ABSTRACT

In the coming decades, countries around the world will face increasingly severe challenges related to global climate change. While the details vary from country to country, the impacts will be especially grave for marginalized people, whose access to food, potable water, and safe shelter may be threatened due to fluctuations in rainfall and temperature, and to extreme weather events. Because weather extremes are the main way that climate change manifests itself, water governance is a crucial aspect of climate change resilience.

Following an overview of the ways climate change is affecting three cities in Africa, Water and Climate Change in Africa: Challenges and Community Initiatives in Durban, Maputo and Nairobi discusses the equity and climate justice implications, and then gives examples of ways in which a range of local community organizations are extending their current activities to address these challenges through innovative new programs and initiatives at the grassroots. This approach has implications for communities worldwide; it is a process of building on existing organizations’ aptitudes and strengths in the light of local knowledge of climate challenges, and creating partnerships to build equity-enhancing new methods of protecting people’s subsistence.

This book should be of interest to climate change scholars, activists and policy-makers, as well as development studies researchers and practitioners.

chapter 3|10 pages

Climate, gender and class justice in Africa

ByPATRICK BOND

chapter 4|6 pages

Kilimanjaro Initiative: Working with youth in Nairobi

BySADIQUE BILAL ISSA

chapter 7|10 pages

Community river restoration in South Africa

BySIMPHIWE NOJIYEZA

chapter 8|4 pages

Gender and climate change in Mozambique

BySAQUINA MUCAVELE

chapter 9|6 pages

Climate justice: Can you educate hungry people?

ByERIKA MENDES, TIAGO ESMAEL

chapter 11|8 pages

Planning and climate change in Nairobi

ByROMANUS OTIENO OPIYO

chapter 12|6 pages

Climate vulnerability and resilience in local communities

ByELIZABETH LORIMER

chapter 13|14 pages

Durban, climate change, and socio- political transformation

ByREHANA DADA

chapter 14|8 pages

Conclusion: Developing community- based responses to climate change

ByPATRICIA E. PERKINS AND PATRICIA FIGUEIREDO WALKER