Climate Change Threats to UNESCO-Designated World Heritage Sites: Empirical Evidence from Konso Cultural Landscape, Ethiopia

Yimer Mohammed Assen (), Abiyot Legesse Kura, Engida Esayas Dube, Girma Kelboro Mensuro, Asebe Regassa Debelo and Leta Bekele Gure
Additional contact information
Yimer Mohammed Assen: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Dilla University, Dilla P.O. Box 419, Ethiopia
Abiyot Legesse Kura: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Dilla University, Dilla P.O. Box 419, Ethiopia
Engida Esayas Dube: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Dilla University, Dilla P.O. Box 419, Ethiopia
Girma Kelboro Mensuro: Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Genscherallee 3, D-53113 Bonn, Germany
Asebe Regassa Debelo: Department of Geography, Zurich University, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland
Leta Bekele Gure: Ethiopian Meteorology Institute, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 1090, Ethiopia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-27

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate temperature and rainfall variations and their effects on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Konso cultural landscape, Ethiopia, using dense merged satellite–gauge-station rainfall data (1981–2020) with a spatial resolution of 4 km-by-4 km and observed maximum and min temperature data (1987–2020), together with qualitative data gathered from cultural leaders, local administrators and religious leaders. The Climate Data tool (CDT) software version 8 was used for rainfall- and temperature-data analysis. The results showed that the north and northeastern regions of Konso had significant increases in rainfall. However, it was highly variable and erratic, resulting in extreme droughts and floods. The study confirmed that there were significant ( p < 0.05) increasing trends in the number of days with heavy rainfall, very-heavy rainfall days, and annual total wet-day rainfall (R10 mm, 20 mm, and PRCPTOT). The highest daily minimum temperature, lowest and highest daily maximum-temperature number of warm days and nights, and number of cold days and nights all showed significant rising trends. The increasing trends in rainfall and temperature extremes have resulted in flooding and warming of the study area, respectively. These have led to the destruction of terraces, soil erosion, loss of life and damage of properties, loss of grasses, food insecurity, migration, loss of biodiversity, and commodification of stones. The continuous decline in farmland productivity is affecting the livelihood and traditional ceremonies of the Konso people, which are helpful for the transfer of traditional resource-management knowledge to the next generation. It is therefore necessary to implement local-scale climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies in order to safeguard the Konso cultural landscapes as a worldwide cultural asset and to bolster the resilience of smallholder farmers.

Keywords: cultural landscape; extremes indices; drought; adaptation; mitigation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/19/8442/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/19/8442/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:19:p:8442-:d:1487731

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().