Advancing Climate Change Research in West Africa : Trends, Impacts, Vulnerability, Resilience, Adaptation and Sustainability Issues

Over the past few decades, agriculture and related sectors in West Africa have been challenged by climate change, which has become one of the most important developmental issues in the region. Whereas negative environmental and socio-economic impacts have been extensively documented in West Africa, future climate projections suggest that the situation will only get worse if relevant actions are not taken. Indeed, most of the West African countries remain characterized by a limited use of production technologies and information, and local economies heavily rely on a rain-fed agriculture.Despite the increasing number of studies focusing on climate change related issues, the methodological (ie: conceptual and analytical) approaches seem to become stagnant with mixed practical results in terms of mitigation and adaptation outcomes. Against this backdrop, the forthcoming book is aimed at showcasing innovative and promising approaches that can be used to advance our current knowledge of climate change trends, impacts, vulnerability, resilience and adaptation in West Africa.With the focus on agriculture and environment, the book compiles the latest developments in climate change research in West Africa by providing an overview of recent approaches used to better understand the vulnerability, resilience and adaptation to climate change. It also considers the methods and frameworks for assessing the sustainability of climate change adaptation.