Climate Risk Reduction

In my blog I have already talked about how soil management might be made more sustainable (integrated management of soil fertility) and given an example of a improved water management technique (rainwater catchment system). Today I want to look at the strategy of climate risk management, and how this method might help African people to adapt by reducing weather related risks.

Climate Risk Management has been promoted as one of the core features of agricultural adaption by the Adaption for African Agriculture (AAA) initiative. In the United Nations climate conference in Marrakesh (COP2016), this approach has also been discussed in the context of the climate finance agenda. 

When we think about the implementation of such adaption programs, the question arises whether it would be most effectively adopted on a local, regional or national level.

In this regard, one should ask the vital question –

How can the small farmer in rural Ethiopia best increase resilience to climate change?

 

First it is important to realise that small-scale weather disasters have severe long-term impacts on local people, but that these ‘minor’ disasters usually do not attract any financial aid as compared to much bigger, internationally reported catastrophes (e.g. tsunami). International disaster aid does not reach small farmers and their communities in the risk management of such droughts and flooding because of lacking attention, however these small scale disasters can threaten farmers' existence, and do almost certainly erode coping capacity over a long time period (Barns et al. 2011, 233). In 1984, rural Ethiopia experienced a famine that resulted of a series of small droughts that eroded coping capacity among communities (Fraser 2007). 

 

It is this lack in risk management, where private insurers can step in and enable an adaption strategy for climate change hazards.

Recognizing the unpredictability of climate change (even though climate scientists have developed climate models that predict future scenarios, they are not certain) and the unreliability of regionalised climate models, it becomes clear that any future projections of climate hazards are not ideal on the community level. 

Due to these high levels of uncertainty, the small farmer in rural Ethiopia should not rely on over generalised predictions (Brans et al. 2011, 217). 

What is needed is a more ‘robust’ adaption strategy, meaning a strategy that flexible against various future scenarios.

Brans et al. (2011) have proposed a community-based risk management of climate hazards (e.g. drought) with the implementation of a micro-insurance programme. 

The underlying assumptions of this model are that much more financial resources are necessary for successful climate change adaption and that private sector involvement could play a vital role in that (Brans et al. 2011, 219).

This micro finance model enables the farmer to buy an insurance policy, and if predefined weather events occur in a predefined time, then an insurance payment goes to the farmer Such insurance packages can play a live saving role!

 

The HARITA Project (Horn of Africa Risk Transfer for Adaption) is an initiative developed by multiple stakeholders that promotes the adaption tool of ‘weather index insurance’ to reduce risk for the most vulnerable (Brans et al. 2011, 218). The HARITA concept takes a holistic approach and consist of 3 main elements: risk reduction, risk transfer and prudent risk taking. This graph visualizes the conceptual framework:

 

 

A HARITA pilot project has been implemented in 2009 in Adi Ha village in Northern Ethiopia to test this kind of micro insurance and risk management programme. The majority of the farmers in this village depend on rain-fed agriculture, which makes them particularly vulnerable to climatic hazards such as drought (Brans et al. 2011, 219).  Prior to the implementation of this pilot project, these farmers had been involved in various assessments to design this adaption experiment. This community participation produced a number of valuable inputs that enabled a very positive uptake of the insurance product (Brans et al. 2011, 231). The HARITA team aims to expand this model on several other villages in Ethiopia.

 

In the recent past, the adaption strategy of climate risk management has built up momentum. The ‘Initiative on Climate Risk Insurance’ (adopted by G7 in 2015 with financial plan of 42 million USD) supports a variety of schemes, such as the African Risk Capacity (ARC), the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) or the Climate Insurance Fund (CIF) that aim to reduce vulnerability by reducing risk (AAA).





Resources:

 

AAA, (2016). THE INITIATIVE FOR THE ADAPTATION OF AFRICAN AGRICULTURE TO CLIMATE CHANGE.[online] Available at: http://www.aaainitiative.org/sites/aaainitiative.org/files/AAA_livre%20blanc_ENG.pdf

 

Brans, Marjorie Victor; Tadesse, Million; Takama, Takeshi (2016): „Community-Based solutions to the climate crisis in Ethiopia“. In: Fujikura, RyoKawanashi, Masato (Hrsg.) Climate Change Adaption and International Development. 1. Aufl. London, Washington DC: JICA Research Institute, S. 217 - 239.

 

Fraser, Evan D. G. (2007): „Travelling in antique lands: using past famines to develop an adaptability/resilience framework to identify food systems vulnerable to climate change“. In: Climatic Change. 83 (4), S. 495-514, DOI: 10.1007/s10584-007-9240-9.