This study in Bale administrative zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia, aimed to investigate the vulnerability of livelihoods of highlanders and lowlanders to global environmental and socioeconomic changes and how highland–lowland linkage could function as a coping strategy. Multistage cluster sampling techniques were employed to select 403 sample respondents from the 2 agroecological regions. The primary data were collected using questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions. The data were analyzed by employing descriptive statistics and multiple linear regressions. The results indicated that both the highlanders and lowlanders were vulnerable to stresses, seasonality, and shocks due to natural hazards. The highlanders were vulnerable to crop failure and occasional floods, while the lowlanders were more vulnerable to drought, livestock disease, and conflict. However, they had devised various coping strategies, such as diversifying income sources and increasing mobility. Some of the coping strategies that were adopted necessitated a mutual understanding between the highlanders and lowlanders. Hence, strengthening complementarities between them by broadening their resource base could contribute to building resilient livelihoods for both communities, particularly the highly vulnerable lowlanders.

The austrotemperate alpine system of southern Africa's Maloti–Drakensberg is the only alpine system south of Mount Kilimanjaro, making it unique on the continent. With a difference in elevation of only 300–600 m and characterized by an undulating Gondwanan mature erosional land surface plateau around 2865–3500 masl, it is threatened by unsustainable land uses and climate change. To better understand these challenges, the Afromontane Research Unit of the University of the Free State, South Africa, is setting up the 1200 km² Mont-Aux-Sources Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) platform. It is the first alpine-focused, long-term monitoring protocol implemented in the Maloti–Drakensberg. Straddling the border between South Africa and Lesotho, it is also the only alpine and transboundary LTSER area in Africa.