Agropastoral Livelihoods Vulnerability to Climate-Related Shocks in the Selected Agropastoral Districts of the East Hararge Zone, Eastern Ethiopia

Vulnerability to climate change related shocks has become one of the greatest world challenges. In developing countries, especially agropastoral communities those mostly dominated lowland areas and heavily reliant on rainfed agricultures among severely affected. This study assessed vulnerability of agropastoral livelihoods to climate change-related shocks among households in the Kumbi, Gola Oda, and Mayumuluke districts; sought to ascertain the extent and sources of livelihood vulnerabilities. Data of desired indicators for LVI was collected through survey from 196 randomly selected households across all three districts, key informant interviews, and participatory rural appraisal tools. In the study to measure agropastoral livelihood vulnerability situations integrated indicator approach and livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) developed by Hahn et al. (2009) was applied. Findings show that Mayumuluke is more vulnerable (LVI = 68), primarily due to recurrent droughts, limited infrastructure, food insecurity, low credit services and fragile biophysical condition. Gola Oda followed with moderate vulnerability (LVI = 55), although it reveals significant vulnerability extents linked to erratic rainfalls, frequent droughts, and restricted water resources. In contrast, Kumbi was showed relatively lower vulnerability (LVI = 49), reflecting greater adaptive capacity through livelihood diversification, institutional support and strong social networks. Overall, significant inter-district disparities were observed, underscoring urgent needs for location-specific interventions to enhance climate resilience in agropastoral systems.