Assessing Livelihood Vulnerability to Climate Change Based on Livelihood Zone: Evidence from Mixed Farming System in Kembata Tembaro Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Climate change vulnerability depends upon various factors and differs between places, sectors and communities. This study is aimed at analyzing smallholder farmers’ livelihood vulnerability to climate change and variability in Kembatta Tembaro zone, Southern Ethiopia using the IPCC Livelihood Vulnerability Index approach. The approach estimates vulnerabilities by grouping nine major components into three categories of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, using data collected from 508 randomly selected farm households based on five livelihood zones. The result score of Livelihood Vulnerability Index revealed that Coffee livelihood zone with high exposure index coupled with limited adaptive capacity made it the most vulnerable among the five livelihood zones; whereas, Ginger livelihood zone with very high adaptive capacity index and low sensitivity, coupled with medium level exposure index to climate change has greatly contributed for its least vulnerability score. In line with the results, people-centered strengthening of adaptive capacity based on the local geographical and socio-economic profiles as well as widening opportunities for off-farm livelihood strategies is essential. Keywords: Climate Change, Livelihood Zone, Livelihood Vulnerability DOI : 10.7176/JEES/9-6-06 Publication date :June 30 th 2019