International Policy Research Organisations

This report presents the proceedings of the Climate Proofing and CSA Training in Cape Town in October 2016.

H.E Dr. Hage G. Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia signed the Paris Agreement on behalf of Namibia at the signing ceremony at the U.N head Quarters in New York Yesterday (22 April 2016). A historic total of 171 Members signed the agreement on the same day. It is for the first time that the United Nations receives such a big number of signatories on the 1st day.

I believe this agreement will help us as a country to tackle the challenges of climate change and to capitalize on opportunities that will lead to sustainable development of our nation.

Furthermore, we are excited as Namibia to be part of this journey where as we pledged to play our part to reduce gas emmissions by 89% by 2030 as stipulated in our Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) document we submitted to the UNFCCC in 2015.

I am sure that all of us will agree that tackling the issue of climate change is crucial for Namibia condsidering how vulnerable our country is to climate change.

The Paris Agreement commits developed countries to take the lead in scaling up financial support for tackling climate change in developing countries.

In this regard, Namibia being a signatory to the Paris Agreement it has an opportunity to access such funding through institutions like recently operationalized Green Climate Fund.

The fund will assit the country is tackling climate change related challenges such as water insecurity; food insecurity and energy insecurity.

The study focused on the NDM as a first step:

Mixed research approach to collect quanDtaDve and qualitaDve data through interviews conducted with small organisaDons (15 NGOs, 8 CBOs and 7 governmental units) idenDfied as potenDal applicants to the SGF project in the NDM

Aim:

1) to assess adapDve capaciDes among local organisaDons before the SGF project starts;

2) to idenDfy gaps in terms of knowledge and understanding of what CCA is ;

3) To inform facilitating agencies about needs for capacity buildings

Follow-up interviews will be conducted during the course of the SGF project to track progress in adapDve capacity and observe concrete impacts in terms of enhanced adapDve capacity among local organisaDons

Namibia is one of the countries mostly vulnerable to the negative impacts of cli¬mate change which may affect our national development goals, particularly the agricultural sector, including food security. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and the Ministry of Agricul¬ture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) is implementing a five-year project entitled “Scaling up community resilience to climate variability and climate change in Northern Namibia, with a special focus on women and children” (SCORE Project) with funding resources from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The SCORE Project is a five-year project with an overall GEF/SCCF allocation of USD3, 050,000.00 and co-finance from UNDP USD 860,000 and GRN USD 19,157,263.00. The project is being implemented in seven northern regions of Namibia namely: Oshana, Omusati, Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Kunene, Kavango West and Kavango East. These regions are regularly, and increasingly threatened by extreme weather events such as floods which causes damage to infrastructure and agricultural productivity, as well as severe droughts. A combined effect of these natural disasters have detrimental effect on the livelihoods of people including their health status.

The project aims to strengthen the adaptive capacity of 4000 households to climate change and reduce their vulnerability to droughts and floods, with 80% of these households being women-led, and children from 75 schools in Northern Namibia. The project’s desired outcomes include: (1) Smallholder adaptive capacity for climate resilient agricultural practices strengthened; (2) Reduce vulnerability to droughts and floods; and (3) Mainstreaming climate change into national agricultural strategy/sectoral policy, including budgetary adjustments for replication and scaling up.

A review of pesticide regulations and a summary of registered pesticides. Key findings:

• There are 158 registered active ingredients, incl. 49 HHP
• In the groundnut and soybean value chain best practice approaches to pest managements are already being practiced
• Increased pest monitoring, biopesiticides, improved and resistant varieties can support more effective pest management
• Need for awareness-raising among farmers and advisers on pest identification
• Policy-level support to incentivise the use of less toxic pesticides and increase availability and use of safer alternatives

Este é o 2o volume de uma coleção de histórias do Secretariado da SADC informando os cidadãos da SADC e criando consciência sobre impactos positivos dos protocolos, acordos, políticas e estrategias. A ambição é de ilustrar precisamente como os programmas de integração regional da SADC mudam as vidas dos cidadãos da SADC para o melhor. Para destacar alguns, no rio Zambezi, está em construção a Ponte Kazungula que vai em breve formar uma maior ligação no coração da região SADC. Em Malawi tem o tomate Bvumbwe, evoluído para responder às condições específicas da região e às demandas da população da SADC. Em Walvis Bay, Namibia, e Nacala, Mozambique, existem dois pontos de entrada para a rede crescendo de corridores de desenvolvimento, justapostos, qual a região SADC quer desenvolver na próximas decadas. 

Il s'agit du deuxième volume d'un recueil d'histoires du Secrétariat de la SADC visant à informer les citoyens de la SADC et à les sensibiliser davantage aux impacts positifs des protocoles, accords, politiques et stratégies de la SADC.  Il cherche à brosser un tableau précis de la manière dont les programmes d'intégration régionale de la SADC changent pour le mieux la vie des citoyens de la SADC. Pour n'en citer que quelques-uns, au Zambèze, il y a la construction du pont de Kazungula, qui constituera bientôt une importante liaison de transport au cœur de la région de la SADC. Au Malawi, il y a la tomate de Bvumbwe, qui a été développée pour répondre aux conditions spécifiques de cette région et aux besoins de la population de la SADC.  Et dans la baie de Walvis en Namibie et à Nacala au Mozambique, il y a deux points d'entrée au réseau croissant de corridors de développement le long desquels la région SADC se développera dans les décennies à venir.

This is the 2nd volume of a collection of stories by SADC Secretariat to inform SADC citizens and enhance awareness about the positive impacts of SADC  protocols, agreements, policies and strategies.  It seeks to paint an accurate picture of how SADC regional integration programmes are changing the lives of SADC citizens for the better. Just to highlight a few, at the Zambezi River, there is the construction of the Kazungula Bridge that will soon form a major transport link in the heart of the SADC region. In Malawi, there is the Bvumbwe tomato, which was developed to address the specific conditions of this region and the needs of the SADC population.  And in Namibia’s Walvis Bay and Mozambique’s Nacala, there are two entry points to the growing network of development corridors alongside which the SADC region will develop in the coming decades.

North-central Namibia is more vulnerable to effects of climate change and variability. Combined effects of environmental degradation, social vulnerability to poverty and a changing climate will compromise subsistence farming in north-central Namibia (NCN). This will make subsistence and small-scale farmers in the region more vulnerable to projected changes in the climate system. Thus, the aim of this article was to examine factors contributing to subsistence farmers’ vulnerability to impacts of climate change. The article further discusses different aspects of human vulnerability and existing adaptation strategies in response to impacts of climate related disasters experienced over the past three to four decades in NCN. Qualitative and quantitative research approaches and methodology were employed to obtain information from subsistence farmers in north-central Namibia. The sociodemographic characteristics of Ohangwena, Oshana and Omusati Region reveals high levels of unemployment, high adult and elderly population and high dependency on agricultural livelihood system. These indicators help understand levels of household vulnerability. The study concludes that households interviewed revealed low levels of adaptive capacity due to exposure to climate risks and combined effects of social, political and cultural factors. This article provided an understanding that is required to inform the adaptation pathways relevant for NCN.

This folder explores the issue of food loss in more detail and presents current experiences, challenges and areas of action.