SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY ON HOUSEHOLDS AROUND HARAMAYA AND ADELE LAKES, EASTERN HARARGHE ZONE, OROMIA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA.

Abstract

variability on households in four kebeles of Haramaya woreda, Eastern Hararghe Zone, Oromia Regional State. The study relied on both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. The primary data were collected by using questionnaire (from 135 sample households), key informant interviews (15 participants), Focus Group Discussion (8 participants) and field observation. The study also used temperature and rainfall data from 1986 to 2016 to examine trends and changes of rainfall and temperature. The data obtained from questionnaire were analyzed by using Percentage for description of data, T-test and F-test for statistical differences. The finding of the study showed that there was a general trend of increasing in average maximum and mean annual temperature in the past three decades while the minimum one showed variation in the past two decades; annual rainfall had showed inter annual and seasonal variation. The analysis also indicated that cooling of temperature damaged crops and many types of vegetables and this in turn adversely affected livelihood of the households and made them vulnerable to external intervention through aids. According to perception by the sample households, it was identified that current agricultural yields were low when compared to that of past 10 years mainly due to the impacts of climate change and variability. Different adapting and coping strategies including using underground water for irrigation and changing growing and harvesting time were applied. However, the impacts of recent drought and cooling of temperature were beyond the resilience capacity of the community and made them vulnerable to external aids. It is therefore, depending on the results of finding and existing literatures, the investigator recommended that there should be unreserved efforts to address socio-economic challenges of climate change and variability through short term and long term adaptation and mitigation measures.