May 2012: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has published a report that details its role as coordinator of the largest component of a UN Joint Programme (UNJP) that builds the resilience of community and ecosystems to climate change and diversification of livelihood options in Mozambique. The programme was initiated based on the recognition that Southern Africa is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change, including droughts, floods, and rainfall variability.

The UNJP on Environmental Mainstreaming and Adaptation to Climate Change for the period between 2008 and 2011 (total of US$7 million) was initiated in the District of Chicualacuala, Mozambique. The Programme, which is funded by the Government of Spain, has recently been extended until August 2012.

The FAO report, titled “Adaptation to Climate Change in Semi-Arid Environments Experience and Lessons from Mozambique,” documents the experiences, successes and challenges being faced in implementing the adaptation interventions in the remote District of Chicualacuala. It identifies, at farm and community level, adaptive interventions that have been tested and applied and which have shown positive impact on productivity, broadening of the livelihood basis, and improving resilience to climate change. It also draws attention to those interventions that are not so promising and whose sustainability and expansion are questionable.

The report notes that essential components of adaptation include improved access to water, strengthened crop production through improved soil fertility, integrated crop-livestock-agroforestry production practices, small-scale crop irrigation, development of the livestock industry, and livelihood diversification. It identifies supportive technologies that will make a significant contribution to adaptation, including: renewable energy; information and communication systems; and a local center for development of climate-adaptive technologies. [Publication: Adaptation to Climate Change in Semi-Arid Environments: Experience and Lessons from Mozambique]