LIVED EXPERIENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES AMONG TOURISM-DEPENDENT RURAL COMMUNITIES IN CHIAWA, LOWER ZAMBEZI

Context: Climate change escalating challenges within tourism-dependent rural peripheries in sub-Saharan Africa demands a critical examination of coupled socio-ecological systems. Methods: The study utilized a qualitative design based on 30 in-depth interviews and field observations to deconstruct the lived experiences of climate change among rural communities and tourism operators in Zambia’s Chiawa Chiefdom, Lower Zambezi. Results: The empirical findings demonstrate that hydro-climatic variability, erratic rainfall, protracted droughts, thermal anomalies, and fluctuating river dynamics disrupt tourism architectures, attenuate wildlife visibility, and threaten local survival. While corporate operators leverage financial liquidity to mitigate operational risks, rural communities face structurally compounded vulnerabilities. For these local actors, diminished agricultural and fishing yields, exacerbated by climate-induced human-wildlife conflicts over contracting resource patches, directly undermine baseline livelihood security. This bifurcated adaptive capacity exposes a profound systemic disconnect between top-down national policies and localized, place-based realities, ultimately jeopardizing both conservation and human security. Conclusion: To cultivate a climate-resilient and inclusive tourism economy, stakeholders must operationalize polycentric governance frameworks. National climate policies should be decentralized through participatory planning mechanisms that integrate traditional authorities and residents into adaptation design. Structural vulnerability should be reduced by investing in climate-smart agriculture and sustainable aquaculture to decouple local economies from climate-sensitive baselines. Proactive mitigation tools, including strategic solar fencing and transparent compensation mechanisms, should be institutionalized to address human-wildlife conflict. Finally, formalized community-operator partnerships, such as local procurement supply chains and community-managed eco-tourism, should rechannel private capital into local social safety nets, complemented by operator-led green eco-innovations and unified regional socio-ecological data sharing.