ABSTRACT
Warming in South Africa, as a consequence of climate change, and possible changes in rainfall patterns and more frequent droughts, are being projected for South Africa. These changes are being compounded by a range of socio-economic and political factors and stresses, including climate stress.
The severity of the drought recently experienced in the country, which has exacerbated existing development challenges impacting local livelihoods and the economy more generally, is illustrative of the vulnerability of the country to climate impacts. As a water-scarce country, climate impacts are expected to affect all sectors of the economy and increase the vulnerability of the urban and rural poor, for whom water stresses are significant realities. The implications of enhanced vulnerability are thus key for sustainability transitions.
A vulnerability lens is used to examine some of these complex drivers and the underlying factors that influence sustainability transitions, and helps to demarcate priority areas which may further enhance vulnerable systems and communities. This chapter makes a case for wide-scale structural and systems transformations rather than tweaking parts of systems to enable them to adapt.
