Dr. Ayub Mukisa: Climate Change in Karamoja: Do We Need Adaptation, Resilience, or Adaptive Capacity?
Karamoja is facing a climate change crisis. This is the moment to ask critical questions grounded in climate science. What exactly does the sub-region need: adaptation, resilience, or adaptive capacity? Many readers may assume these concepts mean the same thing. The answer is no. Understanding the differences is essential if we are to develop effective responses to the climate challenges confronting Karamoja.
Temperatures continue to rise, while erratic and prolonged dry spells increasingly disrupt the livelihoods of smallholder households. Yet adaptation, resilience, and adaptive capacity are often used interchangeably by donors, NGOs, government officials, and policy planners. If we are serious about protecting Karamoja from the devastating impacts of climate change, we must critically examine these concepts and identify what the region truly requires.
Adaptation refers to the process of adjusting to climate impacts in ways that reduce negative effects or enhance positive outcomes (Field et al., 2012). In simple terms, adaptation is often a reactive response focused on survival. For example, prolonged dry spells force vulnerable women to walk up to 15 kilometres into risky rangelands to collect firewood for sale as a source of household income. Similarly, men travel long distances with livestock to districts such as Katakwi and Kumi in search of pasture and water. These actions reflect adaptation to changing climatic conditions, but they do not address the deeper drivers of vulnerability.
Resilience has a different emphasis. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines resilience as the ability of a system to anticipate, absorb, accommodate, or recover from hazardous events. Simply put, resilience is the ability to bounce back. It involves absorbing a shock, recovering from it, and returning to a functional state after severe stress. For instance, when communal boreholes and valley dams dry up, women demonstrate resilience by digging temporary wells in dry riverbeds to secure drinking water for their households.
The third concept is adaptive capacity. This includes the assets and enabling conditions that support long-term adaptation, such as economic resources, technology, information, local skills, infrastructure, institutions, and supportive social systems (IPCC, 2014).
Climate change presents a complex, multidimensional, and wicked challenge in Karamoja. Consequently, the Department of Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis at KACC recommends strengthening the region’s built-in adaptive capacity. While temporary adaptation measures and baseline resilience are important, they are insufficient to address the long-term and evolving impacts of climate change.
Ayub Mukisa, PhD
The author is the Executive Director, Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition (KACC)
Email: ayubmukisa@gmail.co
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