Olorunfemi: Flood Risk Management in diverse contexts: examples from Nigeria and South Africa

1.FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT IN DIVERSE CONTEXTS: EXAMPLES FROM NIGERIA AND SOUTH AFRICA Olorunfemi, F.B * , Battersby-Lennard, Jane and Raheem, U.A * Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research,Ibadan

The study area

Climate change, disaster risk and governance

Vulnerability of the two cities studied

Key findings

Management of flood risk in the City of Cape Town

Getting communities involved

Conclusion

In the Climate Change (CC) discourse, it is widely recognised that CC is a risk multiplier with respect to a range of risks that are not directly associated with CC

Local experiences of extreme weather events have made it obvious that climate change mitigation and adaptation are matters of multi-level governance

The challenging problem is; how do we effectively shape human institutional responses to the risk of weather related disasters especially floods?

The long term horizon of climate changepose special challenges for urban flood risk management

climate change provides new incentives for the need to plan ahead and to anticipate extreme weather events and trends

Adverse impacts of climate change on society may increase disaster risk

Disasters themselves erode environmental and social resilience, and thus increase vulnerability to climate change

Climate change and the likely increase in disasters threatens to block pathways out of poverty in Africa

The nature of governance is a major determinant of the success of an adaptation process to CC.

The governance frameworks required for disaster risk reduction give governments a key role through coordination and participation mechanisms

This requires the definition of policy, establishment of robust institutions, local authority capacity-building, and partnerships between numerous stakeholders, including civil society, NGOs and private sector

Lebel et al, (2006) elaborate this approach and identify participation, deliberation, decision-making diversity, justice and accountability as key attributes of an adaptive governance system

Where forms of governance preclude effective community participation and discourage co-management practices, local resilience tends to be low and adaptive capacity limited (Finan and Nelson, 2009)

On the other hand, a more resilient socio-ecological system operates in a multi-nodal, well articulated decision-making context where knowledge production and learning are dynamic and stocks of social capital generate bonds of trust (Gaventa, 2002)

Cape Town is vulnerable to climate change. A significant number of previous disasters and events have been associated with weather conditions (Murkheibir and Ziervogel, 2006)

Despite the efforts of the Cape Town City administration, the countless impacts of flooding in the informal settlements are still very much apparent (City of Cape Town, 2009)

The study focused on the management of flood risk in Cape Towns informal settlements, with specific attention to both immediate needs and the long-term challenges posed by climate change

Frequent rainstorms and flooding in Ilorin has made it one of the most vulnerable cities in Nigeria in the recent past

The number of such incidents has been on the increase in the last few years

So also has the severity which translates into extensive damage to properties and the livelihoods of the people

The vulnerability of people in the two study areas is generated by multiple stressors

Key conditions generating vulnerability include poverty, overcrowding and social inequity

Physical dimensions of vulnerability reflect in the nature of building and location

Monitoring and warning system, which relied on monitoring stations

Flood retention ponds and weirs developed to strengthen the stormwater infrastructure

Maintenance of infrastructure by relieving the drainage systems of built-up sand and debris

Development of resilient infrastructure to include appropriately designed and constructed low-income homes, storm-water drainage and sewage treatment installations to cope with flash-floods

Communication and awareness programme

Capacity building programme involves brochures, tips, workshops, and flood risk education, including notification to informal communities within flood prone areas

Disaster risk management team (a joint effort between the City of Cape Town, Provincial Government and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)

Mapping of high flood risk areas

Flooding and Storms Plan (Winter Readiness Programme )

unblocking of stormwater drains,

the upgrading of stormwater systems,

regular inspections of retention ponds,

a public education programme

emergency plan to handle possible disasters

Participatory risk assessment is a methodology that has been developed to engage communities developmentally, using highly participatory approaches and a bottom-up approach

It provides insights into how risks are generated and can be reduced

A Community Risk Assessment can be adapted and applied in numerous contexts, for a wide range of risks

It is underpinned by a commitment to participatory engagement with at-risk communities and relevant stakeholders

The climate change and variability are likely to worsen the prospects for poverty eradication unless action is taken to become response-capable

This requires a focus on reducing vulnerability, achieving equitable growth and improving the governance and institutional context in which poor people live

Strategies to reduce vulnerability should be rooted in vulnerability analysis and greater understanding of both household-level and macro response options that are available to decrease the poors exposure to climate risk

Funding for the principal author to carry out this study was provided by START, Washington DC, USA under the African Climate Change Fellowship Programme, a programme of Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) jointly funded by DFID and IDRC

Documents

Olorunfemi: Flood Risk Management in diverse contexts: examples from Nigeria and South Africa