Climate change, food security, and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa

TLDR

Sub‑Saharan Africa is highly vulnerable to climate change, with biophysical, political, and socioeconomic stresses amplifying its susceptibility and threatening food security and livelihoods. The study reviews the interrelated scholarship on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation, and food security, developing a conceptual framework that guides empirical research. The authors construct a conceptual framework linking the three themes and apply it to synthesize findings from diverse studies on climate change vulnerability, food security, and livelihoods in sub‑Saharan Africa. The framework demonstrates how interconnections among climate change, food security, and livelihoods can inform more effective policies and programs.

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Multiple biophysical, political, and socioeconomic stresses interact to increase the region's susceptibility and constrain its adaptive capacity. Climate change is commonly recognized as a major issue likely to have negative consequences on food security and livelihoods in the region. This paper reviews three bodies of scholarship that have evolved somewhat separately, yet are inherently interconnected: climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation, food security, and sustainable livelihoods. The paper develops a conceptualization of the relationships among the three themes and shows how food security's vulnerabilities are related to multiple stresses and adaptive capacities, reflecting access to assets. Food security represents one of several livelihood outcomes. The framework shows how several research paradigms relate to the issue of food security and climate change and provides a guide for empirical investigations. Recognizing these interconnections can help in the development of more effective policies and programs. The framework is applied here to synthesize findings from an array of studies in sub-Saharan Africa dealing with vulnerability to climate change, food security, and livelihoods.