Climate adaptation or interactions between social and ecological systems - these are the topics of economist Bernd Siebenhüner. Here he reports on his projects in Africa.

"In South and East Africa, we have researched what options people have to deal with climate change - such as a rise in temperature or changes in the likelihood of rainfall. Many village communities are already being challenged by rapid social changes, such as strong population growth and migration to the cities. Climate change is rarely the main problem there, but is of course an additional stress factor. This makes climate protection research and, above all, climate adaptation research very exciting, but also very challenging: you can't look at the individual factors in isolation, but have to consider the respective socio-ecological structure.

For us, this means that we look at the local conditions - the ecology, which actors there are, the specific threats and opportunities for change. In East Africa, for example, we looked at the question of how agriculture can still be practised in the face of severe drought. We investigated whether innovations such as a particularly drought-resistant type of bean are suitable for this, or whether switching to terraced cultivation could keep more water in the soil and prevent soil erosion.

In South Africa, the focus was more on social issues: during apartheid, the local population was resettled from many parts of the country to separate villages in the so-called 'homelands', where they were expected to establish their own structures. As a result, there was little connection to the landscape and no habits of utilising it agriculturally. Over time, a type of bush has spread that destroys the fertile soil. As a result, the soil can absorb less water and agriculture is no longer possible. So here it is more a question of creating institutions that ensure that the land is properly maintained and cared for so that it is less susceptible to extreme weather."