Drought affecting more than 10,2 million people in Ethiopia. This woman is in the Sitti zone of the Somali region.
Climate and disaster displacement

Strengthening climate capacity

More accurate information on weather and climate may prevent displacement and save lives.

Modern meteorological models can forecast the weather increasingly accurate. This information is of vital importance for communities and individuals who are dependent on the weather for their livelihoods.

Although many African countries are especially vulnerable to extreme weather events, they are lagging behind when it comes to providing weather and climate information to the appropriate recipients. Those who are most vulnerable have often had little or no access to this information, and is thus unable to prepare – for instance by slaughtering the cattle before the drought or harvesting the crop before the storm devastates it. Reaching more vulnerable populations with climate services can thus be an important measure to reduce the impact of disasters – including displacement.

Food insecurity is frequently the reason why people are forced to leave their homes and become displaced.
BENEDICTE GIÆVER, Director of NRC Expert Deployment, NORCAP

Vulnerable people

“Millions of people in the Sahel and on the Horn of Africa are vulnerable to drought, floods and extreme weather which can lead to failed crops. Food insecurity is frequently the reason why people are forced to leave their homes and become displaced. This also increases the risk of poverty and humanitarian crisis,” says Benedicte Giæver, Director of NRC Expert Deployment, NORCAP.

More capacity is needed, not only to improve the production of science-based climate information in Africa. There is a great need for capacity and knowledge in how to tailor climate information, products and services to the needs of the many climate sensitive sectors in these countries. Through appropriate communication measures and channels, individuals and societies can plan for and avoid the effects of extreme weather conditions, saving communities and vulnerable population groups the often enormous costs of additional shocks.

Ethiopia is experiencing one of the most severe droughts in half a century due to the effects of El Niño. Significant rainfall deficits – up to 50 percent below average – have severely impacted the lives and livelihoods of farmers and herders throughout the country. Following two consecutive poor rainy seasons – belg (February to May) and kiremt (June to September) – harvests were well below average, with some regions experiencing between 50 and 90 percent crop loss.
Ethiopia is experiencing one of the most severe droughts in half a century due to the effects of El Niño. Significant rainfall deficits – up to 50 percent below average – have severely impacted the lives and livelihoods of farmers and herders throughout the country. Following two consecutive poor rainy seasons – belg (February to May) and kiremt (June to September) – harvests were well below average, with some regions experiencing between 50 and 90 percent crop loss. Photo: NRC/Tuva Raanes Bogsnes

Global framework

The Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), a UN initiative lead by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), works to address these challenges, focusing on five areas of disaster risk reduction; agriculture, food security; water management, health and energy. NRC is one of the most recent partners to GFCS, and provides capacity development support from NRC Expert Deployment, NORCAP.

NORCAP-experts within the fields such as meteorology, food security and hydrology support national authorities and regional institutions to strengthen systems for collecting information and producing products about extreme weather and climate change. They also work to improve appropriate communication of such climate information and products, to make sure it reaches farmers and local communities who are particularly vulnerable to climate change.

Strengthened climate services

“It makes an essential difference for people that they are able to plan and prepare for possible climate extremes. This can reduce their food insecurity, poverty and displacement in the long term. It is a NORCAP priority to contribute to strengthened climate services to decision-makers and vulnerable population groups in Africa,” says Benedicte Giæver.

A pilot, funded by Norway, has started in the Sahel, where NORCAP experts support GFCS in bringing together the different sectors to develop and endorse national climate service frameworks in five countries; Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Chad.

“It is key to develop coordinated climate service frameworks in these countries and to enable tailored climate information for farmers and vulnerable communities in the country, says Arame Tall, a NORCAP-expert who recently started working with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Dakar, Senegal.

It makes an essential difference for people that they are able to plan and prepare for possible climate extremes.
BENEDICTE GIÆVER

Climate services centres

While the establishment of national climate service frameworks is important, it is equally vital that these countries are supported by effective regional climate services centres. Since June, WMO and NRC has undertaken a joint capacity needs assessment of such regional climate service centres in both East Africa and the Sahel.

“The findings from these assessments will be the basis of future recruitment to and deployments from NORCAP when it comes to strengthening climate services through GFCS and its partners in Africa. The preliminary results indicate great needs in a number of areas. Offering long term sustainable capacity support is key to make GFCS work on the ground,” says Giæver.