ADSWAC

The border area between southern Angola and northern Namibia features hyper-arid, arid and semi-arid lands and is increasingly exposed to the effects of climate change, including rising temperatures, greater variability in rainfall and prolonged droughts. These pressures threaten the livelihoods of local populations and speed-up the degradation of ecosystems.

The communities living in this area, particularly smallholder farmers and pastoralists, have limited adaptation mechanisms. Their high vulnerability to climate shocks makes them a priority for action. Strengthening their resilience and safeguarding natural resources emerge as essential conditions to confront the impacts of recurrent droughts and floods.

The ADSWAC project is designed with the central objective of enhancing the adaptive capacity and resilience of communities in this region to the effects of climate change and focuses on developing local, national and regional capacities to better anticipate and manage risks; strengthening organizational and technical capacities to adopt climate-resilient agricultural and water management practices; and improving food security and livelihoods for the most vulnerable rural populations.

The expected results—greater awareness and stronger ownership of adaptation processes; strengthened capacities in the agriculture and water sectors; better structured community organizations for collective resource management; enhanced technical skills among smallholder farmers to implement climate-resilient practices; and increased resilience of livelihoods and ecosystems supported by concrete adaptation measures and income-generating activities—reflect this integrated vision.