18 October 2017: Recent initiatives, including an agriculture and forestry capacity-building project for West African youth, a workshop on climate-resilient development in the West and Central African Region (WCAR), and an initiative to increase the number of African countries with national disaster loss databases, contributed to the advancement of climate change adaptation and DRR on the continent.

The International Secretariat for Water (ISW), the Global Water Partnership (GWP) West Africa, the Country Water Partnerships (CWPs) of Burkina Faso and Benin, and the non-governmental organization (NGO) Eau Vive Togo launched a project titled ‘#tonfuturtonclimat.’ The project aims to strengthen the capacities of young people in Burkina Faso, Benin and Togo in the field of climate change through the development of three youth-led initiatives related to agriculture and forestry.

The initiatives will seek to: optimize agricultural water use and develop renewable energy sources in Burkina Faso by setting up a photovoltaic-powered drip system to irrigate the land used for gardening; set up a sheepfold, acquire equipment for composting and agro-ecological gardening, and install EcoSan toilets in Togo; and restore land through the establishment of a cashew tree plantation, and improve ovens for households and processing units for cassava, soybeans and paddy rice in Benin. [GWP West Africa Press Release]

The WCAR WASH workshop developed a roadmap for action per country, based on which UNICEF, the GWP and partners will help WCAR countries to carry out national risk assessments and appraise options for climate resilience programming in the WASH sector.

On 25 September 2017, the GWP and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) held the WCAR Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Climate Risk Assessment workshop. Participants considered, inter alia, the Strategic Framework for WASH Climate-Resilient Development, developed by a global collaboration between UNICEF and the GWP, and its potential for use at national, subnational and local levels. They addressed: climate-related risks to WASH; positive experiences of climate-resilient WASH development; and funding opportunities. The workshop also developed a roadmap for action per country, based on which UNICEF, the GWP and partners will help WCAR countries to carry out national risk assessments and appraise options for climate resilience programming in the WASH sector. [GWP Southern Africa Press Release]

At the 11th Session of the Africa Working Group (AWG) on DRR, held in Mombasa, Kenya, from 26-27 September 2017, the African Union (AU) announced plans to increase the number of member States with national disaster loss databases and to put in place a training programme on the Sendai Monitor, the UNISDR-backed mechanism for measuring progress in reducing disaster losses slated for roll-out in 2018.

Organized by the AU Commission’s DRR Unit within the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (AUC-DREA), with support from the UN Office for DRR (UNISDR) Regional Office for Africa, and hosted by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the meeting focused on follow-up actions for implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR. [UNISDR Press Release] [11th Session of the Africa Working Group on DRR]

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