2023-06-22-世界银行-莱索托道路集水区气候风险和脆弱性评估_莱索托道路脆弱性评估工具的开发和选定集水区的脆弱性评估（英）_98页_17mb

Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation for Lesotho's Road Infrastructure

1. Context & Methodology

• The study assesses climate risks to Lesotho's road network through both national-level top-down projections and catchment-level bottom-up site assessments.
• Lesotho faces challenges like poor infrastructure maintenance, erosion, land degradation, and Community Watershed Team (CWT) interventions driving road vulnerability.

2. Key Findings

• Climate Change Impacts: Rising temperatures and intense rainfall exacerbate erosion, soil degradation, slope failures, and bridge embankment damage, accelerating pre-existing issues.
• Catchment Degradation: Uncontrolled urbanization, biomass harvesting, invasive plant clearing, and agricultural runoff increase flood vulnerability and sedimentation in roads.
• Erosion-Specific Risks: Poorly maintained side drains, borrow pits, culverts, and informal roads lead to frequent floods, washouts, and infrastructure failure.
• ICM Importance: Road infrastructure is interlinked with catchment health; failure to integrate climate-smart management leads to cascading impacts.

3. Recommendations for Adaptation

• Infrastructure Improvements:

  • Incorporate climate-proofing into road design and rehabilitation (larger culverts, improved drainage, proper pavement shoulders).
  • Increase funding for maintenance and community-based projects.
  • Expand training for sustainable road construction and management.

• Catchment-Level Management:

  • Restore degraded land with Nature-Based Solutions to slow runoff and reduce erosion.
  • Re-establish linkages with CWTs to coordinate catchment planning.
  • Raise awareness on clearing culverts and redirecting drainage channels.

• Systemic Change:

  • Establish RD extension officers for district-level road support.
  • Leverage global adaptation funds (e.g., LoCAL) for climate-resilient interventions.
  • Prioritize road projects in Watershed Plans (CMPs) and formalize environmental assessments (EIAs).

4. Conclusions

• Climate change alone is not the main driver but intensifies vulnerability in Lesotho's road infrastructure through interlinked human and systemic failures.
• Cross-sectoral approaches (ICM, community-driven maintenance, sustainable design standards) are necessary for climate-resilient development.