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Climate adaptation strengthens and builds the resilience of health systems to future climate-related shocks. Adaptation strategies and policies are necessary tools for governments to address the long-term impacts of climate change and enable the health system to respond to current impacts such as extreme weather events. Since 2011 South Africa has national climate change policies and adaptation strategies, yet there is uncertainty about: how these policies and plans are executed; the extent to which health policies include adaptation; and the extent of policy coherence across sectors and governance levels. A policy document analysis was conducted to examine how South African climate change, development and health policy documents reflect the health adaptation response across national and Western Cape levels and to assess the extent of coherence across key health and environment sector policy documents, including elements to respond to health-related climate risks, that can support implementation. Our findings show that overall there is incoherence in South African climate adaptation within health policy documents. Although health adaptation measures are somewhat coherent in national level policies, there is limited coherence within Western Cape provincial level documents and limited discussion on climate adaptation, especially for health. Policies reflect formal decisions and should guide decision-makers and resourcing, and sectoral policies should move beyond mere acknowledgement of adaptation responses to a tailored plan of actions that are institutionalized and location and sector specific. Activities beyond documents also impact the coherence and implementation of climate adaptation for health in South Africa. Clear climate risk-specific documents for the health sector would provide a stronger plan to support the implementation of health adaptation and contribute to building health system's resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is no longer a myth that climate change‐related disasters are on the rise globally, with severe and devastating consequences in developing countries, particularly in Sub‐Saharan Africa, where many of the world's poor people reside. Thus, the emphasis on adaptation to climate change is no longer a choice or a deferred problem into the future, but rather an urgent matter of concern which must be considered a policy priority. As a response to retrogressive climate change challenges on social‐economic development and environmental degradation, the government of South Africa has in the last two and half decades, embarked on the progressive formulation of different policy instruments and strategic frameworks to curb and minimize the impacts of climate change on all sub‐sectors of the economy. Although much remains to be achieved, some level of success has been realized, particularly in the space of policy formulation, albeit the poor record of implementation. Using research methods inspired by the tradition of qualitative research and an appraisal of existing literature, this paper discusses the complexities of climate change adaptation governance at a local government level in South Africa, focusing on the Eastern Cape Province. It is argued in the paper that one of the major challenges for climate change governance at local municipality levels in South Africa emanates from the gap between aspirations and actions across the entire national governance system. The absence of an integrated climate change governance system has posed significant systemic challenges, and these have tended to constrain decision‐making and implementation processes. These issues have been discussed within the broader discourse of the sustainable development goals, particularly goals number 13, 16 and 17. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a key socioeconomic and environmental concern in South Africa. The South African government introduced several climate change initiatives to address the impacts of climate change, resulting in the proliferation of climate adaptation policies across spheres of government. This paper studies different climate change adaptation policies and climate policy paradigms (CPP) to understand the adaptation landscape; it explains and compares the changes in CPP in South Africa over time. We mapped 40 policy documents from 2004 to 2022, which shows 12 national policies, 12 provincial (sub-national) policy documents and 14 metropolitan city policy documents. We then used 12 national policy documents to illustrate and understand the CPP. The research shows that different stakeholders have shaped climate change adaptation policy, both private and public firms advised on climate change policy and there are a number of different funding partners supporting the adaptation policy like GEF, C40 and GIZ. The changing policy environment has introduced new frameworks, objectives and processes. Therefore, more efforts will be needed going forward to guide adaptation policy across national, provincial and local governments. We find that several CPPs have emerged, that is different paradigms encompassing a range of policy goals, framings and instruments. The present National CC Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS) mandates adaptation across all levels of government and allows all important stakeholders to address climate change consequences. This NCCAS increases the number and ambition of adaptation policy, encourages integrated approaches, policy coherence and clear direction on how to handle climate risks and impacts in varied South Africa and its global commitment. Changes in policy paradigm enable the use of new policy instruments, including funding and budget mechanisms. Finally, climate adaptation policy has become more ambitious and stringent, requiring all levels of government to plan for climate change. The climate change policy landscape in South Africa has grown over the past 18 years, with policy development across different spheres of government (national, sectoral, provincial and metros), New CPPs have emerged, supported by new policy frames, goals and instruments. The NCCAS provides a clear policy goal, which also provides new policy instruments to implement climate actions and acts to enhance integrated approaches, The lack of domestic budget allocation remains a challenge for national government, but external partnerships have begun to provide support for policy development. Notably, a shift from a flexible to stringent approach to climate policy is needed to deliver effective climate action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review identified the prevalence, effectiveness, and potential benefits of agroecology strategies in promoting sustainable agriculture practices implemented by smallholder crop farmers in South Africa. The review carried out a comprehensive literature search across various academic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of science. The relevant studies were screened and selected based on predetermined inclusion criteria where a total of 262 articles were extracted and reduced to 30 articles for this systematic review. Data were extracted and synthesised to classify patterns and trends in the adoption of agroecology elements. The results obtained from the review of this study highlights the identification of specific strategies such as indigenous crop varieties, conservation agriculture, intercropping, agroforestry, drought-tolerant crop varieties, and water management strategies. These outcomes demonstrated insights into the prevalence of different strategies applied by smallholder crop farmers in South Africa. Furthermore, the review determined the reported benefits, such as increased crop resilience, improved soil fertility, and enhanced water use efficiency. These benefits were assessed on the available evidence from the selected studies. This review contributes to a better understanding of agroecology practices in South African. The results can inform policymakers, researchers, and farmers in developing appropriate strategies to enhance sustainable agricultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, climate change remains one of the most pressing challenges, and it is also an obstacle to the fundamental achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The purpose of the study was to examine the determinants of small-scale farmers' participation in social capital networks to enhance adoption of climate change adaptation strategies. Multistage and purposive sampling were used to carry out the study. A cross-sectional research design was used to carry out the study and structured questionnaires were used as a data collection tool. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Binary Logit model, and the Ordered Logit model. The findings of the study show that gender, household size, age, marital status, education, and employment status affect a farmer's participation in social capital networks. The results also show that household size, employment status, and income level affect the extent of participation in social networks. As the paper is the first to look at the determinants of the participation of farmers in social capital networks in Eastern Cape, the results are of paramount importance to policy formulators in order to formulate policies that will encourage farmers to join localized farmer-based social capital networks to adopt climate change adaption measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of weather and water whiplash in Mediterranean regions of the world is analyzed using historical streamflow records from 1926 to 2023, depending on the region. Streamflow from the United States (California), Italy, Australia, Chile, and South Africa is analyzed using publicly available databases. Water whiplash—or the rapid shift of wet and dry periods—are compared. Wet and dry periods are defined based on annual deviations from the historical record average, and whiplash occurs when there is an abrupt change that overcomes an accommodated deficit or surplus. Of all the stations, there are more dry years (56%) than wet years (44%) in these regions, along with similarities in the variances and shifts in extremes (i.e., whiplash). On average, 35% of the years were defined as water whiplash years in all countries, with the highest levels in the US (California), where 42–53% of the years were whiplash years. The influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences Chile and South Africa strongest during the first quarter of the year. This study found that smaller extreme wet periods and larger and less extreme dry periods are prevalent in Mediterranean regions. This has implications for water management as adaptation to climate change is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental legislation in South Africa does not explicitly require that the executive branch consider climate change in environmental decision-making. Yet, in a handful of climate cases, the executive has been found to have acted unlawfully (and thus unconstitutionally) by failing to do so. We argue that the case law has implicitly introduced a 'duty' to consider climate change mitigation and adaptation issues. The precedent set entails that in order to act lawfully as required by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, decision-makers must take climate change into account in various contexts. This article describes the role of the judiciary within South Africa's transformative constitutional regime, and the interpretive approach they are mandated to adopt. The interpretive approach is a feature of South Africa's normative conceptualization of the separation of powers. We then describe how, in the exercise of this role, the 'duty' to consider climate change has emerged and evolved through three instances of climate litigation in the High Courts, and one before the Water Tribunal. We conclude that the power of judiciary in South Africa to respond to the myriad human rights and justice implications of the climate crisis derives not only from constitutionally entrenched human rights. Equally important are the mechanisms within the broader transformative architecture of the constitutional order. By making this modest point, we hope to deepen the understanding of the utility of human rights in climate litigation in the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of climate change, protected areas play an important role in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and addressing resource nexus challenges. However, setting protected areas for long-term conservation is often criticised for using narratives based on political, economic, and scientific assumptions to justify which elements of nature should be conserved and what actions should be implemented, creating a sense that conservation outcomes are desirable and universally accepted. Such narratives exclude other voices, values, and practices, limiting alternative options for the future. Adapting protected areas to climate change requires innovative approaches to address societal challenges and critically examining conservation strategies to make informed decisions under scenarios of change. This article presents the case of the Garden Route National Park in South Africa and the approach used to co-create inclusive visions of the future with local stakeholders. I draw on theoretical insights and empirical data collected through interviews with the park staff to describe the use of futures consciousness as an approach to understanding how people perceive change, prepare for, and embrace the future. I explore how people's perceptions of change mobilize action to address complex problems and create alternative imaginaries beyond spatial and temporal boundaries. Futures consciousness can contribute to understanding processes that enable or constrain transformation and identifying options for mobilising change towards desired future goals. The findings can help managers examine individual and collective assumptions about adaptation, inform future-oriented practices and advance opportunities for transformational change to build resilient, just futures for nature and people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Umlindi newsletter was developed to provide information towards climate advisories, considering, for instance, drought conditions, presented in a relevant manner for the agricultural and disaster sectors in South Africa. This newsletter, which is disseminated on a monthly basis, provides information derived from climate-related monitoring products obtained from an integration of remote sensing and in situ data from weather stations. It contains useful indicators, such as rainfall, vegetation, and fire conditions, that provide an overview of conditions across the country. The present study demonstrates how these natural resource indices are integrated and consolidated for utilization by farmers, policy-makers, private organizations, and the general public to make day-to-day decisions on the management and mitigation of natural disasters. However, there is a need to expand these baseline observation initiatives, including the following: (1) forecasting future conditions to strengthen coping mechanisms of government, farmers, and communities at large; and (2) incorporating information on other natural disasters such as floods and extreme heat. In the context of South Africa, this information is important to improve disaster preparedness and management for agricultural productivity. In a global context, the Umlindi newsletter can be insightful for developing and disseminating natural resources information on adaptation to and mitigation of climate change and variability impacts to other regions facing similar risks. Furthermore, while international organizations also provide natural resource information, the Umlindi newsletter may be distinguished by its regional focus and linkages to individual communities. It bridges the gap between global environmental data and local decision-making by illustrating how global scientific knowledge may be applied locally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of indigenous farmers in South Africa depend on rain-fed agricultural production for their livelihoods. Reliable indigenous weather forecasts are, therefore, required to guide rural farmers' decisions in regard to climate change. Much of the literature has shown that western scientific knowledge has failed at rural level. Indigenous knowledge has, for the past century assisted rural farmers' households in tackling the challenges of climate stressors and enhanced decision-making for adaptation. There is, therefore, much room for advancement in assessment processes to ensure adequate credit for indigenous knowledge systems. This study aimed to address two major knowledge gaps (i) to assess the relevance of indigenous knowledge in weather forecasts used by local farmers for climate adaptation, and (ii) examine farmers' perceptions in regard to climate change in Levubu and Nwanedi sites. Indigenous knowledge indicators used by farmers for weather forecasting, within their communities, were collected through questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions. The results revealed various forms of indigenous indicators used by local farmers for weather forecasting, such as, star and moon movement, appearance of red and black ants and mist-cover on mountains. A better knowledge of indigenous knowledge systems should play an important role in determining suitable adaptation strategies toward climate change. It is recommended, hence, that policy makers should enhance indigenous knowledge among local communities regarding the implications of climatic stressors to increase crop production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is already a reality, and it is affecting the lives and livelihoods of many people globally. Many scientists argue that adaptation is, therefore, necessary to address the impact of climate change on life-supporting systems. Climate change adaptation, however, is a complex process that involves transformations implemented through governance at multiple levels. In this paper, the barriers to climate change adaptation in South Africa are presented and analysed. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted telephonically and online via Microsoft Teams with 13 government officials working at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment; the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs; and the uMkhanyakude District Municipality. The findings suggest that the barriers to climate change adaptation in South Africa include inadequate financial resources, a lack of human capacity at the provincial and local levels, limited political will at the local level, limited understanding of climate change adaptation issues by communities, inadequate coordination across government levels and sectors, no legal mandate at the local level, no climate change unit at the district and local levels, a lack of knowledge by some staff members tasked with environmental duties at the local level, not enough climate change plans in place at the local level, and outdated information on climate change used in the IDPs. This paper, therefore, recommends that climate change be a standing item in the Integrated Development Plan for local governments, which will ensure that climate change is budgeted for appropriately. In addition, this paper suggests that a mandate for climate change adaptation be developed for all three government levels. There is also a need for the government to invest in capacity development and improve horizontal and vertical coordination to strengthen the weak climate governance capacity that exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unprecedented rate of urbanisation has changed the South African urban landscape. The densification of the population in cities has resulted in high consumption of electricity, waste production, a reduction of greenery, and traffic congestion, all of which contribute to climate change. South Africa promulgated legislations and acts such as the Spatial Planning and Land-Use Management Act (SPLUMA), the National Urban Development Framework (NUDF), and the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) to guide climate change adaptation and mitigation aspirations. These frameworks and plans are important for the management of urbanisation, which potentially contributes to climate change. Complexity theory is a lens for reviewing complex systems like urbanisation and cities. Complexity theory gives a thorough account of cities, urbanisation, and urban planning. The method that was adopted for the paper is a mixed-method approach. The data were collected by interviewing and administering questionnaires to municipal officials and residents of four urban areas (Legae la Batho, Emdo Park, Serala View, and Flora Park). Results show that the local municipality continues to be plagued with a lack of qualified personnel to implement policies that affect programme implementation, such as energy mix. Additionally, the City of Polokwane has been experiencing a reduction of green spaces, which has a negative impact on the climate change aspiration. The paper concludes that there are still challenges to a fully capacitated workforce within the Polokwane Local Municipality. The inability to implement policies has deleterious effects on climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore the role of wildlife in climate change adaptation, especially in areas used predominantly for livestock production in South Africa. Using a sample of 3 449 wildlife and livestock ranches, we estimate a multinomial choice model of various ranching options in these areas. The results indicate that mixed wildlife-livestock ranches are less vulnerable to climate change when compared to ranches with only wildlife or only livestock. However, given the ranching options, the revenues of ranches with only wildlife are higher compared to other ranches. The results further show that an increase in temperature will influence more livestock farmers, especially those farming with cattle, to change their land use from livestock to wildlife ranching. Using climate models, we establish that livestock farmers in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa will be affected most by climate change and will subsequently change their land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus has become an integral component duly suited to enable sustainable development and an important tool to achieve and sustain various socioeconomic and environmental outcomes, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. The WEF nexus has become increasingly important in recent years as it can holistically address humankind's current triple challenges, including resource depletion, environmental degradation, and population growth. Socioeconomic factors such as increased population, economic development, and climate change patterns frequently induce unprecedented pressure on WEF resources. From the various climate change model simulations, the climate is likely to increase in the future, exacerbating the demand of the population to access the WEF resources and services. For effective resource planning and decision-making, the availability of WEF resources must be assessed under ongoing climate change. In this regard, this study assessed rural livelihoods, health, and wellbeing indicators within the WEF nexus framework in Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), South Africa, and Narok County, Kenya. The premise was to determine the drivers of livelihood changes by applying the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making to understand the causal linkages between the WEF nexus resources and the sustainable livelihood indicators. Data collected from the literature review, questionnaire/group discussions, and field visit engagements were used to formulate and develop a matrix of indicators to assess livelihoods, health, and wellbeing. A correlation analysis based on the AHP was used to determine the linkages between WEF resources and sustainable livelihood indicators. The multivariate analysis used the correlation matrix to capture the pairwise degrees of relationship between WEF resources and sustainable livelihood indicators in the two study areas. The results show that the resources for sustainable livelihoods in VDM are more sustainable than those in Narok County. The Consistency Ratio values for Narok County and VDM were 0.046 and 0.067, respectively. The resulting composite index (0.143) classified both study sites under the lowly sustainable category. The results are important for informing policy formulation that guides timely interventions to balance socio-ecological systems. • The WEF nexus supports the realisation of SDGs and enhances climate change adaptation. • The WEF nexus approach has shown that rural livelihoods are still lagging in resilience-building initiatives. • There is a dispersed, statistically significant, positive correlation among the livelihood indicators and WEF resources. • A WEF nexus-based resource management is holistic and all-inclusive as it does not leave anyone behind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the resilience of complex social‐ecological systems (SES) to climate change requires transformative changes. Yet, there are knowledge gaps on how best to achieve transformation. In this study, we present an approach for assessing governance performance in SES and identifying leverage points to ultimately enhance climate resilience. The approach combines three different methods including a capital approach framework, fuzzy cognitive mapping, and a leverage points analysis. Using a coastal case‐study in Algoa Bay, South Africa, the performance of governance processes contributing to different forms of capital is assessed. Subsequently, leverage points ‐ where a small shift may lead to transformative changes in the system as a whole ‐ are identified based on measures of centrality and performance. Results suggest that a range of leverage points can improve governance performance and therefore climate resilience in the case‐study. Leverage points include improving (a) support from the provincial government; (b) priority given to climate change in the integrated development plan; (c) frequency of collaborations; (d) participation in the implementation of climate action plans; (e) allocation of funding to climate change actions; (f) the overall level of preparedness in terms of staff with relevant expertise; (g) public awareness and understanding of climate change. The approach can also be used to analyze and model the relations and interactions between capitals. The study advances methodological and theoretical knowledge on the identification of leverage points for enabling transformations toward climate resilience and broader sustainability goals in SES. Plain Language Summary: Climate change has severe impacts on both people and nature. Enhancing the ability to persist and adapt to climate change requires transformative governance of social‐ecological systems. However, more knowledge is required on how to enable such transformations. In this paper, we present an approach to measure the performance of different governance processes, such as decisions and actions for climate change adaptation made by public and governmental organizations. The approach aims to identify key processes, where a small intervention may improve overall performance for climate change adaptation, and therefore transformation. We apply the approach in a real‐world example in Algoa Bay, South Africa. Results suggest that different processes in the case‐study can be changed in order to enhance the ability to persist and adapt to climate change. This includes seven actions: (a) more support from governmental organizations; (b) greater priority given to climate change in relevant policies; (c) increasing the frequency of interactions between organizations; (d) enhancing the participation in the implementation of climate action plans; (e) better allocation of funding to climate change actions; (f) training staff within organizations to enhance their climate expertise; (g) improving public awareness and understanding of climate change. Key Points: The study presents an approach for assessing governance performance and identifying leverage points in social‐ecological systemsThe approach combines three different methods: a capital approach framework, fuzzy cognitive mapping, and a leverage points analysisThe study advances methodological and theoretical knowledge on how to operationalize transformation toward climate resilience [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study documented adaptation strategies employed by rural women in Vhembe district as they reel with climate change impacts. Women are heavily plagued by climate change impacts than any other genders worldwide. This is attributed to their high dependence on the natural resources for survival, low adaptive capacity, illiteracy, social ascribed roles that limit their participation in climate change initiatives like men and high poverty levels. Despite the daunting fact of women's vulnerability to climate change and its vagary impacts, women are agents of social change who have not remained passive victims to climate change and its impacts. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted a qualitative methodology guided by multi-case study design. A sample of 25 participants was selected through simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Data were collected using Focus Group Discussions and individual interviews and analysed thematically. Rural women and traditional leaders served as key informants and participated in the study. Findings: The study established that the effects of climate change on rural women are real; however, there is a cocktail of strategies employed by women in Vhembe district in response to these effects. The strategies include livelihood and crop diversification, use of indigenous knowledge systems and harnessing of social capital among other household-based adaptation strategies. Originality/value: The study recommends that the best way of assisting rural women in adapting to climate change is through the amelioration of poverty, enhancing capacity building for women and elimination of all systems that serve as barriers to effective adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is dominating social, political and economic agendas. Because of the salience of the issue, scientists, researchers and consultants have developed a plethora of climate adaptation strategies. In this article I analyse two such strategies: Adapting South African Cities and Towns: A Local Government Guide to Climate Change Adaptation Planning by Ziervogel and Methner; and Climate Change Vulnerability in South East Queensland: A Spatial and Sectoral Assessment by Choy et al. For this analysis I utilised the PULSE3 analytical framework. My analysis indicated that the two adaptation strategies were predominantly positivist in scientific orientation. Other paradigms and theories are also applicable in explaining the issue of climate change and how to adapt to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women as key food producers in a subsistence economy have developed knowledge to process and preserve surplus crops to ensure sustainable provision of food. This study explored the indigenous food processing and preservation practices adopted by women to ensure household quality food availability and accessibility. The main goal was to describe the methods of processing and preserving subsistence food crops produced in the home gardens for future consumption. Focus group discussions were conducted with 250 women aged between 35 and 78. The study results showed that women, as food providers for their families, produce subsistence crops for consumption. Surplus crops were processed for sustainable provision of staple food in the form of porridge, vegetables and side dishes in the seasons of low food productivity. Sun-drying, hanging on roof and the use of Aloe Ferox plant's ash were the indigenous food preservation methods used to conserve the crops and vegetables to enhance quality food availability and access to the households in periods of food scarcity. The indigenous preservation practices presented in the study could be used to inform policy on adaptation to climate change impacts on food security in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deployment of adaptation plans to limit the threat of climate change often hinges on the capacity of various national and local institutions. An observed decline in South Africa's maize production over the last few decades has raised questions about the capacity of institutions responsible for providing climate change‐related adaptive support to maize farmers in the country. This study assessed the adaptive capacity of management institutions in South Africa supporting maize producers, using a combination of literature review, document analysis, and in‐depth interviews applied in the adaptive capacity wheel (ACW) assessment tool. On the basis of the results obtained from this analysis, the adaptive capacity of South African institutions responsible for climate change response processes was scored as medium. Findings from the research suggest that the advances made to date in South Africa in terms of climate change‐related policy development, resource allocation, and capacity development could be inadequate, given the extent of identified institutional weaknesses, capacity constraints, knowledge, and information limitations. The study concludes that an inability to address current institutional limitations, considering the threats associated with climate change, may result in intensified social and economic challenges in the maize production sector. The study recommends the consistent revision and capacitation of these institutions to enable them to provide the type of support that will ensure effective adaptive responses for farmers involved in maize production in the country. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:1056–1069. © 2021 SETAC KEY POINTS: Using an expanded adaptive capacity wheel, this paper evaluates the ability of South Africa's climate response institutions to stimulate maize farmers' adaptive actions.Outcome suggests a medium adaptive capacity.Study recommends urgent reform to address identified weaknesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reflects on the role of urban planning in climate change adaptation and the role of planning instruments in facilitating the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation. An analytical framework is introduced to analyse primary spatial and integrated planning instruments in the City of Cape Town and Thulamela Local Municipality in South Africa, as comparative cases with core similarities and contextual differences. The findings are discussed in terms of where adaptation should be included throughout the planning process and the extent to which the cases have been able to mainstream climate change adaptation within their planning instruments. The findings show that local municipal plans and policies are recognising the impact of climate change on settlements and the role of planning in responding to these impacts. However, there is little evidence of addressing these long-term impacts through programmatic and coherent approaches using short- to medium-term planning instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequent drought events due to climate change have become a major threat to maize (Zea mays L.) production and food security in Africa. Genetic engineering is one of the ways of improving drought tolerance through gene introgression to reduce the impact of drought stress in maize production. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Event MON 87460 (CspB ; DroughtGard®) gene in more than 120 conventional drought-tolerant maize hybrids in Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda for 3–6 years under managed drought-stress and optimal conditions and establish any additional yield contribution or yield penalties of the gene in traited hybrids relative to their non-traited isohybrids. Germplasm used in the study were either MON 87460 traited un-adapted (2008–2010), adapted traited DroughtTEGO ® (2011–2013) or a mix of both under confined field trials. Results showed significant yield differences (p < 0.001) among MON 87460 traited and non-traited hybrids across well-watered and managed drought-stress treatments. The gene had positive and significant effect on yield by 36–62% in three hybrids (CML312/CML445; WMA8101/CML445; and CML312/S0125Z) relative to non-traited hybrids under drought, and without significant yield penalty under optimum-moisture conditions in Lutzville, South Africa. Five traited hybrids (WMA2003/WMB4401; CML442/WMB4401; CML489/WMB4401; CML511/CML445; and CML395/WMB4401) had 7–13% significantly higher yield than the non-traited isohybrids out of 34 adapted DroughtTEGO® hybrids with same background genetics in the three countries for ≥ 3 years. The positive effect of MON 87460 was mostly observed under high drought-stress relative to low, moderate, or severe stress levels. This study showed that MON 87460 transgenic drought tolerant maize hybrids could effectively tolerate drought and shield farmers against severe yield loss due to drought stress. The study signified that development and adoption of transgenic drought tolerant maize hybrids can cushion against farm yield losses due to drought stress as part of an integrated approach in adaptation to climate change effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agricultural projects are regarded as the key instrument in improving rural livelihood by creating employment opportunities, improving economy and food provision. This qualitative study on the sustainability of agricultural projects was conducted in Msinga Local Municipality. The data was collected through the use of five focus group discussions with agricultural cooperatives who were sampled using the purposive sampling method. The qualitative data was analyzed through the use of content analysis. The critical aspects of the findings reveal that the sustainability of agricultural projects in the Msinga area face many challenges, such as disease outbreak, and conditions of climate change and as a result they need a support from the government to improve their livelihoods. There is a need to provide lessons to the rural farmers about ways of adapting to the climate change by strictly aligning with the national climate change adaptation strategy of the Republic of South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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• We used the prescriptive framework of transition arena to assess factors conducive to a transition. • The transdisciplinary project design was conducive to the buy-in from the agricultural sector. • The concept of social learning was useful in analyzing if capacity, commitment, and momentum were created. • Important factors for learning included motivation, trust, sufficient time, and the right timing. • The continuous involvement of governmental actors was crucial to creating project ownership. The agricultural sector of the Western Cape is highly affected by climate change and thus requires fundamental change to move to a more resilient path. We analyze the development of a climate change plan to obtain a better understanding of what is needed to make such a strategic intervention meaningful in terms facilitating a sustainability transition. We use the concept of transition arena to understand how group composition and processes facilitated or hindered structural change, and apply social learning theory to uncover learning processes and outcomes for whether capacity and momentum for moving towards a more climate resilient sector were created. Commitment on the part of project members created trust in the project and vice versa, while the ongoing involvement of governmental actors was key for creating capacities and commitment for change. The limited participation of niche actors may have hampered the ability to identify more innovative development pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa's economy contracted by 0.2% in the third quarter of 2023, which is concerning for the ruling party's election prospects in 2024. The agriculture, manufacturing, and construction sectors were the main contributors to this decline. The country's unemployment rate, however, decreased slightly to 31.9% in the same quarter. Crime and the impact of climate change are also significant challenges for South Africa's economy. [Extracted from the article]

Land degradation is a threat to ecosystems and to already vulnerable people who live in dryland environments. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has been tasked with addressing the global challenges posed by land degradation. Although the complexities around land degradation have more recently been acknowledged, spatial modelling of this phenomenon remains a global challenge. In this study, measures of productivity derived from Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2A data have been integrated with local climate, land use, and socio-economic data to provide a more meaningful regional conceptual framework for land degradation. We create a novel method to map land condition utilising a set of 26 biological, topographic, climatic and land use covariates. The model results can be viewed in isolation as a measure of vegetation cover but are more useful when interpreted within the context of the environmental covariates. This can be accomplished through the Succulent Karoo Land Condition Inspector Google Earth Engine application. The data are intended to assist conservation planners in providing spatial data related to the current condition of the land in the biome, as well as to highlight areas where biodiversity is potentially at greater threat and where restoration initiatives or climate change adaptation are most needed. • Outline of a novel method to assess land condition using machine learning. • Improved land condition assessment of the Succulent Karoo biome in South Africa. • Data that contributes directly to the conservation of this biodiversity hotspot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CA is often tracked using simplified measures (e.g., proxies, self-assessments). • Common measures vastly overestimate comprehensive (or beneficial) CA adoption. • In self-reporting, farmers rely on older conservation-related concepts like no-till. • Overestimating beneficial adoption disincentivizes further risk management. • This raises serious concerns for CA's promotion, monitoring and evaluation. Commercial agriculture is central to problems of sustainability in food, water, energy and climate change. Appropriate solutions will depend on the effective promotion, monitoring and evaluation of changes in farming practice. Conservation agriculture (CA) is an important example of sustainable intensification and climate-smart agriculture, increasing the productivity and reliability of grain production while reducing agricultural inputs and future climate risks when adopted comprehensively. But to understand its implementation and benefits, researchers often rely on simplified measures of CA adoption (e.g., single proxies, binary measures, broad self-assessments, expert estimates). Here we use a national survey of South Africa's commercial grain farmers (n = 441), contextualized by previous interviews, to investigate common measures of adoption and their implications for CA's promotion, monitoring and evaluation. These farmers are unusually informative, because they are unsubsidized but have the capacity, incentive and willingness to adapt to climate change. We find that they are adopting CA autonomously, but that their implementation is highly variable and their interpretation of farming practice differs from that of local experts. Single proxies, binary adoption variables and broad farmer self-assessments suggest that between 40 and 80% of farmers have adopted CA. However, when evaluated across the three CA principles using UN-defined adoption thresholds, the comprehensive adoption rate is only 14%. Farmers' definition of "conservation" differs substantially from that of the local experts most likely to be asked to contribute adoption estimates to global monitoring efforts, creating the potential for miscommunication. There is therefore substantial cause for concern in how CA is currently promoted, monitored and evaluated. Inaccurate adoption estimates jeopardize CA's potential as a climate change adaptation strategy, creating illusory progress that may disincentivize further substantive efforts towards agricultural sustainability and climate resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing human demands for ecosystem services due to climate change, population growth, poverty, lack of employment, tourism, and concomitant coastal property development threatens adaptive capacity in South Africa's coastlines. Adaptation strategies frequently propose ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) as a model for transformative change. However, several studies point to difficulties implementing EBA across the world. The aim of this paper is to assess to what extent social-ecological systems approaches and common pool resource (CPR) governance theories could inform EBA. Data obtained from interviews and surveys with policy makers and residents in South Africa's Garden Route District were interpreted using the robustness framework (RF) and the design principles (DPs), two common tools for analyzing CPR governance. We found that the Garden Route coast is threatened by negative interactions between hard public and private infrastructures and ecological infrastructures (the cornerstone of EBA) which are driven by weak local government bodies and asymmetrical power relations. By coding the data for elements/interactions within the RF and then identifying and mapping the DPs onto the RF, we also revealed ways to leverage transformative EBA in the Garden Route. Our analyses suggest that the interactions between human-made and ecological infrastructures, as well as power relation, should be at the core of any development debate. Trade-offs should aim for maximum congruence between sustainability and equity in ecosystem services provisioning. This paper provides some considerations for researchers and decision makers to leverage transformative EBA that could potentially apply to areas experiencing similar challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers in judgment and decision making have long debunked the idea that we are economically rational optimizers. However, problematic assumptions of rationality remain common in studies of agricultural economics and climate change adaptation, especially those that involve quantitative models. Recent movement toward more complex agent‐based modeling provides an opportunity to reconsider the empirical basis for farmer decision making. Here, we reconceptualize farmer decision making from the ground up, using an in situ mental models approach to analyze weather and climate risk management. We assess how large‐scale commercial grain farmers in South Africa (n = 90) coordinate decisions about weather, climate variability, and climate change with those around other environmental, agronomic, economic, political, and personal risks that they manage every day. Contrary to common simplifying assumptions, we show that these farmers tend to satisfice rather than optimize as they face intractable and multifaceted uncertainty; they make imperfect use of limited information; they are differently averse to different risks; they make decisions on multiple time horizons; they are cautious in responding to changing conditions; and their diverse risk perceptions contribute to important differences in individual behaviors. We find that they use two important nonoptimizing strategies, which we call cognitive thresholds and hazy hedging, to make practical decisions under pervasive uncertainty. These strategies, evident in farmers' simultaneous use of conservation agriculture and livestock to manage weather risks, are the messy in situ performance of naturalistic decision‐making techniques. These results may inform continued research on such behavioral tendencies in narrower lab‐ and modeling‐based studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) will likely experience more frequent heat waves by 2100, the health impacts of which are being prioritized for strategic focus. We identified challenges and opportunities for better operationalizing heat wave considerations within the Environmental Health Department of the City of Johannesburg. By obtaining a deeper appreciation of the 'issues of concern' and existing 'contradictions', that is the context in which these practitioners are located, the opportunities and barriers to engagement, helps to surface the issues that may confront the City when planning for extreme heat and climate change adaptation in the future. Currently, heat waves are absent from the local Department's mandate, with unclear legislative requirements blurring the responsibility for heat wave planning. Service delivery backlogs relegate heat wave considerations, as do the Department's constituencies for whom heat waves are not yet of concern. However, heat wave planning supports community health education; raising public awareness of associated health risks and should be considered in future 'climate proofing' the City. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative case studies were undertaken to explore the multiple, interacting factors that hinder and/or facilitate planned pro-poor climate change adaptation in four South African municipalities. A comparison of barriers and enablers across the cases revealed several key themes. Municipalities struggle to implement climate change adaptation within contexts of significant social, economic and ecological challenges. These contextual barriers, when combined with certain cognitive barriers, led to reactive responses. Existing municipal systems and structures make it difficult to enable climate change adaptation, which is inherently cross-sectoral and messy. Lack of locally applicable knowledge, funding and human resources were found to be significant resource barriers, and were often underlain by social barriers relating to perceptions, beliefs and governance challenges. Enablers of engaged officials, operating within conducive organizational environments and drawing on partnerships and networks, were able to circumvent these barriers to some extent. When enablers coincided with windows of opportunity that increased prioritization of climate change, projects with ancillary benefits were implemented. The implications of these results are discussed and suggestions made for how pro-poor municipal planned climate change adaptation that responds to the needs of vulnerable communities can be further understood and enabled in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Change triggered by natural hazards such as pluvial and coastal floods, sea-level rise as well as risks resulting from water scarcity are highly dynamic and related to the effects of ongoing climate change. Whether and how societies adapt, adjust, change, or transform because of climate change and related risks, is a currently debated topic. This question demands revisiting and comprehensively addressing existing theoretical foundations of transformations in risk management strategies and in risk governance to find effective ways to deal with climate change effects and their social consequences. Hence, the paper discusses current developments in transformation research and exemplifies this discussion with four interdisciplinary cases, which the co-authors reported in previous publications. Findings from Austria include a governance change within flood risk management related to zonation. Relocation in Indonesia and Kiribati showcases its cultural, behavioural as well as economic implications. Water scarcity in South Africa underlines the importance of behavioural change to enable the structural storage of rainwater. This paper analyses aspects of adjustment or transformation in these four examples. This may inform risk managers, decision-makers, practitioners, and planners dealing with natural hazards related to climate change how to conceptualise their (re-)actions. • Differences between the terms adaptation, adjustment, change, and transformation are analysed and working definitions suggested. • Triggers and interventions are analysed whether they express adaptation, adjustment, or transformation. • Empirical cases are re-analysed whether the changes therein exhibit elements of adaptation, adjustment, or transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the progress made in climate change adaptation in the city of Durban since the launch of the Municipal Climate Protection Programme in 2004. This includes the initial difficulties in getting the attention of key sectors within municipal government, and how this was addressed and also served by the more detailed understanding of the range of adaptation options and their cost-benefits. There is also a better understanding of the potentials and constraints on community-based adaptation and the opposition from some landowners to measures to protect and enhance ecosystem services. The paper ends with lessons learnt that contradict some common assumptions – for instance, what approaches best build support for climate change adaptation within local governments, what measures work and from where lessons can be drawn. It also describes the perhaps unexpected linkages between local action and international influence and highlights the need for international climate change negotiations to recognize the key roles of urban governments in developing locally rooted adaptation and resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sea-level rise is one of the consequences of global warming that has the potential to affect the infrastructure of coastal urban areas. In this context, it is important to perform vulnerability assessments in order to understand how this infrastructure may be at risk, and, if necessary, adapt and maintain functionality of infrastructure systems. This study investigates the vulnerability of the wastewater collection and disposal infrastructure (i.e. pipelines and manholes, pumping stations and wastewater treatment plants) to sea-level rise in eThekwini Municipality, South Africa. By using geographical information systems (GIS) and a multi-criteria analysis considering elevation, operational capacity and connectivity, a scale of vulnerability was established and the most vulnerable infrastructural elements were identified in the municipality. These should be prioritised for detailed monitoring and adaptive interventions in order to maintain the functionality of the wastewater system as sea level is predicted to rise. As such this study presents a model of how vulnerability of wastewater systems can be evaluated in coastal cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2008 the South African National Disaster Management Centre commissioned a study into measures taken by local municipalities to plan for climate change. Two areas were selected for their dissimilar climatic challenges: the //Khara Hais Municipality,1 a semi-desert area in the Northern Cape Province plagued by droughts and severe weather events, and the George Municipality, an area in the Western Cape Province plagued by droughts, the rising sea level and flash floods. It was found that despite South African laws and regulations requiring local government to take action to reduce the risk of disasters, planning for climate change is still no more than sophisticated rhetoric in the two municipalities. This lack of urgency can be ascribed to local municipalities having other more pressing developmental priorities. It would, however, be short-sighted of municipalities not to plan for climate change, as major setbacks in hard-won economic and social development follow a disaster. 1The // spelling represents the click consonant in the Kxoe language that the name comes from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki///Khara_Hais_Local_Municipality [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing evidence that climate change will be one of the primary challenges facing future development and agriculture. Farmers, whether crop or livestock farmers, will be faced with tradeoffs and constraints as climate change exposes them to greater risk and renders some of their current practices unworkable. This study assessed commercial livestock and game farmers’ knowledge and perceptions of climate variability and change in the semiarid Great Fish River Valley, South Africa, and their coping responses to a severe regional drought in 2009/2010. Detailed questionnaires revealed that farmers’ knowledge of global climate change was incomplete, suggesting that measures are needed to increase their understanding and awareness of likely impacts. Farmers were able to articulate a consistent story regarding how they believed local climate to have changed and most had implemented a variety of coping strategies in order to endure the drought. Some of these strategies were seen to have the potential to become longer-term adaptive practices. Farmers were, on the whole, open to considering new approaches and land uses such as carbon farming with Portulacaria afra (spekboom) to help them adapt to a more uncertain future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper provides an evidence-based contribution to understanding processes of climate change adaptation in water governance systems in the Netherlands, Australia and South Africa. It builds upon the work of Ostrom on institutional design principles for local common pool resources systems. We argue that for dealing with complexities and uncertainties related to climate change impacts (e.g. increased frequency and intensity of floods or droughts) additional or adjusted institutional design propositions are necessary that facilitate learning processes. This is especially the case for dealing with complex, cross-boundary and large-scale resource systems, such as river basins and delta areas in the Netherlands and South Africa or groundwater systems in Western Australia. In this paper we provide empirical support for a set of eight refined and extended institutional design propositions for the governance of adaptation to climate change in the water sector. Together they capture structural, agency and learning dimensions of the adaptation challenge and they provide a strong initial framework to explore key institutional issues in the governance of adaptation to climate change. These institutional design propositions support a “management as learning” approach to dealing with complexity and uncertainty. They do not specify blueprints, but encourage adaptation tuned to the specific features of local geography, ecology, economies and cultures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Evaluating the range of proposed adaptation measures to combat the sensitivity of agriculture to climate change effects involves evaluating complex interactions between human and natural systems. Integrated strategy-making and implementation in the agricultural sector to reduce the risks posed by climate change requires the consideration of multiple, interdisciplinary factors and the sensitivities of their interrelationships. Lack of information on the sensitivity of agricultural activities to climate change in Africa hampers climate change adaptation research on the region. In water scarce South Africa, the growth of the agricultural sector is threatened by projected decreases in water availability due to climate change. This paper shows how Bayesian networks may be used to facilitate cross-disciplinary participation in elucidating these sensitivities. Bayesian networks provide a graphical framework for mixing quantitative and qualitative information and can be characterised using information associated with varying degrees of uncertainty. This enables a variety of domain experts to test key driver-response interactions through sensitivity analysis and enables visualisation of the complex inter-relationships between inter-disciplinary variables resulting from the impacts of climate change scenarios on South African agriculture. The ability to represent the sensitivities between key variables for which varying degrees of data-scarcity and uncertainty occur provides agricultural sector researchers with a facilitation tool that may helps visualise and formulate climate change mitigation strategies. The results presented here illustrates the extreme sensitivity of water-scarce South African agricultural sector to projected climate change impacts and provides a framework in which tradeoffs between activities can be preliminarily assessed in strategy-making for adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate-related disasters in coastal urban areas are intensifying with significant impacts on populaces, environments, and ecosystems. Hence, climate-related disaster preparedness is now acknowledged by climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction experts. However, there is limited knowledge of communities and policy-makers on the integration of climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR). This paper through the lens of resilience theory presents goals towards linking coastal climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction from the case study of East London, coastal city in South Africa. This study gathered data through a semi-structured survey, aimed at defining salient public issues to improve CCA and DRR policies, public participation inclusion, and programmes. This study shows that the knowledge of CCA and DRR is relatively low in the study area, also the provision of disaster information by the local authority is quite low. Conversely, most of the respondents affirm that available disaster information is always in locally understood languages, this is important in understanding disaster early warning by local dwellers. Accordingly, in disaster information dissemination, the government should be proactive and responsive in spreading information that covers every people. Further work that respects the importance of indigenous knowledge for CCA and DRR integration is needed i.e. local participation in the framework of development endeavours, through the inclusion of indigenous people in policymaking at the sub-national, national and international levels, this would help them to participate in administrative processes that affect them; providing a resilient community, improved adaptive capacity and sustainable living. Effective flexibility, adaptability, interoperability among stakeholders at various levels are key ingredients to reaching these goals. Image 1 • Recommendations for linking CCA and DRR. • Elderly persons are the most affected group during disaster events. • The knowledge of a coastal community disaster plan in addressing local disaster needs is relatively low. • There is a significant positive relationship between CCA and DRR knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of local government for addressing environmental change, including climate change, was recognized at the 1992 Earth Summit. More so, coastal governance encompasses not only the actions of the state (which includes local governments), but also of other actors such as communities, businesses and civil society organizations. Solutions to improving coastal governance include the implementation of Integrated Coastal Management which also serves as means to plan and achieve climate change adaptation. This paper proposes the establishment of a framework and methodology to assess local coastal governance based on a composite of hierarchical metrics formed by different forms of capital and associated factors and indicators. The application of this methodology resulted in the description of a baseline for local coastal governance. This baseline is useful for informing different functional levels within local government, e.g. technical, managerial and political. The baseline consisted of a comprehensive assessment of the different forms of capitals furthered categorized by factors and measured by indicators of local coastal governance. The capitals approach and method for measuring governance is potentially repeatable and can identify progress towards longer-term coastal management and climate adaptation goals as well as areas requiring improvements. Ultimately, it can be developed into a self-assessment tool to help local government to think reflexively about how they are managing the coast and the climate risks impacting on coastal assets and people. • Local government is a key institution for addressing environmental and climate change. • Coastal governance encompasses the actions of the state and civil society. • A capital framework can be used to assess local coastal governance. • Local coastal governance can be assessed using factors and indicators. • The capitals approach evaluate the progress towards longer-term coastal management and climate adaptation goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial planning plays a significant role in enhancing climate change adaptation especially within urban areas by improving their resilience. Despite all this, cities especially in developing countries still experience the effects of climate change. This paper adopted a mixed method approach to examine township spatial planning and climate change adaptation in identifying potentialities for an integrated approach. Mdantsane case study as one of the largest townships in South Africa was assessed as a unique landscape with reminiscent of apartheid legacies to improve the people's climate change adaptation under urban poverty, lack of basic facilities and other environmental challenges. In keeping with a case study design, we collected data making use of pretested open and close-ended survey forms with an interplay of GIS and remote sensing techniques. This study reveals that Mdantsane is extremely susceptible to the impacts of climate change due to their built-up and natural environment set up as well as the existing interrelations. Thus, comprehensive integration of spatial planning is essential for proofing, health, wellbeing and resilience. Consequently, recommendations to seek strategic intervention and planning were made to sustain adaptation of residents to climate change in the future with specific focus to reduce climate and environmental risks in Mdantsane Township. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of water related risks resulting from climate change and rapid urbanization, water resources in South African cities have increasingly come under pressure. Following the most recent drought period (2015–2018), local authorities such as the City of Cape Town are being tasked with restructuring policy to include climate change adaptation strategies to adapt more adequately and proactively to these new challenges. This paper describes an evaluation of the water governance processes required to implement Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) in Cape Town—with a specific focus on the barriers to, and opportunities for, those processes related to wastewater treatment, flood risk and the pressing issue of water scarcity. The City Blueprint Approach (CBA) was selected as the indicator assessment approach for this task. The CBA is a set of diagnostic tools comprising the Trends and Pressures Framework, the City Blueprint Framework and the Governance Capacity Framework. This was applied to Cape Town based on in-depth interviews and publicly available information. The analysis revealed that smart monitoring, community knowledge and experimentation with alternative water management technologies are important when considering uncertainties and complexities in the governance of urban water challenges. We conclude that there is potential for Cape Town to transition to a water sensitive city through learning from this experimentation and by implementing WSUD strategies that address water scarcity following the shifts in governance caused by the 2015–2018 drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers in judgment and decision making have long debunked the idea that we are economically rational optimizers. However, problematic assumptions of rationality remain common in studies of agricultural economics and climate change adaptation, especially those that involve quantitative models. Recent movement toward more complex agent-based modeling provides an opportunity to reconsider the empirical basis for farmer decision making. Here, we reconceptualize farmer decision making from the ground up, using an in situ mental models approach to analyze weather and climate risk management. We assess how large-scale commercial grain farmers in South Africa (n = 90) coordinate decisions about weather, climate variability, and climate change with those around other environmental, agronomic, economic, political, and personal risks that they manage every day. Contrary to common simplifying assumptions, we show that these farmers tend to satisfice rather than optimize as they face intractable and multifaceted uncertainty; they make imperfect use of limited information; they are differently averse to different risks; they make decisions on multiple time horizons; they are cautious in responding to changing conditions; and their diverse risk perceptions contribute to important differences in individual behaviors. We find that they use two important nonoptimizing strategies, which we call cognitive thresholds and hazy hedging, to make practical decisions under pervasive uncertainty. These strategies, evident in farmers' simultaneous use of conservation agriculture and livestock to manage weather risks, are the messy in situ performance of naturalistic decision-making techniques. These results may inform continued research on such behavioral tendencies in narrower lab- and modeling-based studies., (© 2019 Society for Risk Analysis.)