Recently I had the honor of visiting the Eudafano Women Cooperative (EWC), in Oshana, northern Namibia. The EWC started as a small project to empower women in rural Namibia, and is now becoming a regional powerhouse. The EWC produces oil from a traditional melon common in this region. Today, the EWC produces melon oil for many uses, from chicken seasoning to the oil used for a special organic soap sold at The Body Shop. EWC employs women from the nearing community, and it also accepts watermelon seeds from a cooperative of organic farmers it created over the years, as well as watermelon fruit from retail sellers.

The economic diversification and resilience-building implications of the work of EWC are huge. Not only it promotes the reforestation of an endemic tree –which helps combat desertification and soil degradation, but it also provides alternatives for income generation, thus diversifying livelihoods – something crucial for reducing community vulnerability to environmental and socioeconomic fluctuations.

EWC is a beacon of hope in this deserted land. Although the conditions of the north are harsh, these women have managed to find an alternative living.

Namibia is taking its first steps to implement their integrated sustainable land management strategy, a framework that brings together stakeholders from all sectors (from international development agencies to local governments) to coordinate activities for a better and safer future. The recognition of changing weather trends and the inherent vulnerability of the savannah have brought the country together, and the commitment to increase national capacity to cope with change is clear.

Namibia’s commitment to mainstreaming sustainable development into national policies is commendable, whether compared to any other country in Africa or any country in Europe. The Namibian context would overwhelm anyone: it’s the driest country in sub-Sahara Africa, it has some of the worst soils, and climate change only promises to make everything worst. The changes in frequency, intensity, and variability of extreme weather events have already made things header. Currently, the unpredicted floods in the north have left the future of food security of the region in question. But, Namibia has it pulled itself together. Over the next few weeks, I hope to report on some of the new collaborations and plans coming out of this new framework. Good luck Namibia!

PHOTO: Floods in Omusati Region- JH.

As our climate changes, global fauna move and change accordingly. Considering the experience of parks in Southern Africa, parks that hold some of the most diverse megafauna in the world, has brought to my attention the challenge that climate change poses for global conservation. As the climate changes, species will need to adapt, and fauna and flora will need a little extra help. Whether by creating natural corridors to allow better migration, or by restoring vulnerable lands, particularly sources of water, the task for conservation areas (of any legal classification) deserves more attention.

Etosha National Park, for example, has just experienced major foods, perhaps biggest in 40 years, which by flooding the main plains, the feeding and drinking patters of all species are changing. Change is not necessarily bad, but it requires careful monitoring to ensure that we are doing everything to build ecosystem resilience. Some species suddenly have more water than they are used, which pushes their carrying capacity, while other species now have to hunt over more scattered herds because prey no longer has to concentrate around one specific water hole. These are new times for wild Africa, and conservation areas will need to change accordingly.
Photo courtesy of J. Fitzpatrick

There are many things that southern Africa inherited from the colonial era. One of them is governance. The British model of governance is still the system of preferred governance for Namibia, and this has serious implications. The centralized government of Britain was designed in an environmental and social context of relative stability. The status quo of the system allows for centralized decisions to trickle down to periphery –
but Africa is different. Governance here requires a much more flexible decision-making process, a decision making system that allows for decisions to be made faster and in response to rapidly changing conditions. Whether a flood or a drought, towns should not have to wait for the central government to approve resources during critical times. To respond faster to changing conditions, decentralization of decision-making is needed. Smaller groups making decisions can enhance and expedite local response, and even empower communities to make their leaders accountable…

Just a thought on governance…

Namibia and Mozambique have a common problem: water. Sometimes too little, sometimes too much, but rarely at the right time. When there are no droughts, there are floods, or vice versa. Predicting weather patterns in this part of Africa has become almost impossible, especially for those without the right information. In Namibia, for example, 70% of the population depends on subsistence agriculture, and the vulnerabilities in the sector run deep in the socioeconomic reality of the nation, with drought and desertification putting further pressure on the land. War-ravaged Mozambique deals with floods of unprecedented magnitude, disasters that often paralyze the country and forbid gains in socioeconomic development. The stakes in both nations are high, and climate projections for the region proffer more challenges.

Over the next three months I will be traveling in Namibia and Mozambique to explore how civil society organizations and government are working together to enhance national resilience to climate change. Hoping to understand the complex socioeconomic factors and realities shaping the vulnerability of these two South African nations, I will travel to both the rural and urban areas. I hope to be able to share a few insightful experiences as my exploration develops, and share them here prior to the presentation of the outcomes of my research. After concluding this segment of this project, I will be presenting key lessons and ideas at the subsidiary body sessions of the UNFCCC in Bonn, Germany in June.

Recently I wrote a policy submission to the UNFCCC regarding the future steps and gaps of the Nairobi Work Programme stressing on current priorities and possible ways forward. If you are interested, you can read more here

Kerala is an outlier in India’s social development profile. While its gross income does not rank high compared to other States, it social indicators (life expectancy, and literacy) are as high as those of developed countries. I visited farmers in the Pattanakkad Block, in Alappuzha District to hear their experiences with farming and to witness some of the success stories with intensive integrated farming systems.

In Pattanakkad Block, the intensive integrated farming systems are small plots of land (a hectare or less) where farmers produce different products to diverse their foods sources and the sources of income. In Aroor panchayat, for example, a farmer has been able to increase its revenue to Rs 20 000 (approx US$500) by diversifying his plot to produce rabbit meat, tilapia, spices, ornamental fish, and fruits. But this is just an example. The farmer group has set as a goal to produce 100% of all the vegetable consume locally. The food sovereignty implications of this communal effort are commendable, and it serves as a model for enhancing community resilience to external food shocks.

The success of Pattanakkad block did not come overnight. The community has been guided and supported by Peekay Tree Crops Development Foundation, and most recently by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme, implemented in India by the Center for Environment and Education (CEE).

It has been more than three years since the tragic tsunami in the Indian Ocean and the wounds are still among the millions of saw their lifes affected by the disaster. Most of the villages have recovered to pre-tsunami levels, but the emotional stress is still tangible. Asking about the events of December 26th still brings tears to the eyes of those who saw their livelihoods be destroyed or their loved ones be washed away into the sea. These communities have learned from this experience, and are now applying those lessons to prevention of future. While the chances of a similar tsunami hitting the same areas again is highly unlikely, vulnerabilities and risks identified post- tsunami are being considered by these coastal communities.

Recently I had the opportunity of meeting a group of villagers in a district in Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu) who, with the help of MNTN and Save the Children, have organized to form a ‘Child Protection Committee.’ The casualties from the tsunami showed the vulnerability of children to disasters in the area, and the multistakeholder Committee is dedicated to identifying and addressing threats to the young ones. While these committees were formed as a response to the tsunami, the groups have now widened their scope to work for the protection of children. The villagers have enhanced the role in children in community in the post-tsunami rehabilitation, and have raised awareness that protect children against any other threat, including drought, floods, famine, or even issues related to children rights. These strategies are endogenous and provide a portal to mainstream information into the villages on any issues relating to the health of wellbeing of children.

While the role of the Child Protection Committees in the village life is still in early stages, these groups have already helped gain important insights into the vulnerability of children to disasters, and they promise to be powerful vehicles to respond to emerging threats.

During the months of February and March 2008, I will be completing field research in the Indian southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The purpose of this visit is to listen to how people working in the field of natural resource management and poverty reduction (NGOs, community leaders, government officials, etc), to learn how their communities are dealing with more frequent extreme weather events and the impact these events have on poverty reduction efforts. I hope to gather views and experiences on enhancing natural resource management and perspectives on priorities and challenges in the field of natural resource management and disaster risk reduction in relation to poverty reduction. In Tamil Nadu, I will be placing particular emphasis on the experience of coastal communities in the recovery of the 2004 tsunami. Although a tsunami does not classify as extreme weather event, the response generated by the tsunami should provide insights on disaster management and risk reduction. Looking at natural resource management and environmental services, the projects seeks to compile projects concepts that promote sustainable development by reducing disaster risk and poverty.  Case studies collected during these two months will be presented during the meetings of the subsidiary bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Germany in June 2008 at a side event hosted by SustainUs.

the people behind the dike: concerns from the corners of Asia

The typhoon season is technically over in South East Asia, which gives us some time to start thinking over what has happened over the past few months.  A lot was learnt during 2007 in the disaster management and disaster risk reduction field. Some events showed us that we are improving in how we respond to extreme weather events; some showed that there still a lot that we need to figure out. Vietnam, where I live, was affected by five typhoons in 2007, and some of the worst floods ever experienced in the history of the country.

In the midst of record-breaking statistics, one reality became evident to me. While much has improved in curbing the economic losses of disaster and the damage to national infrastructure, the vulnerable and most affected groups in every storm continue to be the poor and the marginalized. Issues of environmental justice continue to shock me in South East Asia, and sometimes I feel lost and discouraged. While I know this reality is not unique to South East Asia, the projections for the region are particularly worrisome. Asia, the most populated continent in the world, is already experiencing increased intensity of severe weather events with greater risk of flooding, particularly in megadeltas and coastal areas. This increased intensity is a deadly mix considering the growing pressure over natural resources, particularly freshwater supplies, and the unsustainable development patterns, especially land use.

I could spend hours rambling over whom to blame for the environmental threats in Asia, but I would rather not. I believe attention needs to be given immediately to how disaster risk and vulnerability reduction are approached in the region. The main focus continues to be on reducing economic losses from disaster, but that leaves millions behind. While dikes diverting floods effectively guard industrial areas and cities from big floods, poor communities often end up living behind the dikes.

There are a few reasons I believe marginalized groups continue to suffer the most from poor disaster risk reduction schemes, and some of these are:

•     Inequitable land distribution;
•     Access to critical weather information;
•     Limited social relief networks and means for livelihood recovery;
•     Centralized disaster response;
•     Top down approach to disaster risk reduction; and
•     Limited options for environmental services recovery.

But the list could continue, like it currently does in the dozens of development reports and many papers in academia. I applaud the fantastic ground work done by development organizations in Asia to reduce disaster risk and improve livelihoods affected by disaster, particularly Oxfam, Care, and World Vision. I decided to share my views here hoping to hear perspectives on how to bring environmental justice out of mere rhetoric and into practice. In Vietnam, the typhoon season is over, but in only a few months the storms and floods will come back and, once again, ethnic minorities, children, and women will continue to suffer the most. The estimates of mortality due to preventable diseases associated with floods are daunting. If we know who is at risk, how to reduce it, and have the resources to do it, losing lives is unacceptable. Environmental justice must bring those behind the dikes to the front of disaster risk reduction efforts.