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Strengthening Climate Resilience (SCR) Regional Workshop

AACC, Nairobi, Kenya

25th June 2010

Brian OtiendeClimate Change Officer

Oxfam GB, Kenya Programme

Email: botiendeb@oxfam.org.uk

Integrating Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction:Oxfam GB’s

Approach

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Introduction

1. Definitions

2. Oxfam GB’s Strategic Approach to CCA and DRR

3. Oxfam GB Kenya Programme Initiatives

4. Challenges, Opportunities

5. Conclusions & recommendations

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Disaster Risk Management: Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster

Risk Reduction (DRR)

DRM- Use of administrative decisions, organizations, operational skills and capacities to formulate and implement policies, strategies and coping capacities of communities to reduce the impacts of hazards/disasters

CCA- Adjustments in natural and human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli/effects which moderates harm or exploits benefits

Adjustments people and communities make (what & how) in

response to, or in anticipation of a changing climate

DRR- Conceptual framework of elements considered with the possibilities to minimise vulnerabilities to disaster risks & impacts (prevention, preparedness) in the context of sustainable development context

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Disasters,Hazards and Risks?

Disaster – Product of human vulnerability and physical hazards

Event overwhelming local capacity, necessitating appeal for external assistance from national or international level

Hazard-Potentially damaging physical event, or human activity that may cause harm (loss of life,injury, damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation)

Risk-Probability of harmful consequences or expected losses resulting from interaction between natural or human induced hazard and vulnerable conditions (impacts)

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Climatic Related Disasters and Development

Climate variability and change is increasing the frequency and intensity of hydro-meteorological disasters (floods, droughts)

Climatic disasters have huge social and economic costs therefore a major threat to development

Disasters have the potential to stunt and reverse development gains and goals (national and MDGs)

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MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS POTENTIAL CLIMATE RISKS

MDG 1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Loss of livelihoods and assets, reduced economic growth, and undermined food security.

MDG 2 Achieve universal primary education

Reduced ability of children to participate in full-time education by loss of infrastructure, livelihoods (forcing children to work), and displaced families.

MDG 3 Promote gender equality and empower women

Additional burdens on women as a most vulnerable group and time to participate in decision-making and income-generating activities.

MDGs 4, 5, 6

Reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, availability of potable water.

Greater prevalence of vector- and water-borne diseases, heat-related mortality. Declining food security, maternal health and water stress.

MDG 7 Ensure environmental sustainability

Negatively impacted natural resources and productive ecosystems.

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Oxfam GB and Climate Change

Development and humanitarian agency working with others to overcome poverty and suffering

CC is undermining Oxfam’s work and thus a corporate organisational priority

Equity and justice- caused by the rich but impacts fall hardest on the poor women and men in developing countries who bear the least responsibility

Urgency-even if emissions are cut rapidly today, impacts are already being felt by those living in poverty and may worsen hence need to adapt to unavoidable impacts

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Strategic Approach

Climate Change Adaptation (CCA)

-Considered within Oxfam’s broader work on development, humanitarian assistance and advocacy & campaigns (mainstreaming)

-Responses vary tremendously and range from short-term to long-term actions (coping strategies and adaptive capacity and resilience)

Climate change mitigation

-Advocating for rich countries to cut their emissions to avert dangerous climate change

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Focus areas

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)- humanitarian assistance to droughts and floods victims

Sustainable Livelihoods (SL)- building community resilience through livelihood diversification amongst pastoralists, agriculturists, urban lifestyles

Natural Resource Management (NRM)- water, soil, arid and semi arid lands, coastal ecosystems

Advocacy and campaigning on climate change

- Gender is a key consideration due to differentiated impacts

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What does Climate Change Adaptation Mean for Oxfam?

Effective Adaptation What Adaptation is NOT

Managing and reducing risks associated with CC

Planning for long term impacts while reducing short term impacts

Climate-compatible development

Address local social, economic and climatic context

Working at different levels

Integrated into development, humanitarian, advocacy & governance

Good programming alone

Re-labelling existing work

One size fits all

Same as coping strategies

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Integrating Climate Change Adaptation into Disaster Risk Reduction

Common thread- Reduce people’s risk to climatic disasters before, during and after disasters

Non climate-related

disasters

E.g., earthquakes

Climate-related disasters

E.g., floods, droughts,

hurricanes, storm surges

Non-disaster related

climatic impacts

E.g., temperature,

unpredictable rainfall, sea

level rise, saline intrusion

Non climate-related

disasters

E.g., earthquakes

Climate-related disasters

E.g., floods, droughts,

hurricanes, storm surges

Non-disaster related

climatic impacts

E.g., temperature,

unpredictable rainfall, sea

level rise, saline intrusion

Incorporating robust

predicted changes in

weather-related hazards

into DRR (history is an

increasingly unreliable guide

to the future)

Disaster Risk Reduction

Climate Change Adaptation

Incorporating interventions that

support communities deal with

gradual changes: focusing on

livelihoods, natural resource

management and national policy

and practise (I.e., enabling

environment)

Non climate-related

disasters

E.g., earthquakes

Climate-related disasters

E.g., floods, droughts,

hurricanes, storm surges

Non-disaster related

climatic impacts

E.g., temperature,

unpredictable rainfall, sea

level rise, saline intrusion

Non climate-related

disasters

E.g., earthquakes

Climate-related disasters

E.g., floods, droughts,

hurricanes, storm surges

Non-disaster related

climatic impacts

E.g., temperature,

unpredictable rainfall, sea

level rise, saline intrusion

Incorporating robust

predicted changes in

weather-related hazards

into DRR (history is an

increasingly unreliable guide

to the future)

Disaster Risk Reduction

Climate Change Adaptation

Incorporating interventions that

support communities deal with

gradual changes: focusing on

livelihoods, natural resource

management and national policy

and practise (I.e., enabling

environment)

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Similarities and Differences between DRR and CCA

Similarities

– Seek to build people’s resilience to hazards in the context of sustainable development

– Minimize the human, social, economic costs

Differences

– Different policies, frameworks, funding channels– DRR deals also with non-climate hazards, whereas

adaptation addresses longer-term impacts/changes– DRR has a historical perspective based on prior

experiences, whereas CCA tends to be perceived as having a future perspective and based on science

– DRR focuses on traditional knowledge, whereas CCA can require resilience to risks that have not yet been experienced

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Existing Opportunities and Linkages-DRR and CCA

Adaptation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Bali Action Plan calls for:

– DRR to advance adaptation; and– International cooperation to support

implementation of adaptation actions including climate-resilient development and vulnerability reduction

Hyogo Framework of Action’s 5 priority areas -a strategic global approach to reducing vulnerability to disasters

DRR can be considered as the first line of defence whilst building long-term adaptation strategies

Disaster and climate risk reduction use similar tools: e.g. risk assessments, early warning, multi-sectoral approaches

Risk reduction is therefore a critical component of adaptation

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ASALs:

• Successive poor

rains/heavy rains-flash floods

• Return rate of droughts

•Increased temperatures

Coastal areas:

• Heavy

/unpredictable rainfall

• Increasing

temperatures

•Coastal floods

Agriculture:

• Rainfall

unpredictability/failure

• Increased temperature

Urban areas:

• Heavy rainfall

events-localised

urban floods

•Urban heat

island effect

Flood-prone

areas:•Heavy rainfall

•Increased

temperature

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Oxfam GB Kenya Programme- ASAL and Urban

Strategic Direction 1: Working with pastoral and other marginalised communities in ASALs to address effects of chronic poverty, structural marginalisation and increasing vulnerability

Strategic Direction 2: Working with/for urban poor in informal settlements to address emerging urban crisis (poverty & vulnerability, poor governance, uncoordinated humanitarian response, marginalisation)

Building upon DRR experience in ASALs as an entry point to achieve long term Climate Change Adaptation for vulnerable ASAL and Urban communities

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Kenya Programme

National Policy- Climate Change, Peace Building and Conflict Mitigation, Policy and Advocacy Pillars

Strategic Direction 3: Skills and capacity development of staff and partners

Governance (advocacy)

Sustainable livelihoods (development)

Disaster Risk Reduction (humanitarian)

A Right Based and One Programme Approach

Integrates climate change in development, humanitarian, advocacy & campaigning

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Projects

Assessing CC Vulnerability and Adaptation in

Kenya’s ASALs and Urban areas (case studies)

Advocacy for Climate Proofing Kenya’s

Development Agenda (National Policy and Strategy

Review- (ASAL, Land, Livestock, Food & Nutrition,

Disaster Management and Peace Building & Conflict

Management)

Coordinating Kenyan Civil Society on Climate

Change (Kenya Climate Change Working Group)

Climate Change Campaigning (Climate hearings in

2009 and tribunals in 2010)

Access to Flood Risk Information through Early

Warning Systems in Nairobi

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Existing Opportunities for Oxfam & Partners

Humanitarian Assistance

– Responding to urgent and immediate humanitarian crises caused by climatic disasters to reduce suffering and loss of life , with best DRR practice

Long term development planning

– New forms of climate-friendly development (climate proofing development)

– Livelihood diversification

Advocacy and campaigning

– Advocating and campaigning for emission reductions (40% below 1990 levels by 2020, 80-95% by 2050) and transfer of international funds towards DRR and CCA

– Adaptation finance-new and predictable (over and above ODA in the scale of $100billion/year)

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Challenges Chronic under development/investment and high

poverty levels

Over dependence on reactive rather than proactive approaches

Weak institutional and governance structures

Lack/ weak policies

Uncoordinated efforts from different stakeholders Weakness in mainstreaming/integrating CCA, DRR into

programmes Weakness in climatic disaster risk research capacity

Lack of financial resources

Lack of awareness amongst communities

Difficulties in distinguishing between adaptation, disaster risk reduction and development

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Recommendations Investment and addressing marginalization & social

exclusion to address underlying causes of disasters

Promoting pro-active approaches through preparedness e.g. early warning systems, flood & drought management)

Advocating for strong institutional and governance structures

Linking policy and practice through implementation and project up scaling

Coordinating efforts across different stakeholders

Mainstreaming CCA and DRR into development

Investing in climate focused research and disaster risk analysis-Participatory capacity and vulnerability analysis (PCVA), community based disaster risk/adaptation

Advocating for international financing and budgetary allocation from national government

Community sensitization and education on risk reduction

Identifying commonalities between CCA, DRR and contribution to national development agenda

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Conclusions

Efforts to adapt to the changing climate are intricately linked to the broader challenges of sustainable livelihoods, disaster risk reduction, natural resource management

Domestication of international frameworks (UNFCCC and HFA) must implemented at national and local level

All stakeholders must participate in addressing the challenge posed by climate change and natural disasters

DRR provides excellent opportunities for building community resilience and building adaptive capacity to CC

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Thank You!