Publication:
Catchment Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) for Lesotho roads: Development of Vulnerability Assessment Tool for Lesotho Roads and Vulnerability Assessment of Selected Catchment Areas

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (17.49 MB)
226 downloads
English Text (117.66 KB)
12 downloads
Date
2023-06-07
ISSN
Published
2023-06-07
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The Kingdom of Lesotho is a landlocked country in southern Africa. Large pockets of the population reside along the Senqu River Valley in the south-eastern reaches of the country, and some of the roads traverse this river to connect to the mountainous areas. Increasing temperatures and changing rainfall patterns due to climate change negatively impacts Lesotho’s road network. Sustained land degradation, soil erosion, and increased demand on ecosystem services threatens infrastructure and the health of Lesotho’s natural ecosystems, including wetlands. Climate change risk studies are often addressed through top-down approaches using climate projections and modelled impacts. However, a bottom-up approach is also required to focus on the recent past and present vulnerability. Whilst top-down and bottom-up approaches generate complementary insights into who and what is at risk, integrating their results is a much-needed step towards developing relevant information to address the needs of immediate adaptation decisions. The local-level risk assessment presented in this report is an example of a bottom-up approach to climate risk analysis that helps identify specific risks and opportunities for adaptation. The national level climate risk and vulnerability assessment presented in the national level risk assessment report complements the local-level climate risk and vulnerability assessment.
Link to Data Set
Citation
World Bank. 2023. Catchment Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) for Lesotho roads: Development of Vulnerability Assessment Tool for Lesotho Roads and Vulnerability Assessment of Selected Catchment Areas. © World bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/39862 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    National Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) for Roads in Lesotho
    (Washington, DC, 2023-06-07) World Bank
    The Kingdom of Lesotho is a landlocked country in southern Africa. Large pockets of the population reside along the Senqu River Valley in the south-eastern reaches of the country, and some of the roads traverse this river to connect to the mountainous areas. Increasing temperatures and changing rainfall patterns due to climate change negatively impacts Lesotho’s road network. Sustained land degradation, soil erosion, and increased demand on ecosystem services threatens infrastructure and the health of Lesotho’s natural ecosystems, including wetlands. The primary aim of this study was to undertake a review of existing frameworks for climate and environment vulnerability assessments for roads and to adapt these to the Lesotho context in line with Southern African Development Community (SADC) protocol on transport, the National Strategic Development Plan of Lesotho, and the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) Design Guidelines. The adapted climate and environmental risk framework then formed the basis for developing a climate change risk and vulnerability and assessment methodology/tool.
  • Publication
    Climate Vulnerability Assessments : An Assessment of Climate Change Vulnerability, Risk, and Adaptation in Albania’s Power Sector
    (World Bank, 2009-12-01) World Bank
    Energy security is a key concern in Albania, which relies on hydropower for about 90 percent of its electricity production. While renewable energy resources like hydropower play a fundamental role in moving the world towards a low-carbon economy, they are also vulnerable to climatic conditions. Climate variability already affects Albania's energy production to a considerable extent, and climate change is bringing further challenges. This report summarizes work conducted in partnership with stakeholders in Albania's energy sector and other closely related sectors. It aimed to build greater understanding of the climate risks faced by the energy sector and of priority actions that could be taken to reduce vulnerabilities. The remainder of this report is set out as follows: section two describes the context for this assessment, covering the Albanian energy sector, observed and projected climatic conditions and Albania's adaptive capacity. Section three outlines the climatic vulnerabilities, risks, and opportunities facing Albania's energy sector. Section four describes the key adaptation options identified for managing climate risks to the energy sector. Section five provides the cost-benefit analysis of physical adaptation options. Section six sets out next steps for improving the climate resilience of Albania's energy sector. Finally, section seven includes references and lists of annexes and appendices.
  • Publication
    Yemen - Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on the Water and Agricultural Sectors and the Policy Implications
    (World Bank, 2010-04-22) World Bank
    Yemen is particularly vulnerable to climate change and variability impacts because of its water dependence and current high levels of water stress. This natural resource challenge is compounded by demographic pressure, weak governance and institutions, and by a deteriorating economic situation. The economic and social outlook is not bright, and planning and international support will certainly be needed to help Yemen to adapt to the further stresses caused by climate change and variability. In the light of these challenges, the government has developed a National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA). In support of this, the World Bank commissioned a series of studies of climate change in two phases: the first phase projected climate change scenarios for Yemen, and phase two assessed climate change impacts on the agricultural and water sectors, and outlined possible policy and program responses. The present study is essentially a digest of the work done to date, and is intended as a contribution to Government's process of assessing vulnerability and adaptation options by: (i) assessing possible impacts on the water balance and on agriculture and rural livelihoods; and (ii) reviewing adaptation options and the priorities for government policies, strategies and investments.
  • Publication
    Lesotho Post-Disaster Needs Assessment : Heavy Rains 2010-11
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011) Government of Lesotho
    The Kingdom of Lesotho is a land-locked nation located in the Drakensberg mountain range in Southern Africa. The country has a total area of 30355 km² and in 2009 had an estimated population of nearly 2.1 million, with nominal per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$ 1080 (in 2010). About 75 percent live in rural areas, often in scattered mountain villages, while most of the urban population lives in and around the capital Maseru and the surrounding low lands. The hazards that affect Lesotho are drought, snowfall, hailstorms, strong winds, localized floods, and early frost. Lesotho's vulnerability to these hazards is compounded by a number of other underlying factors, including high levels of poverty, particularly in rural areas where the scattered nature of settlements makes the provision of and access to social services difficult. The high HIV prevalence rate has resulted in the existence of vulnerable groups, particularly Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs). This document describes the implementation of the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) process, presents the findings of the assessment and makes initial recommendations for post-disaster recovery, reconstruction and risk reduction activities, to be considered by the Government.
  • Publication
    Lesotho - Sharing Growth by Reducing Inequality and Vulnerability : Choices for Change A Poverty, Gender, and Social Assessment
    (World Bank, 2010-06-01) World Bank
    Lesotho began a structural economic transformation in the early 1990s. The transformation has brought higher, more secure incomes to households while the government succeeded in dramatically improving access to services such as education, health, water, and transportation. Yet today, Lesotho faces a number of serious development challenges, including a high rate of chronic poverty, entrenched income inequality, and most troubling one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world. This report focuses on three main areas: i) livelihood patterns among Lesotho's households and how these correlate with opportunity and exclusion; ii) how the government could make access to public services and overall social development more equitable; and iii) how the economic and social vulnerabilities of households, including HIV/AIDS, could be alleviated in order to reduce poverty. In this report concludes that it is possible for Lesotho to reduce poverty and to continue its transition to an economically diverse middle-income country by undertaking three key strategies: continuing to develop the investment climate for labor-intensive production; implementing programs to support commercial agriculture and reduce land degradation in rural areas; and developing a strategy to support socioeconomic and geographic mobility of workers into higher-productivity sectors. Public funds should be better targeted towards assisting the poor to build human capital and manage risks. Other recommendations to improve the plight of the people of Lesotho include creating a more equitable and inclusive society, especially for women, and developing a more effective campaign against HIV/AIDS.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    World Development Report 2017
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2017-01-30) World Bank Group
    Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? This book addresses these fundamental questions, which are at the heart of development. Policy making and policy implementation do not occur in a vacuum. Rather, they take place in complex political and social settings, in which individuals and groups with unequal power interact within changing rules as they pursue conflicting interests. The process of these interactions is what this Report calls governance, and the space in which these interactions take place, the policy arena. The capacity of actors to commit and their willingness to cooperate and coordinate to achieve socially desirable goals are what matter for effectiveness. However, who bargains, who is excluded, and what barriers block entry to the policy arena determine the selection and implementation of policies and, consequently, their impact on development outcomes. Exclusion, capture, and clientelism are manifestations of power asymmetries that lead to failures to achieve security, growth, and equity. The distribution of power in society is partly determined by history. Yet, there is room for positive change. This Report reveals that governance can mitigate, even overcome, power asymmetries to bring about more effective policy interventions that achieve sustainable improvements in security, growth, and equity. This happens by shifting the incentives of those with power, reshaping their preferences in favor of good outcomes, and taking into account the interests of previously excluded participants. These changes can come about through bargains among elites and greater citizen engagement, as well as by international actors supporting rules that strengthen coalitions for reform.
  • Publication
    Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2018-10-17) World Bank
    The World Bank Group has two overarching goals: End extreme poverty by 2030 and promote shared prosperity by boosting the incomes of the bottom 40 percent of the population in each economy. As this year’s Poverty and Shared Prosperity report documents, the world continues to make progress toward these goals. In 2015, approximately one-tenth of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty, and the incomes of the bottom 40 percent rose in 77 percent of economies studied. But success cannot be taken for granted. Poverty remains high in Sub- Saharan Africa, as well as in fragile and conflict-affected states. At the same time, most of the world’s poor now live in middle-income countries, which tend to have higher national poverty lines. This year’s report tracks poverty comparisons at two higher poverty thresholds—$3.20 and $5.50 per day—which are typical of standards in lower- and upper-middle-income countries. In addition, the report introduces a societal poverty line based on each economy’s median income or consumption. Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018: Piecing Together the Poverty Puzzle also recognizes that poverty is not only about income and consumption—and it introduces a multidimensional poverty measure that adds other factors, such as access to education, electricity, drinking water, and sanitation. It also explores how inequality within households could affect the global profile of the poor. All these additional pieces enrich our understanding of the poverty puzzle, bringing us closer to solving it. For more information, please visit worldbank.org/PSP
  • Publication
    Global Economic Prospects, June 2023
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-06-06) World Bank
    Global growth is projected to slow significantly in the second half of this year, with weakness continuing in 2024. Inflation pressures persist, and tight monetary policy is expected to weigh substantially on activity. The possibility of more widespread bank turmoil and tighter monetary policy could result in even weaker global growth. Rising borrowing costs in advanced economies could lead to financial dislocations in the more vulnerable emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). In low-income countries, in particular, fiscal positions are increasingly precarious. Comprehensive policy action is needed at the global and national levels to foster macroeconomic and financial stability. Among many EMDEs, and especially in low-income countries, bolstering fiscal sustainability will require generating higher revenues, making spending more efficient, and improving debt management practices. Continued international cooperation is also necessary to tackle climate change, support populations affected by crises and hunger, and provide debt relief where needed. In the longer term, reversing a projected decline in EMDE potential growth will require reforms to bolster physical and human capital and labor-supply growth.
  • Publication
    Doing Business 2020
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2020) World Bank
    Doing Business 2020 is the 17th in a series of annual studies investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. It provides quantitative indicators covering 12 areas of the business environment in 190 economies. The goal of the Doing Business series is to provide objective data for use by governments in designing sound business regulatory policies and to encourage research on the important dimensions of the regulatory environment for firms.
  • Publication
    Infrastructure, Economic Growth, and Poverty
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-05) Timilsina, Govinda; Hochman, Gal; Song, Ze
    How much an economy should invest in its physical infrastructure is a crucial question being asked by policy makers from developing countries where financial resources for economic development are limited. This paper aims to address this question by bringing insights from the literature that investigates the relationship between infrastructure investment, economic growth, and poverty alleviation. The study shows that there is no consensus among the existing studies, which are mostly focused on industrialized economies, on the relationship between public investment and economic growth. Studies that investigate the relationship between physical infrastructure and economic growth mostly conclude that there exists a positive relationship. This is also true between physical infrastructure and income inequality, as reported by a few studies. This study also identifies many gaps in the literature and highlights the need for further studies to narrow them.