Lesotho has recently faced prolonged droughts due to climate change, bringing about long periods of below-average rainfall to the entire Southern African region, leading to food shortages and other hardships. The vulnerability assessment revealed that climate change impacts are already evidenced in Lesotho by the increasing frequency of natural disasters (Ministry of Natural Resources, 2000). The country continuously experiences severe droughts, and some areas are threatened with desertification.

The soil has become fragile, and climate conditions make it difficult for the full potential of agroecological efforts to be realised. Thus, these conditions lead to food shortages and poverty in the households. A little under three-quarters of all Basotho still live in rural areas, and settlements tend to be high in the mountains, usually well above the deep river valleys, where flooding is an ever-present reality (Lesotho Review 2018). Climate change hits hard in these areas because the households depend on subsistence farming and local herbs. Lesotho has signed and ratified several UN conventions and protocols to control emissions and formulate and implement appropriate climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies (UNDP, 2018). On this note, pilot community councils were selected to improve the communities' climate change resilience and capacity development. The program aims to provide climate change resilience grants to local government, capacity building, and awareness campaigns, and it sets the stage for them to mainstream climate change into local government planning (Climate Change Adaptation, 2017). This project selects four districts and sixteen community councils in Lesotho to build decision-making capacity and incorporate adaptation priorities into local development plans (Lewis, n.d.) The four districts identified were Thaba-Tseka, Mafeteng, Mohales' Hoek and Qacha's Nek. These districts were found to be more exposed to climate change impacts (UNCDF LoCAL, 2017) due to higher likelihoods of drought, floods, strong winds and hail. This was augmented by information from Lesotho Meteorology Services: The risks considered include drought, floods, hailstorms and strong winds (UNCDF, LoCAL, 2017). Botha-Bothe, Maseru, Quthing, and Mokhotlong were found to be the most vulnerable to the degradation of their environmental capital due to the high population and livestock density on arable land.

Botha-Bothe was indicated as having the highest vulnerabilities, as confirmed by the results of the Child Nutrition Assessment per district and the Lesotho Emergency Response Study conducted by the Disaster Management Authority (DMA) and the Lesotho Vulnerabilities Assessment Committee (LVAC) in 2014 and 2016 respectively. The article will then show those councils selected for the above purpose. The two councils selected for this research article are the Nqoe Community Council in Botha-Bothe district and the Khoelenya Community Council from Mohales' Hoek district since these councils were selected for the pilot adaptation project. The article will assess whether these programmes helped farmers adapt and become more resilient with innovative practices transforming how they plant crops, raise stock, and manage natural resources. The article will assess how the aim of the programme was implemented, how it was received, and what its impact was on the local communities in the selected councils' areas. The community councils are regarded as gateways for development facilitation at the local level and custodians of all developments; therefore, they are strategically positioned to fulfill the coordination role of this programme in Lesotho. It is hoped that the community councils will effect meaningful change regarding climate change issues because they are close to people.                                           

Conceptual Framework

Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns in a specific place (United Nations Climate Action, n.d.). It may cause weather patterns to be less predictable and make it difficult to maintain and grow crops in the regions that rely on farming. Lesotho's economic growth slowed in 2016 as activities in the services sector decelerated, and agricultural output fell because of the region-wide drought (Lesotho Review, 2018:3). Warming ocean temperatures are associated with stronger and more frequent storms and additional rainfall, leading to floods and other damage. An increase in the incidence and severity of wildfires threatens habitants' homes and lives, and heat waves contribute to human deaths and other consequences. Human activities have been the main drivers of climate change through burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, industry by-products, the transport sector, buildings, agricultural practices, and unfavourable land use (United Nations Climate Action, n.d.). As a result, Lesotho has been experiencing an increasing frequency of natural disasters and extreme weather events such as droughts, storms and floods. Farming, a major source of living in rural areas, is in a steady decline while food insecurity, human and animal, as well as crop diseases, loss of biodiversity, soil loss, land and environmental degradation and depletion of the country's natural resources, are in the increase (National Climate Change Policy, 2017). Lesotho faces challenges such as pasture degradation and desertification, habitat shrinkage, decreased plant species and wildlife, and increased frequency and magnitude of climate disasters, including drought (Ministry of Energy and Meteorology, 2017).

Methodology

Data collection for this paper was based on two methods: a desktop review of secondary sources and this will be a critical review of the existing literature in the form of books, monographs, journal articles, and reports. This literature was carefully selected based on the issues in question. Apart from the information drawn from the existing literature, interviews were conducted with representatives of different offices involved in the programme and representatives of the officials from the two community councils where the case is taken. Specifically, I got information from the officials from the UNDP office, the Lesotho Meteorology Service department, and the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship. These officials were asked through the interviews to provide information on such issues as the aim of the programme, its importance and the implementation process (roles of each office, responsibilities and relationships in the project); how the councils handle the whole programme and how it was trickled down to community members. They will also be asked how the communities are receiving the programmes. The challenges and solutions to such challenges will be explored. The local climate change adaptive facility is a mechanism that works in developing countries characterised by high levels of poverty and climate vulnerability. The conclusion will be drawn on the findings, which will form the basis for recommendations to the broader community and show how local governments can be powerful actors in advancing climate resilience programmes within the existing country systems and structures.

The two community councils which were used as informants for the research are Khoelenya Community Council, which is based in the Mohales'Hoek district in the southern part of the country, which is the most vulnerable livelihood zone to the impacts of climate change and Nqoe Community Council, which is based in the Botha-Bothe district in the northern part of the country which has the households who earn the lowest income from wages and salaries (UNCDF LoCAL, 2017:51) in the country. With increasing food insecurity, the people here are vulnerable regarding their well-being. The research identifies the programme's purpose on climate change, its reception, and its benefits for communities within the councils' areas. The two councils were selected because they come from different areas of the country, the south and the northern part, which are different. They are both in the lowlands, but the south part is arid while the north is not very dry.

Findings of the study

The adaptation to climate change project was introduced to four districts and sixteen community councils to build decision-making capacity and empower them to identify and incorporate adaptation priorities into local development plans. Two different projects have been used to achieve this: the USAID and UNDP programmes. The USAID-funded project was set to develop climate change adaptation strategies to enhance the resilience of livelihood and ecosystems. In contrast, the UNDP project was established through the Lesotho Meteorology Service and entitled Strengthening Rural Livelihoods Severely Affected by Climate Change- Induced Drought in Lesotho (Lewis, n.d.). The Department of Lesotho Meteorology Service has a role to play in these projects that are intended to reduce the impact of climate change on the citizens. The information from the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship, Meteorology Department and UNDP will be discussed below. Also, information from the Khoelenya Community Council and the Nqoe Community will be provided below.

Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship (MoLGC)

The Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship is responsible for the ongoing management and implementation of the projects through the community councils. It has experience coordinating several district planning ministries (LoCAL in Lesotho, 2017). The other purpose of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship was to report to the National Climate Change Committee (NCCC), chaired by the Lesotho Meteorology Services, on the progress of the climate change projects in different community councils. The Ministry works in these programmes through its Department of Planning and Decentralisation, which aims to mitigate, adapt, and increase the resilience of communities towards climate change. The programme has pilot phases of three cycles, which started with four councils in Mohale's Hoek, Khoelenya, Lithipeng, Senqunyane and Qhoasing). As mentioned in this article, the two community councils used for this case study are Khoelenya and Nqoe.

The Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship (MoLGC) becomes a strong partner of the programme to promote adaptation to community Councils and supervise that the grants are destined for community councils (LoCaL, 2017). Also, the MoLGC prepares the mobilisation and provides technical assistance to the District and Community councils (LoCAL in Lesotho 2017:55). The team members are from the headquarters, and they provide technical advice to assist social groups in the councils in coming up with plans approved by the district councils. Through the Ministry, the councils under these projects can open bank accounts authorised by the Accountant General and co-signed by the chair of the councils and the District Council Finance Manager (LoCAL in Lesotho, 2017). The councils are provided with the financial reporting template, which they use to make reports about financial utilisation and submit such reports to the LoCAL Lesotho Committee through the District Technical Team. The team also checks and facilitates annual performance assessments and auditing of books to maintain transparency about the operation of the councils.

According to the Ministry of Local Government, this programme's success story is that water standpipes are within reach; people do not have to walk long distances to fetch water. The councils have also worked on their pastures for the livestock. They have been taught about high-yield seeds which can be drought tolerant. One person narrated her story: She was given shade nets and an irrigation system for vegetable production, seeds and seedling inputs, fertilisers and technical expertise to set up the state-of-the-art permaculture farming system (UNDP, 2021). They can also dry fruits using machines provided by UNDP and bottle other fruits and vegetables for future use or sale. They were also provided with a honey processing machine and sold honey production to local and international markets (UNDP, 2021). The programme has restored people's lives and trust that things are happening to improve the future. A tangible example is that with water availability, they can now plant and trade cash crops (UNDP, 2021).

The Ministry of Local Government has also elaborated that some challenges hinder the progress of their programs, such as a lack of transport for the team to visit the councils on time, especially for monitoring and evaluation purposes. Funding is limited; therefore, there are specific things they cannot cover with the restraints of the current budget. The Ministry concluded by appreciating that it works with other core ministries, such as the Ministry of Finance, to open accounts for councils' accounting and reporting (UNCDF LoCAL, 2017). The Ministry must ensure that the programme's implementation, including its monitoring and performance assessment, takes place correctly.

Lesotho Meteorology Services (LMS) Department

The LMS department is within the Ministry of Energy. Its work is to support and coordinate all the projects geared toward awareness of climate change in the country. It is the primary contact point for international and local matters regarding climate change, among others. This department is supported by technical expertise to disseminate proper information to communities on how they can adapt to climate change. In 2017, LMS established a National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) to make its climate change coordination role more effective. This advisory body is composed of representatives from governmental and non-state stakeholder institutions (Ministry of Energy, 2017). This committee has to monitor, evaluate, and report on implementing national and sectoral climate change. This is why the department supported the UNDP programmes in community councils for adaptation and mitigation responses to climate change.

The government of Lesotho initiated the process of formulating the National Climate Change Policy geared towards ensuring environmental sustainability and enhancing socio-economic viability. Considering that the country is highly vulnerable, it is clear that the ability to address climate change depends on a sound and well-structured Climate Change Policy. The department of LMS formulated the National Climate Policy in 2017. The policy provides strategic directions and coordination on climate change issues, cognizant of its linkages with sustainable development (National Climate Change Policy, 2017). This policy contains strategies to reduce the impact of climate change on the communities.

The country has experienced different hazards that lead to natural disasters. These disasters mainly affect the rural areas where most Basotho reside and the poor are more vulnerable to climate change since they do not have sufficient income to prepare and protect themselves from adverse effects of climate change UNDP, 2020). Farming, a significant source of living in rural areas, is steadily declining (National Climate Policy, 2017). Climate change puts a lot of pressure on land and soil, with an estimated 40 million tons of soil lost yearly due to erosion (National Climate Change Policy, 2017). The National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) was established as an advisory body of representatives from governmental and non-state stakeholder institutions. This body has to enhance coordination and dialogue amongst national stakeholders on climate change issues (Ministry of Energy and Meteorology, 2017). The other established committee was the Local Climate Change Coordinating Committee (LCCCC), which works with districts and community levels to assist with vulnerability and risk assessments conducted in their local areas by consultants. To plan and mount public awareness campaigns on climate change. LCCCC is to be provided with financial resources to help individual households and communities make decisions that reduce their exposure to climate risks. (Ministry of Energy, 2017:11). There is also the Climate Change Coordinators Group (CCC), which was trained so that they can work together with the groups mentioned above to undertake vulnerability and risk assessments in their respective climate-sensitive sectors and make projections of future vulnerabilities under different local climate change scenarios (Ministry of Energy and Meteorology, 2017). 

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

According to the contact person of the UNDP project for local councils, the programme aimed to enhance the capacity of governmental institutions and local communities to incorporate climate change risks into policies and strategies through local councils. Also, innovative ecosystems, rehabilitation, and management can be implemented using a community-based approach through community councils. UNDP helps farmers adapt and become more resilient with innovative programmes to transform how they plant crops, raise stock and manage natural resources (Adapting to Lesotho's changing climate UN news 2020). The persistent issue is that the farmers in Lesotho may have to cope with droughts, rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events. In addition, soil loss and land degradation have accelerated due to increasing and combined pressures of agricultural and livestock production (National Climate Policy, 2017).

The contact person elaborated that the local councils were to be used since they are the authority at the local level. The programme had to incorporate into plans for planting productive crops and conservation agriculture. Awareness programmes were undertaken with a specific focus on themes such as harvesting water in dams, planting without disturbing soils, and utilising greenhouses and protection nets. A capacity workshop series was held in councils, and one-day follow-up sessions with each community council were undertaken (Nobala & Mosiuoa, 2020). The community members were made aware that they would not be paid for whatever work they did since they were the beneficiaries of the outcome. Thus, all work was voluntary. The awareness of climate change trickled down to schools such as Bethesda High School, where UNDP provided greenhouses for vegetables and skills to practice smart agriculture to benefit food security at the school. The school can now feed its students, sell excess produce, and have money to buy more seedlings for future plantations, the headmistress noted (UNDP, 2022).

The programme continued to assist with providing agricultural inputs such as high-yield seeds; this was done as an incentive for farmers. The raising of the stock in number was also checked to ensure a good quality breed of sheep and goats to produce quality wool and mohair. The communities were empowered through training on how to preserve fruit and vegetables using methods such as mass canning and drying using solar-powered dryers (which were provided to them) so that they could sell some to get money. The environment also had to be taken care of by the communities. The councils enforced the laws for the protection of rangelands during grazing. According to Nobala and Mosiuoa (2020), capacity development improved community-based monitoring of sustainable land use and livelihood practices, increasing agricultural yields and maintaining ecosystems.

A UNDP officer concluded by making the following recommendations to the councils and communities: The environmental issues should be taught from the high school levels so that school students could be aware of the importance of environment and they could take of it. He recommended that every Ministry should have a budget to respond to climate change. The Disaster Management Authority's mandate has to change so that it can mitigate disasters and respond effectively. During the inclusive climate adaptation in the community councils of Lesotho, 115 people were trained on climate issues, 51 females and 64 males (UNDP, 2023). 

Khoelenya Community Council

This community council was among the four community councils in Mohale's Hoek to be included in the project offered by UNDP for climate change. Mohale's Hoek is regarded as the most vulnerable district in the country based on the results of a climate change risk analysis to select community councils that were the most vulnerable to climate change. The outcome of the combined analysis of climate change risks and hazards indicates that the most vulnerable districts are Thaba-Tseka, Mafeteng and Mohale's Hoek (UNCDF, LoCAL 2017:74). This project was for four years, starting from August 2020. Its purpose is to sensitise communities on climate change issues and adaptive methods to combat it. In addition, the project aims to empower people to address the effects of climate change in Lesotho using community councils (Lesotho News Agency, 2023). This project is entitled Improving Adaptive Capacity of Vulnerable and Food insecure populations in Lesotho' (IACOV). The project has development guidelines for this council to ensure the sustainability of ongoing developments in their community. Khoelenya Community Council has 142 villages under its jurisdiction. With climate change, it suffers drought, wind storms and high mortality rates among livestock, leading to increased food insecurity and poverty in the community (Nobala & Mosiuoa, 2020:26). They had public gatherings to raise awareness about climate change in their community. They distributed the awareness print materials in their respective electoral divisions.

Through this project, experts have guided the councils to switch to keyhole farming (Lentloane), which significantly conserves moisture, instead of the current methods (Insert the name here). The purpose was also to plant crops more suited to drier soil conditions. The community members were urged to have this (lentlaone) to provide their households with vegetables. It is easy to water them even if there is no rain. Independently, families have reared Boscheveld free-range chickens for subsistence purposes. Also, during a very wet season, the community members were given subsidies to bridge the gap brought on by poor harvests due to climate change (Lesotho News Agency, 2023).

The capacity-building programmes involved biodiversity conservation activities planned as part of the adaptation strategy for the councils. There is a need to protect resources such as wetlands and improve agricultural production, both crops and livestock. Through their councils, the communities were taught how to rehabilitate the rangelands and harvest rainwater for future use. The council collaborated with community-based organisations to avoid duplication of efforts in climate change adaptation.

The project has also financed water supply infrastructure in community councils, including Khoelenya, to benefit 6,904 households (UNCDF LoCAL, 2017). The community members were encouraged to have an orchard to have fruits, which they could bottle, dry, and sell during and beyond the harvest season. Mr Teane narrated his story of having 680 trees of apples, pears, and peaches in his orchard, but only 400 survived. The surviving trees still yield fruits, which he regularly sells (UNDP, 2021). This led to the idea of a group of youth being trained in crop farming, and this initiative has started to produce results. The project provided tools, technologies and capacities for adaptation programs that promote ecosystem management by communities. It will upscale the lessons learned to enable replication elsewhere in the country. Since the Khoelenya community council handles many villagers, this will enable livelihoods to reduce pressure placed on natural resources by traditional agricultural practices.     

Nqoe Community Council

Nqoe Community Council is based in the Botha Bothe district in the Northern part of the country within the Motete No. 03 constituency. This council has twenty-five councillors and seventeen electoral divisions. The significant climate change challenges reported by this council were strong winds, heavy rainfall coupled with thunderstorms, and extremely low winter temperatures with heavy snowfall. The negative impacts include loss of biodiversity, extreme forms of soil erosion induced by frequent torrential rain, accelerated land and environmental degradation, and increased depletion of the country's natural resource base (Climate Change Policy, 2017). Through a Meteorological Service entitled Strengthening Rural Livelihoods Severely Affected by Climate Change, the UNDP introduced climate change adaptation in the development plans of this council. It came with the strategy of building awareness capacity across communities in this area. Nqoe Community Council had its capacity-building workshops in September 2013 (Nobala and Mosiuoa, 2020) to understand climate change and its impact and realise its impact on both men and women. Climate change was explained as a change of climate attributed directly or indirectly to human activities that alter the composition of the global atmosphere and natural climate variability observed over comparable periods (Kingdom of Lesotho, 2022). They were taught about climate change and adaptation options. The workshop's outcome was an Action Plan mainstreaming gender climate change and sharing it with the community members (Kingdome of Lesotho, 2022).

This council applied different priority interventions to adapt to climate change. Control of grazing areas: Chiefs were trained to manage rangelands and wetlands sustainably and worked closely with livestock owners and herders. The purpose was also to encourage community members to practice rational grazing and other suitable land management practices. Production of livestock was improved through improved breeding stock. The application of grazing plans has assisted in range management, control of soil erosion, and rehabilitation of eroded areas.

This project's protection of water sources and springs was another critical aspect. Protecting the water sources helped to secure villages' water supply and improve sanitation. Many villages had access to safe drinking water and ventilated pit latrines (VIP toilets). With harnessing water, the production of crops was improved, which led to food security. They were also taught how to build lentloane since it is easy to rinse and can maintain each household with some vegetables. This lentloane can conserve moisture. It can also promote the conservation of agriculture and crop diversification. Community members were taught how to dry fruits and vegetables and bottle some to be used when they are out of season. They also had to construct walls to prevent the property from strong storms and plant suitable crops for warmer temperatures and drier soil conditions. They planted trees and continued to teach about climate change because most people still do not understand this calamity of climate change and its impacts.

Discussion

Lesotho has joined other countries in the international community to request donor assistance to develop a tool for guiding the mainstreaming of climate change in national and local strategic plans and frameworks. These guidelines are to be used as a reference document to assist Lesotho to realise the benefits and strengths of the resilience of climate change-vulnerable sectors and local communities.

Climate change adaptations have shown that the world is one big village whose inhabitants suffer the consequences of the land that has been pushed to limits and beyond its capacity. The farmers in Lesotho must cope with drought, rains, rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events. That is why the UNDP has provided training on climate change so that people can adapt to this situation. People get more information to understand the causes of climate change and how it affects their everyday lives.

The first two phases, (i) Introducing climate change, adaptation, and vulnerability, (ii). Role of national, district, and community plans projects and role players of this program have shown a success story, hence why the country is now in the third phase, which will be trickled down through all councils. This will lead to incorporating adaptation techniques in the development plans of the community, district, and national councils. It will enable the identification of options and priorities, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of outcomes of such plans. All strategies provided to council members are to be trickled down to the communities so that, in the end, every Mosotho is aware of climate change and its impact and what can be done, even on the most minor scale, to reduce such impact. Community councils have not yet developed their formal Community Action Plans. Still, they are due to do so within the parameters of the third phase which is Incorporating adaptation in the National Development Plan (Lena News Agency, 2023).

Conclusion

The research above has uncovered that climate change impacts food security, water supply, land and health, affecting men and women, especially in rural areas where they live mainly on subsistence farming. It is evident that depending on agriculture only is not ideal owing to the risks associated with this sector and threats posed by climate change. Mobilisation, teaching, and awareness programmes on preserving resources through planting trees and avoiding overgrazing should continue. The local councils remain the authority for all things regarding the community in rural areas where chiefs and councillors can quickly call public gatherings for information dissemination on climate change. This is because climate change manifests itself at local levels and affects livelihoods. Community councils are the gateways for development and are close to the people where they can effect meaningful change.

With the above projects of UNDP, the councils have managed to improve sanitation facilities in the Nqoe community council and schools and clinics around that area. At the same time, in Khoelenya, water can be collected from nearby taps, which are no longer in rivers and streams. The community councils have highlighted the need for comprehensive collaboration with the Ministries and cooperation with other stakeholders active in the area to implement the full spectrum of adaptation actions needed to address vulnerability and improve communities' resilience to climate change's impact. 

The community members can dry fruits and vegetables for future use with machines provided to them. They also have honey processing machines that benefit beekeepers and honey distributors. Much has been gained through the project phases one and two. The third phase will be handled this year (2024), whereby the mainstreaming of climate issues will be incorporated into community councils and district council's plans. Also, monitoring and evaluation of outcomes will be performed throughout the councils.

The councils have reaped many benefits from the projects, including practical tools, improved water quality, reduced surface water runoff during intense rainfall events, and reduced pressure on natural resources by traditional livelihood practices, thereby increasing the resilience of vulnerable communities to climate change. These lessons learned will be replicated elsewhere in Lesotho. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has called Basotho to smart planting for the summer seasons if Lesotho is to attain zero hunger by 2030 (Lena new Agency 2023).

Recommendations

• Community members should be empowered in a continuous manner on climate change issues.
• Councils should get prepared to for phase three where they will have to make their plans for climate change adaptation, so that these plans can be mainstreamed into bigger plans in the country. Also be prepared for monitoring and evaluation of these plans implementation.
• Community members should reduce dependence on livestock and decrease stocking rates and improve grazing management systems.
• The community members should adapt into the methods of preparing food during harvest; drying, bottling and keeping more food for winter period when there is not much food available.
• Awareness campaigns for keeping the environment should clean/tidy should not stop.
• Councils have to preserve the resources through planting trees and avoid over grazing.
• Communities have to use shades nets, irrigation systems, harvesting water during rainy season and increase planting vegetables.