This report synthesizes climate change governance issues in Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Case studies assessed vulnerabilities to climate change; climate change adaptation policies, plans and strategies, and their genesis and relation to the state of national knowledge on vulnerability; the institutional actors involved in climate change policy and responses; public awareness of climate change; and the role of state and non-state actors in international climate change negotiations.

Southern African Agriculture and Climate Change: A Comprehensive Analysis examines the food security threats facing eight of the countries that make up southern Africa — Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe — and explores how climate change will increase the efforts needed to achieve sustainable food security throughout the region. Southern Africa’s population is expected to grow at least through mid-century. The region will also see income growth.

Botswana is water scarce, with endemic drought and varied rainfall. In order to meet increases in water demand efficiently and sustainably, greater policy coherence and implementation is needed. The government acknowledges the principles of integrated water resources management (IWRM), but this is largely rhetorical. Water management is still centralised and stakeholder participation is often non-existent.

This paper analyses the effects of climate change on hydrology and water resources in the Limpopo River Basin of Southern Africa, using a semi-distributed hydrological model and the Water Simulation Module of the International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade. The analysis focuses on the effects of climate change on hydrology and irrigation in parts of the four riparian countries in the basin: Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

What are the gendered impacts of climate change at household level in Sub Saharan Africa? How can the capacity of women and men be strengthened to better adapt to climate change and climate variability? This executive summary provides an analysis of the findings of eight case studies carried out in Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa. It finds that women cope better with the impacts of changing circumstances than men, as women are more likely to explore opportunities that enable them to cope better.

Women are generally excluded from discussions about energy plans and policies because of gender norms around appropriate roles for women and men, gender biases in education, and gender inequalities in employment status. Yet burning wood or other biomass fuels (such as fuelwood and animal dung) is a primary source of energy in many countries, and fetching and using these fuels is commonly viewed as women's work.

This issue of Oxfam's journal Gender and Development looks at two key linkages between gender and trade. Firstly it explores how international trade relies on an unequal division of labour between women and men, and secondly, how trade agreements have impacts on gender equality within national contexts. The implications for human development of a trading system which prioritises exports over food security and sustainability are that some groups in developing countries - women and the poor - bear the brunt of the costs of trade liberalisation.

In the introduction to this publication, ENERGIA policy advisor and editor of this pubication Gail Karlsson writes, “In many developing countries, especially in the poorest areas, most energy currently comes from traditional biomass fuels such as wood, charcoal and agricultural wastes - and collection and managing these fuels is strictly ‘women’s business’.” She calls on national energy and development policy-makers to acknowledge the links between women’s work, national economics and energy; as well as make more gender-focused investments and initiatives, with greater and more diverse invo

The Biomass Energy Sector Planning Guide provides practical, step-by-step guidance to set up efficient management structures for the biomass energy sector. The Guide is based on experiences of EUEI PDF and GIZ in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nepal and Sierra Leone. Even though this guide is largely built on experience in Africa, it has relevance beyond Africa and the methodology can be applied in all countries where biomass is the main fuel for households and small enterprises.