Urban Vulnerability and Adaptation Strategies against Recurrent Climate Risks in Central Africa: Evidence from N’Djaména City (Chad)

Abstract

Climate change and its corollaries suggest that urban planning tools and strategies need to integrate adaptation and resilience approaches into urban development. This study aims to inform decision makers and the scientific community of the importance of appropriating data on urban adaptation and resilience strategies in the city of N’Djaména. After sampling 519 city dwellers, oriented questionnaires and focus groups were used to collect socio-demographic parameters, major climate risks, their impacts on urban issues and the urban resilience strategies employed. The various exposure and impact indices were used to identify and prioritize climate risks and urban exposure issues with the populations concerned. The study highlighted three major climatic hazards, namely, flooding, heat waves and strong winds, and their impact on social and community facilities, the living environment and human health. Ten vulnerability factors have been identified, of which the intrinsically geophysical factors are most familiar to the city’s population. The principal component analysis (PCA) illustrates ten (10) strategies for adaptation and resilience to urban climate risks. To meet the climatic challenges in urban areas, this study makes several short-, medium- and long-term recommendations to decision makers.