Abstract
The impact of climate variability and change in rural Africa is experienced differently by female and male farmers due to structural and socio-cultural inequalities. This research set out to investigate female and male farmers’ differential experiences of the impacts of climate change in the Bamenda Highlands, Cameroon. The research builds on two central arguments, firstly that vulnerability includes both biophysical and social components and secondly, that climate change impacts are not gender-neutral. The aim of the research was to illustrate how vulnerability to climate change could develop over time and how that affects people’s adaptive capacity. The research employed a qualitative mixed-method approach for data collection including focus groups, key informant interviews and life history interviews. The data were analysed thematically and discussed through the African feminist lens. The research findings revealed how patriarchal influence over gender roles, access to and control over production, resources and gender relationships result in differential experiences of climate variability and change for female and male farmers in the study area. However, the findings further depict structural differences among female farmers which account for the unequal distribution of the effects of climate change among them. Additionally, the study shows differential adaptive capacities and constraints among female and male farmers and examines the failure of Government adaptation policies to address gender-specific differences. The research findings thus affirm that climate change is not gender-neutral. This is demonstrated by the insight provided into the complexities in female and male farmers’ lives resulting in differential exposure to the adverse impacts of climate change. The outcome of the research therefore suggests that adaptation actions aimed at sustaining the food-crop sector in the face of climate change should take into consideration gender issues affecting farmers’ capability of adapting to climate change. The research contributes to furthering knowledge on gender and climate change vulnerability by shedding light on how women’s and men’s vulnerability are linked to socio-economic, cultural and gender-related factors which developed progressively and over a long period of time. Finally, this research is intended to contribute to the growth of gender-inclusion content in the interdisciplinary area of Environmental Management, particularly with respect to climate change research.
Ph.D. (Environmental Management)