{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T12:23:23Z","timestamp":1785414203194,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,31]],"date-time":"2024-10-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1730332800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Floods are one of the persistent major risk drivers impacting the Cuvelai-Etosha basin of northern Namibia. Locally known as\u00a0Efundja, this disruptive event negatively impacts particularly the rural population, who have limited resources to combat its effects. Being mostly subsistence farmers in isolated communities, the floods wreak havoc with their homesteads, harvests, animals, and general way of life by cutting them off from their fields, neighbours, and essential services for prolonged periods. This study investigates the impacts and coping mechanisms of rural communities regularly affected by\u00a0Efundja. Data was collected from four groups of respondents through interviews and focus groups. These were heads of households in the affected rural communities, the community leaders, local councillors and national government officials involved in disaster mitigation. This ensured a comprehensive picture of the impacts.\n\nContribution:\u00a0Despite the presence of a national disaster risk management strategy, the national disaster response mechanism rather reactively responds to the hazard as opposed to being proactive. Results indicates that the strategy is not fully implemented and the parts that are implemented functions as a top-down approach. Respondents reported a wide range of impacts and a general inability to effectively cope with\u00a0Efundja, coupled with an absence of their voices in deliberations about risk reduction matters. Additions to the current disaster risk management strategy is proposed and several recommendations derived from the research results concludes the article. Should these recommendations be implemented into the Namibian disaster risk management strategy,\u00a0Efundja\u00a0as risk driver will also become an agent of change.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/jamba.v16i1.1677","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,1]],"date-time":"2024-11-01T05:12:01Z","timestamp":1730437921000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Efundja as a risk driver and change agent for the Cuvelai-Etosha basin rural communities"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4067-8134","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Loide V.","family":"Shaamhula","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/016xje988","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Namibia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1684-6337","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hendrik A.P.","family":"Smit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/048cwvf49","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8380-0243","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Justin D.S.","family":"van der Merwe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR)"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fujioka, Y., Watanabe, Y. & Mizuochi, H., 2018, \u2018Classification of small seasonal ponds based on soil\u2013water environments in the Cuvelai Seasonal Wetland System, North-Central Namibia\u2019, Wetlands 38, 1045\u20131057. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s13157-018-1073-y","DOI":"10.1007\/s13157-018-1073-y"},{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Green, H.K., Lysaght, O., Saulnier, D.D., Blanchard, K., Humphrey, A., Fakhruddin, B. et al., 2019, \u2018Challenges with disaster mortality data and measuring progress towards the implementation of the Sendai framework\u2019, International Journal of Disaster Risk Science 10(4), 449\u2013461. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s13753-019-00237-x","DOI":"10.1007\/s13753-019-00237-x"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jamshed, A., Birkmann, J., Feldmeyer, D. & Rana, I.A., 2020, \u2018A conceptual framework to understand the dynamics of rural\u2013urban linkages for rural flood vulnerability\u2019, Sustainability 12(7), 2894. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/su12072894","DOI":"10.3390\/su12072894"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kapucu, N., 2008, \u2018Culture of preparedness: Household disaster preparedness\u2019, Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal 4(17), 526\u2013535. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/09653560810901773","DOI":"10.1108\/09653560810901773"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kluge, T., Liehr, S., Lux, A., Moser, P., Niemann, S., Umlauf, N. et al., 2008, \u2018Integrated water resource management concept for the Cuvelai Basin in northern Namibia\u2019, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A\/B\/C 33(1\u20132), 48\u201355. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.pce.2007.04.005","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pce.2007.04.005"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Luetkemeier, R., Stein, L., Drees, L. & Liehr, S., 2017, \u2018Blended drought index: Integrated drought hazard assessment in the Cuvelai-Basin\u2019, Climate 5(3), 51. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/cli5030051","DOI":"10.3390\/cli5030051"},{"key":"ref6","unstructured":"Midgley, G., Hughes, G., Thuiller, W., Drew, G. & Foden, W., 2005, Assessment of potential climate change impacts on Namibia\u2019s floristic diversity, ecosystem structure and function, Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Windhoek."},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mendelsohn, J., 2022, \u2018The Angolan catchments of northern Botswana\u2019s major rivers: The Cubango, Cuito, Cuando and Zambezi rivers\u2019, in F.D. 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