Climate Risk Profile: Kavango-Zambezi Landscape
This climate risk profile provides an overview of observed and projected climate changes in the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Landscape and their impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, and livelihoods. It includes recommended nature-based solutions (NbS) for adaptation, as well as measures to promote gender-responsive and socially inclusive climate adaptation.
Key Findings
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The KAZA Landscape is becoming hotter and less predictable climatically: temperatures are rising across the landscape while rainfall patterns vary considerably by location. By 2050, the mean annual temperature is projected to increase by 3°C across all study areas.
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Climate change is already affecting water, food security, and climate-sensitive livelihoods. Communities in the study sites reported declining access to water, reduced agricultural productivity, crop and livestock losses, and disruption to nature-based income sources.
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Vulnerability in the landscape is shaped as much by social and economic conditions as by climate hazards. Limited livelihood diversification, dependence on natural resources, unequal land access, gender discrimination, and weak social support reduce the capacity of some to manage climate impacts.
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Adaptation needs to become more planned, targeted, and inclusive, moving beyond spontaneous responses toward structured nature-based solutions informed by climate risks while deliberately strengthening the participation, capacities, and access to resources for women and underrepresented groups.
This publication provides an overview of the observed and projected climate changes in the KAZA Landscape and their impacts on communities, biodiversity, and ecosystems.
It includes recommendations for nature-based solutions for climate adaptation that can be implemented in the landscape, as well as measures to ensure adaptation is gender-responsive and socially inclusive.
The profile is based on a comprehensive climate risk assessment and vulnerability assessment conducted at selected sites in and around Bwabwat National Park in Namibia, Mosi-oa-Tunya and Sioma Ngwezi national parks in Zambia, and Chizarira and Victoria Falls national parks in Zimbabwe.
Participating experts
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