Adaptation to climate change impacts: coping strategies of an indigenous community in Ghana to declining water supply

Climate change can have disruptive impacts on water and other natural resources. In view of this, there is the need to marshal efforts and utilize available knowledge from diverse sources to enable society adapt to challenges associated with climate change. While a number of scientifically based and tested strategies have been utilized, indigenous means of adapting to global warming and other climate change impacts are also available. This study unearthed coping strategies adopted by Dupong, an indigenous community in Ghana to limit adverse impacts of climate change-induced water shortages. Community members were able to identify simple indicators that signalled climate change and its impacts on their water supply conditions. In addition, they adopted key strategies such as rainwater harvesting, reliance on alternative sources of water and increased roles of males in household water collection that enabled them to minimize the adverse impacts of climate change on their water supply situation. This paper argues that while these indigenous adaptation strategies are not perfect, they are affordable hence key adaptive measures such as rainwater harvesting could be improved upon to enhance their usefulness as coping mechanisms against climate change-induced declining water supply.