Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change Impacts by Female Headed Households A Case of Kahe Ward Moshi Rural District

Abstract

Adaptation strategies to climate change are basic issues so as to maintain environmental sustainability and sustain our daily life with relation to climate change. Female headed households are more vulnerable to climatic change because of the nature of activities conducted by women. The study examines strategies used by female headed households in West Kahe to adapt with climate change impacts. The study employed cross-sectional research design. Data were obtained through administration of questionnaires to 99 female headed households in Oria, Mawala, Ngasini and Kisangesangeni villages. Interviews, observations, household baseline survey and documentary review were used in data collection. The findings revealed that climatic change impacts have been observed and proven to affect different activities including agriculture activities in the study area. Change in rainfall pattens, drought and temperature increased are the linking issues to climate change in West Kahe Ward. 76.6% of respondents agreed that FHHs were suffering much by climate change. However, 46.8% of the female headed households depend on both farming and livestock keeping as the main sources of income and 63% of respondents were poor. Furthermore, 80.9% agreed on the experience of social economic challenges of climate change. The study recommends that despite the existing adaptation strategies to climate change impacts in the study area, still FHHs need financial support because most of them were poor and face different challenges in cope and adapt to climate change impacts