COMMUNITY PERCEPTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ASAGIRT ......

Climate change is a typical occurrence in Ethiopia, affecting the livelihoods of millions of people living in rural areas. Drought and floods are serious environmental consequences caused by rising temperatures and fluctuating rainfall intensity and frequency. Three villages/kebeles in the Asagirt District of the North Shewa Zone, Amhara Regional State, were studied. The goal of this research was to examine community perceptions of climate change and its effects on socioeconomic activity in order to develop local adaptation and mitigation strategies. To generate information, both primary and secondary data were analysed. To choose 121 household heads, simple systematic random selection techniques were used, and purposive sampling was used to obtain data from 28 key informants and 21 focus group discussants. Our findings revealed that adolescent male households, who make up the majority of the illiterate society, have a positive perception and awareness of climate change. The average temperature has increased by 0.99oC during the last 28 years, with a corresponding annual increment of 0.033oC, according to analysis of the climatic pattern. Similarly, between 1989 and 2018, there was a higher yearly trend of variance in rainfall pattern, with an average annual rainfall of 891 mm. The study found that climate change had a significant impact on mixed farming, the most common kind of agricultural activity, affecting crop yield and animal production. Our findings also revealed that, despite the impending impact of climate change on water supply in all districts, forest cover has increased in all villages as a result of afforestation activities. As a result of the findings of this study, local adaptation and mitigation strategies such as small-scale irrigation, tree planation, climate smart agriculture area ex-closure, and integrated soil management using organic fertiliser to increase above and below ground carbon sequestration to manage the local micro climate, build livelihood, and strengthen community resilience are being developed.

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