1. Socio-Economic Profile Poverty is a key indicator – poverty leaves people more vulnerable to change and less able to recover from its impacts - Low levels of education - very high and growing unemployment - high levels of income inequality - declining productivity in mining - declining productivity in agriculture as a result of land degradation and over-grazing; and climate and cost related competitiveness - pervasive rural poverty and isolation - lack of access to reliable services and infrastructure in some areas - high dependence on government grants for income - very water scarce and affected by droughts and floods Town infrastructure and main road networks are generally good Vulnerable population overall An increase in aridity due to climate change could exacerbate unemployment, water scarcity, and productivity problems

3. Environmental Profile The Succulent Karoo is a biodiversity hotspot (high endemism, high transformation)

4. Environmental Profile continued… Pressures on land include - Mining - Agricultural expansion e.g. cropping in wetlands - over-abstraction of limited water resources - natural aridity and water scarcity - invasion of alien plant species Land-use is defined by extensive grazing of small stock (95%) – this is a practice theoretically compatible with biodiversity conservation, EbA, and the maintenance of ecosystem services New mining developments and mine closure/transfer arrangements without careful restoration present a serious threat to the natural environment Succulent Karoo veld grows slowly and so takes a long time to recover from disturbance

5. 1967 2003 Near Kamieskroon; Hoffman and Rohde 2007

6. Conclusion Climate change is a risk multiplier; impact on institutions, populations, and the environment Vulnerability is linked with social and economic development Many people in the NDM are dependent on farm income for their livelihoods – these are directly dependent on natural resources Tourism is a growth sector and also depends on a healthy environment The natural environment is already challenging – hot, arid, water scarce, subject to extreme weather events – and challenged – highly transformed and slow to recover Adaptation cannot be practiced in silos – healthy and resilient institutions, people, and ecosystems are equally needed for effective climate change response Resilient communities depend on diverse livelihoods options, grounded in healthy, bio-diverse ecosystems

7. Thank you. Questions?