufferings of Ghana. The effect is much felt in rainfall variability because of the country over reliance on rainfall for agriculture. While various researches have studied the impact of climate change in Ghana, few among them have extended to its impact on rainfall pattern across all the ecological zones in the country. The trends in the rainfall from seven selected meteorological stations across all the ecological zones were analyzed using data from the NASA satellite. The Mann-Kendall and Sen’s Slope Test were used for the analysis. The study found decreasing trend in most of the monthly and yearly rainfall pattern across the ecological zones, and suggested cashew agroforestry as a zoning adaptation strategy.
Keywords:
Adaptation; Agroforestry; Cashew; Climate change; Mann-Kendall test; Rainfall variability; Sen’s slope testReferences
[1] Cramer, W., Guiot, J., Fader, M., Garrabou, J., Gattuso, J.P., Iglesias, A., Lange, M.A., Lionello, P., Llasat, M.C., Paz, S., Penuelas J. Climate change and interconnected risks to sustainable development in the Mediterranean. Nature Climate Change, 2018, 8(11): 972-80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0299-2
[2] Kumar, P., Tokas, J., Kumar, N., Lal, M., Singal, H.R. Climate change consequences and its impact on agriculture and food security. International Journal of chemical studies, 2018, 6(6): 124-33.
[3] Kulp, S.A., Strauss, B.H. New elevation data triple estimates of global vulnerability to sea-level rise and coastal flooding. Nature communications, 2019, 10(1): 1-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12808-z
[4] Asante, F.A., Amuakwa-Mensah F. Climate change and variability in Ghana: Stocktaking. Climate, 2015: 78-99.
[5] Adjei-Mensah, K.; Kusimi, J.M. Dwindling water supply and its socio-economic impact in Sekyere Kumawu District in Ashanti Region of Ghana: public opinion on the role of climate change. GeoJournal, 2019: 1-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-019-10026-0
[6] Asumadu-Sarkodie, S., Owusu, P.A., Hung, Y.T. The Impact Assessment of Energy, Agriculture and Socioeconomic Indicators on Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Ghana, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/9789811207136_0005
[7] WRI, 2017. http://cait2.wri.org/
[8] GAIN index summarizes a country’s vulnerability to climate change and other global challenges in combination with readiness to improve resilience. 2016. http://index.gain.org/country/ghana
[9] USAID. Climate Change Risk Profile: Ghana, 2017. https://www.climatelinks.org/resources/climatechange-risk-profile-ghana
[10] Panthou, G., Lebel, T., Vischel, T., Quantin, G., Sane, Y., Ba, A. Ndiaye, O.; Diongue-Niang, A.; Diopkane, M. Rainfall intensification in tropical semi-arid regions: The Sahelian case. Environmental Research Letters, 2018, 13(6): 064013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aac334
[11] Lawson, E.T., Alare, R.S., Salifu, A.R., Thompson-Hall, M. Dealing with climate change in semi-arid Ghana: Understanding intersectional perceptions and adaptation strategies of women farmers. GeoJournal 2020, 85(2): 439-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-019-09974-4
[12] Sanneh, E.S. Climate Change Adaption. In Systems Thinking for Sustainable Development. Springer, Cham, 2018: pp. 41-53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70585-9_5
[13] Adger, W.N., de Campos, R.S., Mortreux, C., McLeman, R., Gemenne, F. Mobility, displacement and migration, and their interactions with vulnerability and adaptation to environmental risks. Routledge handbook of environmental displacement and migration, 2018: 29-41.
[14] Thomas, K., Hardy, R.D., Lazrus, H., Mendez, M., Orlove, B., Rivera - Collazo, I., Roberts, J.T., Rockman, M., Warner, B.P., Winthrop, R. Explaining differential vulnerability to climate change: A social science review. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 2019, 10(2): e565. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.565
[15] Dovie, D.B. Integrated climate smart flood management for Accra-Ghana: final technical report, 2020.
[16] Tumushabe, J.T. Climate change, food security and sustainable development in Africa. In The Palgrave handbook of African politics, governance and development, 2018: 853-868. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95232-8_53
[17] Afriyie-Kraft, L., Zabel, A., Damnyag, L. Adaptation strategies of Ghanaian cocoa farmers under a changing climate. Forest Policy and Economics 2020, 113: 102115. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2020.102115
[18] Haile, G.G.; Tang, Q.; Sun, S.; Huang, Z.; Zhang, X.; Liu, X. Droughts in East Africa: Causes, impacts and resilience. Earth-science reviews, 2019, 193: 146-61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.04.015
[19] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate Change. The Physical Science Basis. Summary for Policymakers; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Geneva, Switzerland, 2007: 18.
[20] Pink, R.M. Africa: Kenya, South Africa, Botswana. In The Climate Change Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2018: 125-162. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71033-4_6
[21] Ayuk, E.T., Dovie, D.B. Development mainstreaming of climate change and adaptation policies in ghana. Climate Change in Ghana, 2019: 128.
[22] World Bank. The Costs to Developing Countries of Adapting to Climate Change: New Methods and Estimates. Available online: http://www.worldbank.org/eacc (accessed on 25th January, 2014).
[23] Adjei, V., Kyerematen, R. Impacts of Changing Climate on Maize Production in the Transitional Zone of Ghana. American Journal of Climate Change, 2018, 7(03): 463. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ajcc.2018.73028
[24] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Integrating Sustainable Development and Climate Change in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4); World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment Programme: Geneva, Switzerland, 2003.
[25] Antwi-Agyei, P., Dougill, A.J., Stringer, L.C., Codjoe, S.N. Adaptation opportunities and maladaptive outcomes in climate vulnerability hotspots of northern Ghana. Climate Risk Management, 2018, 19: 83- 93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2017.11.003
[26] Leal Filho, W., Balogun, A.L., Olayide, O.E., Azeiteiro, U.M., Ayal, D.Y., Muñoz, P.D., Nagy, GJ., Bynoe, P., Oguge, O., Toamukum, N.Y., Saroar, M. Assessing the impacts of climate change in cities and their adaptive capacity: Towards transformative approaches to climate change adaptation and poverty reduction in urban areas in a set of developing countries. Science of The Total Environment, 2019, 692: 1175-90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.227
[27] Boko, M., Niang, I., Nyong, A., Vogel, C., Githeko, A., Medany, M., Osman-Elasha, B., Tabo, R., Yanda, P. Africa. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry; O.F. Canziani; J.P. Palutikof; P.J. van der Linden; C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/913
[28] Aniah, P., Kaunza-Nu-Dem, M., Ayembilla, J.A. Smallholder farmers’ livelihood adaptation to climate variability and ecological changes in the savanna agro ecological zone of Ghana. Heliyon, 2019, 5(4): e01492. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01492
[29] Zaato, P. A. Agricultural lands vulnerability to climate change in the Jirapa district of the Upper West Region, Ghana, Doctoral dissertation, University for Development Studies, Ghana, March, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2648
[30] Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). Annual Report; Ghana Statistical Service: Accra, Ghana, 2020.
[31] Tamakloe, W. State of Ghana’s Environment-Challenges of compliance and enforcement, 2000. https://www.oceandocs.org/bitstream/handle/1834/409/04h_ghana.pdf?sequence=1
[32] Salmi, T., Määttä, A., Anttila, P., Ruoho-Airola, T., Amnell, T. Detecting trends of annual values of atmospheric pollutants by the Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimates MAKESENS-The excel template application. Finish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, 2002. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259356944
[33] Yue, S., Pilon, P., Phinney, B., Cavadias, G. The influence of autocorrelation on the ability to detect trend in hydrological series. Hydrological processes, 2002, 16(9): 1807-29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.1095
[34] Kisi, O., Ay, M. Comparison of Mann-Kendall and innovative trend method for water quality parameters of the Kizilirmak River, Turkey. Journal of Hydrology, 2014, 513: 362-75. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.03.005
[35] N’Tcha M’Po, Y., Lawin, E.A., Yao, B.K., Oyerinde, G.T., Attogouinon, A., Afouda, A.A. Decreasing past and mid-century rainfall indices over the Ouémé River Basin, Benin (West Africa). Climate. 2017, 5(3): 74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cli5030074
[36] Soro, G.E., Noufé, D., Goula Bi, T.A., Shorohou, B. Trend analysis for extreme rainfall at sub-daily and daily timescales in Côte d’Ivoire. Climate. 2016, 4(3): 37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cli4030037
[37] Luhunga, P.M., Botai, J.O., Kahimba, F. Evaluation of the performance of CORDEX regional climate models in simulating present climate conditions of Tanzania. 2016. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303944866
[38] Kabanda, T. Long-term rainfall trends over the Tanzania coast. Atmosphere. 2018, 155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9040155
[39] Mafuru, K.B., Guirong, T. Assessing prone areas to heavy rainfall and the impaction of the upper warm temperature anomaly during March-May rainfall season in Tanzania. Advances in Meteorology. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/8353296
[40] Ayugi, B.O. Tan G. Recent trends of surface air temperatures over Kenya from 1971 to 2010. Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics. 2019, 131(5): 1401-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-018-0644-z
[41] Asare-Nuamah P., Botchway E. Understanding climate variability and change: analysis of temperature and rainfall across agroecological zones in Ghana. Heliyon, 2019, 5(10): e02654.
[42] NASA Official: Paul Stackhouse, Jr., Ph.D. Version: 1.0 | Last Modified: 2019/12/18 http://power.larc.nasa.gov/data-access-viewer/
[43] IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Climate change and land. An IPCC Special Report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. Summary for Policymakers, 2019.
[44] Ellison, D., Morris, C.E., Locatelli, B., Sheil, D., Cohen, J., Murdiyarso, D., Gutierrez, V., Van Noordwijk, M., Creed, I.F., Pokorny, J., Gaveau, D. Trees, forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world. Global Environmental Change, 2017, 43: 51-61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.01.002
[45] Bargués Tobella, A., Reese, H., Almaw, A., Bayala, J., Malmer, A., Laudon, H., Ilstedt U. The effect of trees on preferential flow and soil infiltrability in an agroforestry parkland in semiarid Burkina Faso. Water resources research, 2014, 50(4): 3342-54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2013WR015197
[46] Verchot, L.V., Van Noordwijk, M., Kandji, S.; Tomich, T., Ong, C., Albrecht, A., Mackensen, J., Bantilan, C., Anupama, K.V., Palm, C. Climate change: linking adaptation and mitigation through agroforestry. Mitigation and adaptation strategies for global change, 2007, 12(5): 901-18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-007-9105-6
[47] Mbow, C., Smith, P., Skole, D., Duguma, L., Bustamante, M. Achieving mitigation and adaptation to climate change through sustainable agroforestry practices in Africa. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 2014, 6: 8-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2013.09.002
[48] Simelton, E., Dam, B.V., Catacutan, D. Trees and agroforestry for coping with extreme weather events: experiences from northern and central Viet Nam. Agroforestry systems, 2015, 89(6): 1065-82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-015-9835-5
[49] Network Agroforestry. Scaling up Agroforestry: Potential, Challenges and Barriers. A Review of Environmental, Social and Economic Aspects at the Farmer, Community and Landscape Levels, 2018.
[50] Rosenstock, T., Wilkes, A., Jallo C., Namoi, N., Bulusu, M., Suber, M., Bernard, F., Mboi, D. Making trees count: Measurement, reporting and verification of agroforestry under the UNFCCC. CCAFS Working Paper no. 240. Wageningen, the Netherlands: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/98404
[51] FAO. The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture, J. Bélanger & D. Pilling (eds.). FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Assessments. Rome, 2019: 572. http://www.fao.org/3/CA3129EN/CA3129EN.pdf
[52] IPBES. The global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Díaz, S., Settele, J., Brondizio, E.S., Ngo, H.T., Guèze, M., Agard, J., Arneth, A., Balvanera, P., Brauman, K.A., Butchart, S.H.M., et al. Zayas, C.N. (eds.). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-017-1361-5
[53] Goujon, P., Lefebvre, A., Leturcq, Ph., Marcellesi, A.P., Praloran, J.P. Studies on cashew tree. 1973, 151: 27-53. (in French)
[54] Catarino, L., Menezes, Y., Sardinha, R. Cashew cultivation in Guinea-Bissau-risks and challenges of the success of a cash crop. Scientia Agricola, 2015, 72(5): 459-67. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-9016-2014-0369
[55] Mitchell, D. Tanzania’s cashew sector: constraints and challenges in a global environment. The World Bank, 2004.
[56] Behrens, R. Cashew as an agroforestry crop. Prospects and potentials. Margraf Verlag, 1996.
[57] Orwa, C., Mutua, A., Kindt, R., Jamnadass, R., Simons, A. Agroforestree Database: a tree reference and selection guide. Version 4. Agroforestree Database: a tree reference and selection guide, Version 4. 2009.
[58] Ayanlade, A., Radeny, M., Akin-Onigbinde, A.I. Climate variability/change and attitude to adaptation technologies: a pilot study among selected rural farmers’ communities in Nigeria. GeoJournal, 2018, 83(2): 319-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-017-9771-1
[59] Ajak, B.J., Kyazze, F.B., Mukwaya, P.I. Choice of Adaptation Strategies to Climate Variability among Smallholder Farmers in the Maize Based Cropping System in Namutumba District, Uganda. American Journal of Climate Change, 2018, 7(3): 431-51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ajcc.2018.73026
[60] Gruda, N., Bisbis, M., Tanny, J. Impacts of protected vegetable cultivation on climate change and adaptation strategies for cleaner production-a review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2019, 225: 324-39. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.295
[61] ICCO. Growing Cocoa. The origin of cocoa and its spread around the world. Available at: http://www.icco.org/about/growing.aspx Accessed: November 10, 2009.
[62] CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture). Predicting the Impact of Climate Change on Cashew Growing Regions in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Final Report. Decision and Policy Analyses Program, CIAT, Managua, Nicaragua, September, 2011.
Downloads
How to Cite
Issue
Article Type
License
Copyright © 2021 Author(s)
This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.