African Indigenous Knowledge of Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management in Changing Climate

Study Area and Research Methodology

A total of eight (8) different indigenous communities in the six (6) climate zones were purposefully selected for the study to ascertain the relevance of indigenous knowledge systems and practices in responding to the changing climate and disaster risk management challenges across the different climate zones. The research was conducted in Mozambique, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Nigeria, and Cameroon. These communities include the Anyuak and Nuer communities in the Gambella region of Ethiopia, Samburu and Masaai in Kenya, the Widikum community in Cameroon, the local community in Nampula in Mozambique, and the Sousse Community in Tunisia. Attempt to conduct interviews with communities in Nigeria was not successful. However, interviews with experts and civil societies in Nigeria were conducted. To ascertain the perspective of communities living in the Sahel, interviews were organised with the Boubou Dioulassou community in Burkina Faso. One hundred fourteen (114) respondents provided in-depth feedback to the study. Among the 114 respondents, 71 respondents were members of traditional/ indigenous communities who participated in focus group discussions; and the remaining 43 respondents were experts that were involved in the implementation of climate change adaptation and disaster risk management programmes. The 43 respondents included twenty (20) experts from policy- level institutions that were selected from National Disaster Risk Management Authorities (7); Climate Change Adaptation institutions (5), Regional Economic Communities (3), African Union Commission (2), and UN Agencies (3); twenty (20) indigenous knowledge experts from a network of civil society organizations consisting of indigenous/community- based organisations (12), youth organisations (2), women organisations (3); and three (3) scientists (academic).

The indigenous communities’ focus group discussions were guided by indigenous methodology. Indigenous methodology is underpinned by the belief that knowledge is relational – meaning it is shared [14]. Thus, in an indigenous research setting, individualistic in-depth interviews are irrelevant. The study employed indigenous data collection methods such as talking circles, storytelling, songs, poetry, and spirituality. The initial plan was to organise each talking circle comprising thirteen (13) persons. However, due to COVID-19 protocols in some communities where COVID-19 restrictions were stringent, some circles were as low as three persons. The indigenous methodology was utilised because it used methods that are familiar to the target communities. Such an approach is described as decolonising because it employs indigenous methodologies to generate indigenous world views rather than imposing euro-centric methodologies that construe reality from a Western scientific point of view [8]. Using indigenous methods helped encourage openness and trust among the participants to engage in in-depth discussions.

The determination of the sample sizes for the talking circles, in-depth interviews, and close-ended questionnaires was consistent with existing best research practices. The

selection of the indigenous communities and their respective countries was informed by factors such as accessibility and cost efficiency, presence of diverse informants, climate zone, and vulnerability to disaster risks. The most vulnerable community to climate-sensitive disaster risks were selected. The vulnerability of the target community was determined as per the national risk profile, recent disaster risk reduction reports, and available indigenous knowledge.

Mozambique ranks as the second most vulnerable country to disaster risks in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) [15]. Mozambique also has diverse climate zones – equatorial and tropical. Mozambique was selected to ascertain the perspectives of African coastal communities on climate change and disaster risk management issues. The African Union’s vulnerability assessment puts Kenya as the fourth vulnerable country to disaster risk in the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region [15]. Kenya was also purposefully selected because it houses several international organisations. Importantly, the IGAD Disaster Risk Management Unit and the IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Centre (ICPAC) are based in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. Kenya, also, has several indigenous communities in its Savanah and arid regions that are vulnerable to climate variability and change, and who also possess rich indigenous knowledge to respond to extreme climate events.

Ethiopia, which is home to African Union, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and several international and diplomatic entities was selected for the study. This study has a policy dimension. One of the study’s aims is to advocate for the formalisation of indigenous knowledge in policy development and implementation. Given the diverse policy institutions based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ethiopia was purposefully selected for the study. In addition, Ethiopia has diverse climate zones – Sahelian, desert, and tropical. Accessibility and cost-efficiency put Ethiopia the most accessible because the researcher works and resides in the country.

Tunisia is the third most vulnerable country in North Africa. However, it was preferred over other Mediterranean countries due to its accessibility. The Tunisian Communities practise some of the continent’s indigenous climate change adaptation solutions as part of their heritage.

Nigeria hosts the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In addition, it is among the first eight most vulnerable countries of the fifteen ECOWAS member states [15]. It has diverse climate zones – Sahelian, tropical, humid tropical, and equatorial. Due to the inability to conduct interviews with a community in Nigeria, a focus group was organised with the Boubou Dioulassou in Burkina Faso to ascertain the perspectives of communities in the Sahel climate region.

Cameroon is situated in one of Africa’s tropical rainforest zones (tropical climate) and on the Atlantic coast (humid tropical). One community in southern Cameroon was selected to assess the relevance of the indigenous knowledge systems in responding to the climate change realities in communities residing in one of Africa’s largest tropical forests, the Congo Forest.

Key Findings

Considering the changing climate, the research investigated the relevance of existing indigenous knowledge and practices for climate change and disaster risk management in responding to the changing climate and disaster risk paradigm. Firstly, the indigenous knowledge of and practices for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction is discussed, and secondly, the relevance of the knowledge and practices in the changing climate enjoys attention. The study revealed considerable African risk management wisdom and philosophies. There was a consensus across various African indigenous communities that their climate was changing, as well as acknowledgement of the challenges and related impacts of the changing climate. Communities in Tunisia observed that the weather was out of the “Mezzan” [16]. In Kenya, the Masaai observed more droughts than rainfalls [17], whereas the Widikum Community in Cameroon experienced extreme rains or extreme dryness [18]. Existing solutions to climate hazards are being adopted in response to erratic weather patterns across the continent. Communities in Tunisia developed El mejel to manage the consequences of unbalanced weather [16]. In South Sudan and the Gambella region of Ethiopia, Kulang’s resilience model is seen as one of the practical and sustainable solutions to managing alternating climate hazards, specifically droughts and floods [19].

African Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management: As briefly captioned above, the study revealed African indigenous knowledge and practices, and philosophies being widely implemented across the continent. The most noticeable African indigenous risk management wisdom and philosophies will be discussed.

Jessours and El mejel: In Tunisia, Jessours and El mejel are remarkable climate change adaptation practices. Jessours are networks of canals connected to divert flood water to central water storage facilities or small dams for use during dry seasons [16]. The jessours are double-edged swords in controlling flooding and mitigating the impacts of droughts. The use of the jessours in Semi-arid Tunisia does not only prevent runoffs, but they have resulted in enhancing soil fertility and ecosystem health [20]. In areas where jessours are practised, despite aridity, olive production performed exceedingly well beyond its ecological limit [20]. Other positive impacts of the jessours’ practice were the emergence of the city of Zaghouan several decades ago, which was built around the water body formed through jessours from Mount Zaghouan, making the area known as agricultural belt producing varieties of crops [16]. Smaller in scale than Jessours, El mejel is widely practised in Tunisia and provides a small-scale water supply to families. The indigenous system uses rainwater from rooftops and channels the water to small water ponds for domestic use. Both El mejel and Jessours are methods that are mainly used in arid regions and areas facing scarce water supply. However, these methods can be relevant and applicable in other African climate regions.

Kulang’s Resilience Model: Kulang (an indigent to modern- day South Sudan) invented a model that is locally referred to as Kulang’s Resilience Model, to adapt to the risk of alternating climate hazards, usually drought and flood. The model reduces the risk of drought and floods turning into a disaster in two ways. First, when a flood or drought is anticipated, Kulang would sell away his cattle before a hazard could strike and use the cash to procure other food items such as grains during emergency and rebuy cattle later when conditions are favourable [19]. The second component of Kulang Resilience Model includes the adoption of no- regret de-risking strategies such as planting two farms on different terrains – higher ground and lower ground. The latter is a key strategy being employed by many communities in the remotest part of the Gambella region to cope with uncertainties. Among the indigenous Nuer communities living in the Gambella Region in western Ethiopia and the Upper Nile Region of South Sudan, Kulang’s resilience model provides a coping mechanism for climate stresses [19].

Emergency Stockpile: In preparation for disasters, communities across the continent have developed food preservation mechanisms such as Ouula in Tunisia and dry Kob in South Sudan or the Gambella region of Ethiopia. The kob is a local food made out of cereals that can be kept for an extended period as an emergency stock. In Tunisia, food such as couscous and dry chilly are stored to cushion communities from disaster impacts or times of food stress, a practice commonly known as Ouula and largely practised in northern Tunisia. Kob or Akob is akin to Couscous, but a larger version of it. It is usually made from steamed balls of sorghum or maize flour. In wetlands, such as part of Ethiopia’s Gambella region and Sudd region in South Sudan, communities preserve dry kob purposely as part of contingency planning and preparedness for food stresses, emanating from the failure of food production due to droughts, floods or conflict.

Indigenous Building Technologies: African communities living in extreme climates adopt construction methods with buildings’ roofs made of a mixture of sand, hay, and yeast to protect against damages from heavy rains, but also to provide heat balance - both during extreme heat or cold. This technology is commonly practised in semi-arid, arid, and desert terrains in Africa. In other parts of the continent, roofs are built with wood and grass. According to the respondents in Eswatine, the conventional wisdom behind the design of houses built of wood and grass is that the construction allows smoke to pass through the roof, prevents heat and heavy rainfalls and is also earthquake tolerant as the foundations of such buildings are made out of stones that allow the building to “breathe” and prevent any damage from underground movements. Other coping mechanisms for severe flooding in the Sudd region include the construction of local boats.

Since 2020, the Sudd wetland has continued to witness devastating flooding. Communities had to live in boats for days as they were evacuating to safety. Every household that could afford the cost of purchasing a boat that is locally designed had one. What is significant is the use of boats as an adaptation measure to cope with the severe flooding exacerbated by climate change. In the past, boats were owned mainly by fishermen. The increasing ownership of boats by every household that affords it is a significant indicator of the ability of local communities to adapt to the changing climate [6]. Using boats for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction provides important lessons for modern-day climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. In the indigenous practice for boats as a means of reducing the risk, the most vulnerable segment of societies, for example, women, children, people living with disabilities, and the elderly are evacuated and provided protection. This gender dimension of indigenous disaster risk management can be a substantive research agenda of its own, however, it is an important lesson for contemporary adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

Indigenous Early Warning Systems: Across the continent, various indicators ranging from animals, plants, winds, and stars are used for warning of impending disaster events [6]. In Mozambique, the coconut fruit is a key warning sign for tropical storms. Also, other fruits such as mangos are used for the warning. When unripe coconut fruit starts to fall due to high winds, cyclones or other tropical depressions are imminent. Communities are then advised to evacuate to safety. Similarly, when fruits such as unripe mangoes start to fall in big numbers as a result of strong winds, storms are expected and communities take precautionary actions, including evacuation.

Similarly, the appearance of stars in a particular position or alignment with other celestial bodies such as the moon provides critical indicators for hazards’ occurrence. Among the Borana in Kenya and Ethiopia, when the moon is aligned with the seven stars around March, it indicates drought and famine [19]. Similarly, when the morning stars appear in the west 70 days after their appearance from the east, it is an indication of a very bad drought [21]. In western Ethiopia’s Gambella region, when the Nuer experiences “tarkew” (cold wind that moves from south to the north in April to May), the community experiences drought [19].

Indigenous Safety Nets: Indigenous social safety net solutions such as lending food or cattle are important adaptation measures widely practised across the continent. In Samburu, as in many African communities, poor households are lent cows to keep during food crises. The communities share food to cushion from crises till the worst times are over. The indigenous social safety net practices are, to some extent, akin to contemporary humanitarian assistance, albeit, with some differences.

Relevance of the African Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management in a Changing Climate: In answering the key research question – ‘will the African indigenous knowledge of climate change adaptation and disaster risk management still be relevant in a changing climate’; strong views were expressed by the indigenous communities that their ancestral knowledge and practices for climate change and disaster risk management were still highly relevant to managing contemporary climate and disaster risks. Among the communities in Gambella that practise Kulang’s Resilience Model, other coping mechanisms to climate stresses, such as diversification of livelihood options, have been adopted. In the Gambella region, the Nuer have increasingly adopted small ruminants to cope with frequent droughts. Other communities living in the Savanah climate, such as the Masaai in Kenya, have resorted to diversifying livelihood options. The Maasai livelihood is anchored in cattle rearing [22]. However, the Masaai have now engaged in agro-pastoralism and search for jobs in cities. This is in stark contrast to the pure pastoralism practices the Masaai are known for.

Notwithstanding the acknowledgement of the effectiveness of indigenous knowledge in responding to a changing climate and disaster risk paradigm, a wide range of respondents (89%), including some indigenous communities, and climate change and disaster risk experts, believed that indigenous wisdom and risk management philosophies were at the verge of disappearance, citing climate change and other development linked factors as being the drivers. Climate change was strongly argued by experts and policymakers as the major threat to the disappearance of indigenous knowledge systems and practices because indigenous knowledge depends on climate-sensitive indicators such as trees animals, and winds among others, which are vulnerable to climate change. In a similar vein, most indigenous communities that were interviewed expressed rather different views – the major threat to their way of life was scientisation and according to the field ethnography, exclusion of the indigenous practices and knowledge systems by the African governments in policy formulation and implementation. Some scientists (80% of academics and DRR/CCA experts) that were interviewed shared similar views expressed by the indigenous communities that the dominance and preference for a western-centric version of science and development, particularly, the massive destruction of ancestral territories were cited as major factors that have undermined and would continue to undermine, not only the indigenous knowledge systems but the prosperity and survival of the indigenous people themselves.

Most of the respondents (97 %) called for the need to expedite policy actions that should urgently halt what the indigenous communities referred to as ‘hostility’ towards indigenous knowledge and practices that are essential to the survival of humanity and species on earth, and embrace indigenous wisdom and risk management philosophies that are relevant to the contemporary risk management challenges. In expressing their views, the respondents (77%) acknowledged and strongly believed there was a strength in integrating relevant indigenous knowledge and practices with scientific knowledge. In contrast, 23% of the respondents argue that indigenous knowledge systems are difficult to integrate with modern science as both knowledge systems use different tools and methodologies in the generation of knowledge. The opponents of the integration of indigenous and scientific knowledge strongly argue that both knowledge systems should co-exist and complement each other’s shortfalls. The proponents further argued that where indigenous knowledge is proven superior to the Western version of science, the latter should be disbanded.

Discussions of the Findings: Indigenous Knowledge and Practices for Changing Climate

Indigenous knowledge of and practices for climate change and disaster risk management is largely dependent on noticing natural manifestations, such as in trees and animals. This dependency makes indigenous knowledge highly vulnerable to climate change and variability. As a result of changing climate, some trees or animals that trigger early warning and other vital information that the indigenous communities use for decision-making may also go extinct and further affect the reliability of indigenous knowledge observations. Similarly, due to a changing climate, some trees may flower earlier or later than at normal times. Whereas the various African communities may find it difficult to predict certain hazards, there are widespread examples of their ability to adjust to the changing climate. For example, many rural communities have continued to adopt new livelihood options even without “experts” telling them what to do, e.g. from crop farming to fishing, pastoralism to crop farming, large to small ruminants, fishing, inter alia. As discussed during the focus group discussions, indigenous communities over the years could abandon certain crops in favour of new ones. These are remarkable examples of how climate change has already impacted indigenous knowledge and how the indigenous knowledge of and practices for climate change and disaster risk management have evolved with the changing climate. Indigenous knowledge is never static, it adapts to the changing environment and demography [23].

Whereas indigenous knowledge systems have indeed been proven to be relevant in responding to the changing climate, they too are also affected by climate change. While indigenous knowledge may be affected by climate change, scientific knowledge may also suffer the same fate. However, without disputing potential negative impacts on indigenous knowledge systems to predict and cope with climate hazards, contemporary realities indicate that they are still used today by communities for decision-making. In light of the low coverage of the continent by modern scientific hydro- meteorological services [10], the larger part of the continent, which are mostly rural centres, depends on indigenous knowledge systems for decision-making on planting, seasonal migration, harvest, hunting, fishing among others.

In Africa, indigenous solutions such as El mejel are highly relevant. This indigenous practice is cost-effective and can guarantee access to water for families until the next season [16]. Other practices, such as the jessours, are more cost-effective than modern irrigation systems that use river or underground water. Modern irrigation systems are instead threatened by climate change and water stresses due to the lowering of water levels due to changing climate and climate variability [10]. In adapting to the changing water level, modern farmers in Sudan had to introduce two- pump systems. In this system, the first pump pumps water from the Nile to a canal, and another pump is introduced to pump water from the canal to the farms. This system has resulted in increased labour costs and the cost of technology as the water stresses mean that to irrigate farms adequately, farmers must purchase more than one pump. Consequently, the high cost of pumping water has to be factored into the prices of produce, leading to high prices of commodities and a high cost of living [24]. Also, the farming systems are susceptible to both flooding and droughts. During droughts, the water level diminishes, and this affects the water supply to the farms. Similarly, during flooding, crop production is affected [25]. This example of a modern irrigation system in Sudan shows that climate change also affects scientific solutions. Hence, arguing that climate change will affect the indigenous knowledge systems the most is invalid [7].

Many indigenous practices tend to perform better than modern scientific solutions. For example, the jessours provide solutions to both droughts and floods. During flooding, the flood water is diverted to the canals that are connected to a central water storage facility. Similarly, during droughts, water from canals is used for irrigation. In light of changing climate and increased frequency of droughts and floods alternating with each other, there is a need to examine the comparative advantages each knowledge contributes to adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Other indigenous knowledge systems, such as indigenous social safety nets, are important adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures essential in responding to the changing climate. In indigenous social safety practice, the community would lend the most vulnerable segment of their community cattle or food to enable them to rebuild their homes and cultivate their farms. There are three important aspects of these social safety net practices. First, it reduces the exposure and vulnerability of the affected by strengthening their resilience and promoting collective social protection mechanisms. This is different from putting the affected people in displaced camps, which tends to create a sense of isolation and lowering self-esteem. Such approaches quicken recovery and build long-term resilience and strengthen community resolve to be one another’s keepers.

Secondly, communal assistance comes in handy during crises, a sharp contrast with external humanitarian and disaster aid that takes days, if not months, to arrive. Thirdly, the lending practised by communities to uplift the most vulnerable out of crises is interest-free. Unlike contemporary disaster risk financing mechanisms, many of which are financed through loans, this no-interest financing saves lives and reduces debts but also promotes a sense of belonging and solidarity. Under the future climate, lending as a way to finance disaster risk management interventions, particularly for the most vulnerable, would perpetuate poverty with the poor being perpetually indebted. Because, as witnessed in recent years, the space between one disaster event to another has significantly narrowed [15]. Yet, with climate change, extreme climate hazards are expected to become frequent, intense, and less predictable [26]. In the words of an indigenous Samburu elder -” every 10 years, there used to be severe drought. Now droughts are happening almost every year, and they are difficult to predict”. This implies that the space between recoveries from one disaster to the next is limited. Taking loans to finance response and recovery, may be counterproductive under future risks and uncertainties.

Whereas indigenous safety nets are key for building resilience to growing risks, often driven by climate hazards, indigenous social safety nets are also threatened by the frequency of disaster events and climate change. Many African indigenous communities are already using extreme and negative coping mechanisms, such as cattle rustling, to respond to climate stresses. Such measures also exacerbate conflicts and further engender vulnerability. Notwithstanding the negative coping mechanisms arising from the heightened risks, there are remarkable examples that demonstrate that indigenous communities are already adapting to changing climate. In Kenya, some of the Samburu people have adopted camels instead of cattle because, as observed by the communities, cattle do not survive protracted droughts. Other communities have also resorted to adopting new food systems, such as poultry farming or keeping chickens. These are extraordinary practices of ongoing adaptation and resilience building.

In reflexive modernity, science reproduces risks, and yet, paradoxically, it assumes superiority and monopoly of knowledge to find solutions to risks that it produces itself [3]. The sciencisation of knowledge further disregards people’s perspectives in climate change debates and disaster risk management discourses [23], including the ongoing discussions on climate change and disaster risk nexus. In today’s risk management practices, the use of drones, models and other sophisticated technology mirrors the sciencisation. Whereas the use of artificial intelligence is key to understanding climate change and disaster risk complexities, it should not disregard people’s perspectives and experiences that are proven effective on several occasions [6].

Repositioning African Indigenous Knowledge and Practices for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management in Fast Changing and Uncertain World

Embracing and reviving indigenous science must be taken seriously – it may hold the key to addressing the complex neo-normal disaster risk paradigm facing modern-day societies. African governments must adopt a whole-of-society approach to ensure existing indigenous knowledge and know-how are studied and make necessary efforts to ameliorate, develop and better apply them to address risk management [27]. To restore and reposition African indigenous practices at the centre of climate change and disaster risk management discourses, the following recommendations can be made: (i) commissioning comprehensive assessment of indigenous knowledge of and practices for climate change and disaster risk management; (ii) develop an overarching framework for the application of indigenous knowledge of and practices for climate change and disaster risk management; (iii) develop simplified guidelines for the application of indigenous knowledge in policy decisions; (iv) review curricula to incorporate indigenous knowledge of and practices for climate change and disaster risk management; (iv) develop sustainable research agenda for indigenous knowledge of and practices for climate change and disaster risk management; (v) document best practices and facilitate intra-Africa indigenous knowledge experiences; and (vi) develop common Africa’s position on indigenous knowledge and popularise them at all levels.