Managing climate change through social justice in Africa: Key lessons from the Libode area of Eastern Cape, South Africa

Abstract

Climate change is considered as one of the greatest challenges to humanity, with Africa seen as one of the most affected continents due to low resilience and adaptive capacities. The complex interaction between multiple socio-ecological and economic stressors pose a great challenge to the application of the concept of social justice and its associated principles in managing climate change in Africa. Based on empirical research with 150 respondents and interactions in Libode, this paper highlights that water, food and settlement insecurities, floods, crop and animal losses and water-borne diseases remain some of the key negative impacts of climate change to rural residents in the Eastern Cape Province. Despite these adverse effects, the application of the core principles embedded in social justice as a tool for managing climate change impacts in the study area is elusive due to inadequate socio-economic and natural adjustments in response to actual and/or expected climate change adverse effects. The paper concludes that various forms of socio-economic and environmental inequalities can be reduced to the barest minimum and increase social transformation drastically in the Eastern Cape through the application of the principles of social justice to enhance adaptive capabilities.