Assessment of adaptive capacity of communities to climate change in Mbakaange Council Ward, Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

Information on adaptive capacity of communities to climate change in the Mbakaange Council Ward, Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria is lacking. Consequently, the study was conducted to provide information on the socio-economic characteristics and adaptive capacity of the people in five communities in the study area. Simple random and purposive sampling techniques were adopted to sample 250 respondents for the study. Descriptive Statistics and Adaptive Capacity were used to analyse the objectives of the study. The field result shows that the mean age of the respondents was 47years. Majority of respondents were married and mean household size was 14. Mean years of residence was 38 years while the estimated mean annual income of the people was ₦324,077.76. Adaptive Capacity (AC) was high among the people of Mbaikyo (4.39), Mbashaagba (3.58) and Mbapin (3.54) communities and low in Mbakunde (2.86) and Mbaakakwase (2.31) communities. The study recommends intervention geared towards enhancing the adaptive capacity of the people by the State and local authorities. These policies should be specifically geared towards low adaptive capacity areas with emphasis on poverty reduction.

Keywords: Adaptive, capacity, communities, Mbakaange