Assessment of Coping Mechanisms to Desertification Case Study: UmJawasir

Abstract

The main thrust for sustainability indicators for renewable natural resource management, in agriculture and rural development in particular, has its origins in the sustainable development paradigm. Despite tremendous progress in the science surrounding climate change scenarios, it is not currently possible to rely upon existing scenarios for Sudan to confidently assess the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities. The broad objective of the research is to explore the potential role of the sustainable livelihood assets of household under prevailing climate change and desert encroachment, thus enabling them to adapt. This study was conducted at Umjawasir in southern part of Marawi province. Two types of data were used in this research, namely; primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected through personal interviews with individual using structured questionnaire, group discussions and observation. The main findings of the research are; sources of income are limited. Most of the small farmers rely on subsistence and cash crops which are barely sufficient, and animal breeding is the second source of income. At the end of the harvest season there is no surplus money to save for the next season. The study area is suffering from desert encroachment and a long-term climatic change. Decrease in rainfall, in combination with the interaction of man and animals, are the main reasons for the gradual desertification of the study area. The principal source of labor is the hired labor beside the household (family labor) also contributes to the labor force. Still the community members retain big herds and the bigger the herd the greater prestige value for the owner. Despite the frequent severe drought, the rangelands deterioration and overstocking, there are no conflicts between the different Hawawir clans. The main conclusions of the research are; the efforts exerted by ADRA project contributed significantly to the sustainable livelihood of the local people, the study area witnesses’ cute climate variability and climate change which affects water resources in the study area, the sources of income for the local community is limited. The level of participation of local community in the activities of the project is good and this reflects the potentiality of the project in mobilizing the local community for the adoption of the different activities. Also, the study arrived to valuable recommendations.