Vulnerability of Environmental Components to Climate Change and Farming Strategies in the Adja-Ouere-Pobe Doublet in the South-Eastern Benin

Abstract

This research studies the vulnerability of environmental components to climate change and the peasant strategies adopted in the doublet.Adja-Ouèrè-Pobè in the Plateau department in Benin. The climatological data consist of rainfall amounts and temperatures over the period 1981-2017. The determination of the evolution of the climate was made usingclimate diagnostic analysis tools (moving average, indices, etc.) and descriptive statistics (average, standard deviation, etc.). The environmental impacts were evaluated through the Leopold matrix crossed with the reference framework of the ABE and the degree of vulnerability is measured from the resistance capacity of the environmental components in the face of the impacts. The results obtained showa warming trend of around 0.9°C over the period 1981-2017 and a decrease in annual rainfall totals. These cumulative situations would disrupt agricultural activities. This weakens the main components of the environment between 1981 and 2006 with an average rate of regression of –12.42%. By 2050, if demographic and climatic trends continue, the environment of the study area will be increasingly degraded.