Dr Nkechi S. Owoo

Despite efforts and commitments to reduce future greenhouse-gas emissions, the presence and effects of global warming are inevitable. Therefore, adaptation to climate change is imperative, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable communities. In developing countries like Ghana, with its dominant agricultural sector, productivity and food security effects may be particularly devastating given that even slight temperature increases could significantly affect a drop in yields. Paradoxically, households in these parts of the world have the least capacity and most resource insufficiencies to participate in climate adaptation activities, from the point of both monetary and non-monetary poverty. Significant resources would be needed to cover the cost of technologies required for climate change adaptation measures.

Dr Nkechi Owoo will shed light on this situation in her Future Africa Research Leader Fellowship (FAR-LeaF) research project, ‘Exploring the effects of monetary, multidimensional and women’s time poverty on climate adaptation behaviours in Ghana’. She recently became interested in the links between poverty, health and environmental effects, and the complex interactions between poverty, gender and climate adaptation in the Ghanaian context.

Women in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, given their dependence on local natural resources for their livelihoods. They can, however, be effective agents for adaptation because of their critical roles as stewards of natural and household resources. With increased environmental changes, women are likely to continue to spend long hours fetching firewood, drawing water and performing other household activities, with little focus on adaptation behaviours.

Increased household burdens have been found to affect women’s health adversely, and poor health likely impedes their reactions and abilities to deal with climate change issues. Another factor in their abilities to adapt depends on the extent of their control over economic resources – more time spent with domestic and care work leaves little time for market and income-earning opportunities. The same obligations limit opportunities to contribute to community-level decision-making processes.

Dr Owoo will explore these issues and whether the gender of a household head moderates the strength of the relationship between the poverty status of households and climate adaptation behaviours, as Ghanaian women and girls typically have fewer capabilities and resources than their male counterparts. This undermines their ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change or contribute essential knowledge and insights to adaptation decision-making processes.

Adaptation issues are about who will bear the cost of coping with climate change. It is imperative that the experiences of various women and men be investigated and that we adapt to craft better-targeted advocacy messages, identify practical steps for reducing gendered vulnerabilities, and build adaptive capacity at household and community levels.

Among other things, Dr Owoo will use Ghana’s recently introduced multidimensional poverty index as a source of information.