Analysis of the impacts of climate change on forest ecosystem services: effects on socio-economic benefits in the North-Central Region of Namibia

Ing. Andreas Nikodemus

Doctoral thesis

Abstract:

Forest resources continue to play an important role in rural communities in developing countries by providing services, products, and incomes. This study aims to investigate the effects of climate change on the provisioning services of Colophospermum mopane (C. mopane) woodlands in northern Namibia's Kunene and Omusati regions from 2011-2021. A hybrid approach was used to collect data from forestry, climate change, other relevant experts, and local rural communities through semi-structured questionnaires. All statistical analyses (quantitative) were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS version 26, IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) with a p-value less than 0.05 (p < 0.05), whereas qualitative analyses were performed in ATLAS.ti version 22.2. The study identified that local communities primarily use firewood, poles, droppers, rafters, and roots for subsistence use. Total changes in annual mean temperature affected the annual mean precipitation over the study period. The most effective policy instruments were Communal Land Reform Act, Forest Act, Namibia National Forest Policy, and Forestry Strategic Plan. Forest ecosystem services such as biodiversity, carbon sequestration, soil conservation, and socio-economic benefits showed statistically significantly effective after the introduction of the National Climate Change for Namibia (NPCC). Biodiversity showed the most significant adaptation actions after the introduction of the NPCC (p < 0.001). Challenges such as the dry conditions of Namibia and the lack of funds for adaptation measures hamper the implementation of policy instruments for climate change adaptation. Emphasis on alternatives for rural communities' reliance on forest resources for their livelihood by improving their awareness of the impacts of climate change should be prioritized. More research is needed to investigate extreme weather events and their effects on goods and services provided by forest ecosystems in the northern regions. Finally, there is also a need for a strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities (SWOT) analysis of the NPCC to appropriately guide the formulation of a framework for forest ecosystem services-based adaptation actions

Keywords

Socio-economic benefits, local rural communities, livelihoods, forest products, forest ecosystems, northern Namibia, precipitation, temperature

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 9. 3. 2023

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. Ing. Miroslav Hájek, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences

Doctoral programme:
Global Change Forestry