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Climate Adaptation in Africa

University of Cape Town

About this Course

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This course explores why climate change adaptation is important in the African context. Africa is considered one to be one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change.   Historically, climate-related hazards such as drought, flooding, pest and disease outbreaks, coastal storms and heat waves have had devastating impacts on people and the environment in which they live. Often the damage knocks back progress that has been made in social and economic development, slowing down the achievement of development goals.  Climate models suggest that many of these climatic hazards will intensify as the global climate warms. Building resilience to climate risks, through adaptation, is critically important for future development in Africa.
The course will examine adaptation in theory and in practice, through a focus on four sectors that are critically important for climate resilient development in Africa: Water Security, Agriculture and Food Security, Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services and Resilient Cities.

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Includes hands on learning projects.

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Beginner Level

Approx. 18 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Beginner Level

Approx. 18 hours to complete

English

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Instructor

Instructor rating

4.72/5 (45 Ratings)

Mark New

Director

African Climate Development Initiative (ACDI)

21,686 Learners

2 Courses

Offered by

University of Cape Town

The University of Cape Town is the oldest university in South Africa and is one of the leading research universities on the African continent. UCT has over 25 000 students, of whom 30% are postgraduate students. We offer degrees in six faculties: Commerce, Engineering & the Built Environment, Health Sciences, Humanities, Law, and Science. We pride ourself on our diverse student body, which reflects the many cultures and backgrounds of the region. We welcome international students and are currently home to thousands of international students from over 100 countries. UCT has a tradition of academic excellence that is respected world-wide and is privileged to have more than 30 A-rated researchers on our staff, all of whom are recognised as world leaders in their field. Our aim is to ensure that our research contributes to the public good through sharing knowledge for the benefit of society. Past students include five Nobel Laureates – Max Theiler, Alan Cormack, Sir Aaron Klug, Ralph Bunche and, most recently, J M Coetzee.

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating98%(1,417 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

3 hours to complete

Climate, Vulnerability and Development in Africa

We start by exploring the linkages between social and economic development in Africa and climate change. We look at the anticipated changes in the future climate of the region and how this could impact on the development trajectory. I cover both contemporary climate risks and future climate change and how those interact with development. I also introduce the key concepts around climate adaptation that this course in based on.

3 hours to complete

15 videos (Total 92 min), 4 readings, 3 quizzes

15 videos

Welcome to the course3mAfrica's Human Development Challenge5mIn conversation with Irene Kunamwene: A Namibian case study8mHow Climate Risks Impact on Development7mThe Adaptation Deficit5mAdaptation, Resilience, Maladaptation and Vulnerability1mWhat is Adaptation?5mResilience and Maladaptation4mUnpacking Vulnerability7mIn conversation with Irene Kunamwene: Climate Impacts and Vulnerabilities7mIn Conversation with Gina Ziervogel: Climate Vulnerability11mPossible Global Scale Changes in Climate6mLocal Scale Climate Change in Africa6mLocal Scale Climate Change Scenarios3mIn conversation with Irene Kunamwene: Adaptive capacity in Namibian households7m

4 readings

Meet the course team10mAfrican cases of climate adaptation10mHow the course works10mAdditional resources20m

3 practice exercises

Development Challenges and Climate Risks10mAdaptation, Resilience, Vulnerability and Maladaptation10mWeek 1: Climate, Vulnerability and Development15m

Week2

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Water Security

We'll start by examining the nature of risks to water security and the approaches to adaptation to changes in water supply - whether it is dealing with greater scarcity or more extreme weather events such as flooding. Water security is a key factor in social and economic development. Responding involves investigating climate adaptation strategies, especially at a regional level, not just at a global scale. The cases this week, presented by experts working on water security issues, are from Lesotho and South Africa.

2 hours to complete

13 videos (Total 76 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes

13 videos

Water Shortages as an Adaptation Challenge5mBlue, Green, Grey Water4mWater Security, Water Scarcity and the Adaptation Deficit6mClimate Changes in Water Scarcity4mImpacts of Climate Change on Water Security2mIncluding Climate in Water Resource Planning2mSoft Adaptation - Working with Nature8mHard Adaptation - Small Scale Options7mHard Adaptation for Large Water Ecosystems4mDemand Management7mLesotho: Water and Social Justice - George Barrett6mIn conversation with Kevin Winter: Water-sensitive cities13mWeek 2 Summary1m

2 readings

Water security cases10mResources10m

3 practice exercises

Water Security Risks10mWater scarcity adaptation2mWeek 2: Water Security Risks and Adaptations15m

Week3

Week 3

4 hours to complete

Agriculture and Food Security

We’ll start off looking at the nature of agriculture across regions in Africa and the current situation of food security. Eradicating poverty through creating food security is a key sustainable development goal. We will analyse food security in terms of availability, access and utilisation - and how each of these aspects can be affected by climate change. I’ll be providing some information about the projected impacts of climate change on agriculture before moving onto look at adaptative strategies. The cases this week offer a rich variety of contextual examples from smart agriculture in Mauritius to changes being made by Namibian livestock farmers.

4 hours to complete

14 videos (Total 99 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes

14 videos

Food Security in Africa7mWays that Climate Impacts on Agricultural Yields9mPossible Impacts on Agriculture in Africa5mAdaptation by Closing Yield Gaps in Africa4mConservation Agriculture6mSeed Improvement3mBringing Adaptation into Farm Extension Services5mIrrigation for Increased Food Production4mFinancial Resources for farm adaptation5mLong Term Adaptation in Agriculture10mMauritius: Climate-Smart Agriculture - Sunita Facknath11mNamibia: Livestock Farmers and Climate Adaptations - Simon Angombe6mIn conversation with Admire Nyamwanza: Zimbabwe rural farmers18mWeek 3 Summary1m

2 readings

Our cases in context10mResources10m

2 practice exercises

Agriculture and food security risks2mAgriculture and Food Security Adaptations2m

Week4

Week 4

2 hours to complete

Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services

This week we’ll examine the mechanisms which make ecosystems vulnerable to climate change and other human-driven impacts. Ecosystems and the services they provide play a significant role for the livelihoods of people living across Africa. We will also look at the observed and projected impacts of the changing climate. We look at adaptation strategies from Tanzania as cases that illustrate some of the important issues.

2 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 95 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes

11 videos

Introduction to Ecosytems8mEcosystem Services8mVulnerability of Ecosystems to Climate8mVulnerability of Ecosystems to Non-Climatic Drivers10mRecent Changes in African Ecosystems7mFuture Impacts on Ecosytems9mNatural Adaptation of Ecosystems to climate change7mHuman assisted adaptation of ecosystems - Part 17mHuman assisted adaptation of ecosystems - Part 25mTanzania: Forest Ecosystems Adaptation Strategies - Pantaleo Munishi8mIn conversation with George Sekonya: Mopane worms resources12m

2 readings

Cases in context10mResources10m

3 practice exercises

Ecosystems RisksEcosystems Impacts and AdaptationsWeek 4: Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services15m

Week5

Week 5

3 hours to complete

Cities and the Urban Environment

With the higher concentrations of population in cities, comes a higher exposure to risk from climate change impacts. In African cities, many people live in informal settlements, which make them particularly at risk. Cities have many assets - such as transport, telecommunications, building and critical infrastructure - that are vulnerable to damage from extreme weather events. As cities serve as economic and political hubs, damage or disruption in cities can often have a larger impact on the region or even entire country. Adaptation measures for cities is a complex as there are intersecting issues. Our cases this week look at three cities - Maputo, Cape Town and Durban - which illustrate the adaptations being adopted.

3 hours to complete

13 videos (Total 107 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes

13 videos

Cities as Locations of Concentrated Climate Risk7mVulnerability of cities - exposure9mVulnerability of cities - sensitivity4mVulnerability of cities - adaptive capacity6mUrban adaptation - planning and spatial development7mUrban adaptation - policy and regulation4mUrban adaptation - community engagement and insurance6mUrban adaptation - houses8mUrban adaptation - roads6mMaputo: Extreme weather and responses Associate - Alberto Mavume9mIn Conversation with Anna Taylor: City of Cape Town17mIn conversation with Anton Cartwright: City of Durban18mWeek 5 summary1m

2 readings

Cases in context10mResources10m

3 practice exercises

Cities and the Urban Environment RisksCities and the Urban Environment AdaptationsWeek 5: Cities and the Urban Environment15m

Week6

Week 6

4 hours to complete

Planning for Climate Change

In this final week, we move from assessing risk to making adaptation plans. There are adaptation planning tools which are especially helpful for identifying the key steps in making an adaptation plan. An early stage of such processes is to assess the current vulnerabilities which for African contexts means we look at the deficits and begin implementing adaptation right away. This can have both an immediate valuable outcome as well as an anticipated positive impact in the future. Later adaptation planning stages involve identifying key stakeholders and building partnerships, as well as mobilising resources to make it happen. Having the resources and organisational capacity is key as seen in our cases from across a variety of socio-political contexts, resources and levels of governance.

4 hours to complete

12 videos (Total 87 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes

12 videos

Adaptation Planning and Implementation: Five Key Steps10mNavigating climate change uncertainty - part 17mNavigating climate change uncertainty - part 27mIdentifying Adaptation Options5mChoosing Adaptation Options9mImplementing Strategy - Part 15mImplementing Strategy - Part 25mSouth Sudan: Conflict and Climate Change Impacts - Pios Ncube7mIn Conversation with Gina Ziervogel: Governance and Adaptive Governance5mIn Conversation with Gina Ziervogel: Governance in Action9mIn Conversation with Gina Ziervogel: Adaptation Planning10mWeek 6 Conclusion2m

2 readings

Cases in context10mResources10m

2 practice exercises

Adaptation plans and UncertaintyApproaches to Adaptation Plans

Reviews

4.7

37 reviews

5 stars
78.65%
4 stars
19.10%
2 stars
2.24%

TOP REVIEWS FROM CLIMATE ADAPTATION IN AFRICA

by TNOct 30, 2019

Very informative course for people who want to learn fundamental issues of climate change adaptation in the African context. Highly recommended course.

by KDJul 31, 2022

One of the best online courses I have gone through. I will recommend this to every program person in Africa as they plan for the future

by DHNov 23, 2021

Thought provoking and plenty of good links for each module.

by ABMay 20, 2020

Extremely good and insightful content on an equally pressing issue providing countless examples and progress markers to ensure your understanding.

View all reviews

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Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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Climate Adaptation in Africa

Climate Adaptation in Africa

About this Course