Stakeholders capacitated to build Namibia's disaster resilience
Stakeholders, including the Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN), gained knowledge and understanding of disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience-building through Namibia’s DDR Country Level Workshop, held from 29 October – 2 November 2018.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop on behalf of the UN System in Namibia in the capacity of Officer-in-Charge, Dennia Gayle, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative to Namibia highlighted the prominent role disaster risk reduction plays in achieving national and international development agendas.
“Let us hold ourselves accountable to improve emergency preparedness and response to ensure that no one is left behind,” she said.
The workshop, which aimed at increasing risk knowledge, involvement and engagement of stakeholders, is part of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and the International Centre for Environmental Monitoring - Centro Internazionale in Monitoraggio Ambientale (CIMA) Research Foundation’s programme Building Disaster Resilience to Natural Hazards in Sub-Saharan African Regions, Countries and Communities.
“As part of this programme […] UNISDR and CIMA Research Foundation have developed Multi-hazard Probabilistic Risk Profiles, with special focus on floods and droughts, including considerations of climate changes projections, for 16 countries,” explained Programme Analyst, Julius Kabubi on behalf of the UNISDR Regional Office for Africa.
The profiles provide a comprehensive view of hazard, risk and uncertainties for floods and droughts in a changing climate and socio-economic situation, projected over the next 50 years. Across the continent and in Namibia, droughts and floods have had devastating impacts on socioeconomic sectors. This has led to poor productivity, stagnation of economic growth, famine and social conflicts, wildfires, diseases and malnutrition, human migrations, cross border conflicts, stress and discomfort and rise in crime rates.
Kabubi explains the importance of Namibia’s Risk Profile, which stakeholders were trained on over the course of the workshop. “Scientific products such as the risk profiles produced by the CIMA research team, are vital for generating new approaches towards disaster risk management and planning,” he said.
Japhet Iitenge, the Director of Disaster Risk Reduction in Namibia’s Directorate of Disaster Risk Management (DRM), speaking on behalf of the Office of the Prime Minister, said, “We value the work which UNISDR is doing for us, because we, as a country, already assigned our self the task of creating a national profile for Namibia.”
UNISDR and CIMA Research Foundation are organising trainings across Africa about the Country Risk Profiles. Combined with the local knowledge, the profiles and workshops aim not only at providing a more complete picture of the likelihood and the impacts of floods and droughts, but also at improving the understanding of risks and at supporting the integration of scientific results into informed decision-making process. Furthermore, they contribute to translating scientific evidence into improved flood and droughts risk management towards a substantial reduction of disaster impacts.
They are also in line with national, and international development agendas, including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the Paris Agreement, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim at reducing existing risks, preventing new risks and strengthening resilience.