Climate Smart Disaster Risk Management - an approach for climate compatible development

An overview

Africa Adapt symposium Addis Ababa

Introduction

• This paper explores the synergy between climate change adaptation, disaster risk management and development approaches.

• It recognizes that climate change is affecting the frequency and severity of some natural hazards across East and Horn of Africa, compounding people’s vulnerability and exposure; and is creating greater uncertainty.

• East and Horn of Africa are more attuned to dealing with slow onset disasters such as drought. However, recent examples as flooding in parts of Sudan in July 2010 demonstrated that disaster trends appear to be changing, and with this, recognition that the impacts of climate change on disasters are more varied than was perhaps anticipated.

• A recent study in Kenya estimated that the annual cost of climate change impacts will be in the tune of USD 1 to 3 billion by the year 2030 (Kenya climate change strategy)

• A holistic Climate Smart Disaster Risk Management (CSDRM) approach is needed that tackles changing disaster risks and uncertainties, enhances adaptive capacity and addresses poverty and vulnerability and their structural causes

Twelve components under three pillars

What is Climate Smart Disaster Risk Management (CSDRM)?

CSDRM is:

an integrated social development and disaster risk management approach that aims simultaneously to tackle

changing disaster risks, enhance adaptive capacity, address poverty, exposure, vulnerability and their structural

causes and promote environmentally sustainable development in a changing climate.

The CSDRM approach builds on DRM, climate change adaptation and development concepts and approaches with the purpose of accelerating progress on the HFA and efforts to promotedisaster-resilient communities.

A consultative process….

More than 500 practitioners, policymakers, scientists and

academics from climate change, disasters and development

communities are engaged in CSDRM.

Three Pillars of CSDRM

Pillar I: Tackle Changing Disaster Risk and Uncertainties

1a: Strengthen collaboration and integration between diverse stakeholders working on disasters, climate and development

1b: Periodically assess the effects of climate change on current and future disaster risks and uncertainties

1c: Integrate knowledge of changing risks and uncertainties into planning, policy and programme design to reduce the vulnerability and exposure of people’s lives and livelihoods

1d: Increase access of all stakeholders to information and support services concerning changing disaster risks, uncertainties and broader climate impacts

Pillar II: Enhance Adaptive Capacity Cont

High Levels of Diversity Flexible and Effective Institutions Cross Scalar Perspective Integrating Uncertainty Ensuring Community Involvement Promoting Equity Accepting Non- Equilibrium Promoting Learning Preparedness, Planning &

Readiness Social Values and Structures

2a: Strengthen the ability of people, organisations and networks to experiment and innovate

2b: Promote regular learning and reflection to improve the implementation of policies and practices

2c: Ensure policies and practices to tackle changing disaster risk are flexible, integrated across sectors and scale and have regular feedback loops

2d: Use tools and methods to plan for uncertainty and unexpected events

Pillar III: Address Poverty, Vulnerability and their Structural Causes

3a: Promote more socially just and equitable economic systems

3b: Forge partnerships to ensure the rights and entitlements of people to access basic services, productive assets and common property resources

3c: Empower communities and local authorities to influence the decisions of national governments, NGOs, international and private sector organisations and to promote accountability and transparency

3d: Promote environmentally sensitive and climate smart development

Lessons from in-depth field research

• Case studies in Tanzania using local and scientific knowledge on seasonal climate Forecasting for community adaptation to climate Variability and change in drought-prone villages of Manyoni and Chamwino districts, showed the importance of integration of DRR, CCA and sustainable development.

• This project used integrated scientific and indigenous technology as a key source of information on adaptive capacity.

• Combining knowledge from different sources, analysed and downscaled meteorological information, identified and conducted participatory assessments of local knowledge on climate and weather forecasting, as well as climate risk assessments of the likely impacts of climate change on agriculture.

• Using this information, community-based adaptation strategies were implemented to address and respond to vulnerabilities created by the changing climate. eg training to strengthen the capacity of communities and local institutions to respond to the future disaster scenarios and supporting vulnerable communities to influence and engage in decision-making processes on adaptation strategies

Application of the Approach

• The Approach seeks to guide planning and evaluation of existing DRM policies, projects or programmes, as well as inform advocacy.

• The Approach is not a ‘checklist’ - but offers guidance on how to evaluate current interventions and identify how to change practice and policy for better development outcomes.

• This should be applied in a ‘dynamic and hands-on manner’ to enable local governments and authorities to integrate multiple dimensions / considerations (pillars) to make their initiatives adaptive to the changing climate.

Useful resources – the SCR Discussion Papers• The Resilience Renaissance? Unpacking Of Resilience for Tackling Climate Change

and Disasters. Bahadur, A.; Ibrahim, M. and Tanner, T. • Assessing Progress on the Convergence of Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate

Change Adaptation. Mitchell, T., Van Aalst, M. and Villanueva, P. • Greening Disaster Risk Management: Issues at the Interface of Disaster Risk

Management and Low Carbon Development. Urban, F. , Mitchell, T. And Villanueva, P.• Integrating Climate Change into Regional Disaster Risk Management at the Mekong

River Commission. Polack, E.• Building Climate Resilience at State Level: DRM and Rural Livelihoods in Orissa.

Hedger, M., Singha, A. and Reddy, M. • Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction in a Conflict-affected District, Batticaloa, Sri

Lanka: Reflecting on the Climate Smart Disaster Risk Management Approach. Ibrahim, M.

To contact us email - info@csdrm.org

For more information and free downloadable versions of the Approach

see the Strengthening Climate Resilience website - www.csdrm.org

Thanks from the SCR consortium!