ADDRESSING DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT AND ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

Abstract:

The IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) demonstrates that an extreme event which used to occur infrequently and perceived today as abnormal will be tomorrow’s ‘normal’ weather. For example the drought events in the African Sahel which once came every decade could now come every couple of years bringing a new challenge and leading to severe disturbances and rapid environmental changes. The report identified and analyzed the problems associated with extreme climatic events, and examined how human responses to these events and the consequent disasters could contribute to adaptation objectives, and how adaptation to climate change could become better integrated with Disasters Risk Management (DRM) practices. Moreover, a number of studies explored the linkages and interactions between disasters and development and clearly demonstrates how the exposure to extremes and vulnerability to climate change can hinder development efforts, emphasizing the need for much smarter development and economic policies that consider managing disaster risk and implement adaptation measures as main components of sustainable development.

 The proposed presentation will provide an overview of   findings from IPCC reports and other studies and will draw on existing experiences and lessons learned to explore the linkages between disaster risk management, adaptation and economic development in Africa. It will also shed light on some of the regional and global interventions which aim at mitigating the impacts of extremes and disasters in African countries characterized by high exposure & vulnerability and low adaptive capacity. It concludes by highlighting the need for broader cooperation and partnership between development partners and agencies working on disaster risk management & climate change adaptation including the private sector, bilateral and multilateral agencies in order to ensure sustainable development.