Climate-change resilience in spotlight
The United Nations in Namibia, in collaboration with the Namibian government, organised and hosted a multi-stakeholder dialogue on resilience-building in the context of climate change on Friday.
The objective of the dialogue was to initiate and support a transformative process that will contribute to strengthening the capacity of people, communities and institutions in Namibia.
It further aimed to prevent, anticipate, absorb, respond to and recover from crises and shocks, such as the drought emergency that Namibia is currently experiencing.
The dialogue session was also aimed at ensuring that vulnerable populations in disaster-prone areas and biodiversity-sensitive areas are resilient to shocks and climate-change effects, and that they benefit from sustainable natural resources management practices.
To enable this outcome, investments in climate-change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management are needed to build economic, social and environmental resilience.
“There is a specific need to improve coherence through platforms that can deliberate upon solutions to address the root causes of emergencies, reduce disaster risk, mitigate and adapt to climate-change impacts, recover from crises and build longer-term resilience,” a statement said.
Solutions aimed at building resilience are likely to have a long-lasting impact, which not only prevents or mitigates crises and shocks, but also influences everyday lives across all UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) objectives.
The statement said countries and communities need to develop adaptation solutions and implement action to respond to the impacts of climate change that are already happening, such as droughts in Namibia.
They also need to prepare for future impacts that will then culminate in building a resilient economy, society and ecological systems.
“There is no 'one-size-fits-all-solution' -adaptation can range from building flood defences, setting up early warning systems for cyclones and switching to drought-resistant crops, to redesigning communication systems, business operations and government policies.”
Some of the expected outcomes from the dialogue session include a discussion paper on the need for strengthened coordination, the feasibility of putting in place a comprehensive resilience strategy and an action plan with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, under the overall leadership of the Office of the Prime Minister, which will build resilience in the context of a changing environment, and support Namibia.
The dialogue was hosted under the United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPF) pillar 3: Environmental sustainability.
ELLANIE SMIT
The objective of the dialogue was to initiate and support a transformative process that will contribute to strengthening the capacity of people, communities and institutions in Namibia.
It further aimed to prevent, anticipate, absorb, respond to and recover from crises and shocks, such as the drought emergency that Namibia is currently experiencing.
The dialogue session was also aimed at ensuring that vulnerable populations in disaster-prone areas and biodiversity-sensitive areas are resilient to shocks and climate-change effects, and that they benefit from sustainable natural resources management practices.
To enable this outcome, investments in climate-change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management are needed to build economic, social and environmental resilience.
“There is a specific need to improve coherence through platforms that can deliberate upon solutions to address the root causes of emergencies, reduce disaster risk, mitigate and adapt to climate-change impacts, recover from crises and build longer-term resilience,” a statement said.
Solutions aimed at building resilience are likely to have a long-lasting impact, which not only prevents or mitigates crises and shocks, but also influences everyday lives across all UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) objectives.
The statement said countries and communities need to develop adaptation solutions and implement action to respond to the impacts of climate change that are already happening, such as droughts in Namibia.
They also need to prepare for future impacts that will then culminate in building a resilient economy, society and ecological systems.
“There is no 'one-size-fits-all-solution' -adaptation can range from building flood defences, setting up early warning systems for cyclones and switching to drought-resistant crops, to redesigning communication systems, business operations and government policies.”
Some of the expected outcomes from the dialogue session include a discussion paper on the need for strengthened coordination, the feasibility of putting in place a comprehensive resilience strategy and an action plan with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, under the overall leadership of the Office of the Prime Minister, which will build resilience in the context of a changing environment, and support Namibia.
The dialogue was hosted under the United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPF) pillar 3: Environmental sustainability.
ELLANIE SMIT
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