FROM THE FIELD: Adapting to Lesotho’s changing climate

Living in the African mountain kingdom of Lesotho comes with its fair share of challenges, including land degradation and climate change, which are upending traditional farming practices.

Women and men members from a local community in Lesotho participate in consultations to develop district plans to address climate change impacts and food insecurity. (file), by FAO

Farmers in Lesotho have to cope with droughts, rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events. And, as the changing climate forces more people to migrate, new conflicts are being triggered.

Ecosystems have been pushed to their limits by over-cultivation, overgrazing, and over-harvesting, as communities are forced to adopt measures that push the land beyond its capacity, while Lesotho’s people, the Basotho, suffer the consequences.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Government to help farmers adapt, and become more resilient, with innovative programmes aimed at transforming the way they plant crops, raise livestock, and manage their natural resources.

In this feature story from UNDP, learn more about these projects, and the inspirational example of community leader Maitumeleng Mabaleka, who has learned new farming techniques to improve her income, and her family’s wellbeing.