Annexes to SWD(2012)102 - SHARE: Supporting Horn of Africa Resilience - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | SWD(2012)102 - SHARE: Supporting Horn of Africa Resilience. |
|---|---|
| document | SWD(2012)102  |
| date | April 11, 2012 |
ILRI, 2011. An assessment of the response to the 2008-2009 drought in Kenya. A report to the
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5.3. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
Considering the recurrent droughts in the Horn of Africa and the likely increased occurrence of extreme weather events (including floods), the region will need to enhance capacities to adapt to climate change and manage the risk of these events turning into real disasters. In the past years, through EU funded projects, widespread experience has been gained on various ways to reduce such risks, including the operation of safety nets (involving cash, food and/or voucher systems), emergency fodder/water provision, livestock insurance, as well as pilot solutions to strengthen the early warning systems and disaster management at community level, including in cross-border environment. Specific actions have also been supported to strengthen institutional linkages of communities and local disaster management institutions with national and regional DRR structures. Advocacy efforts towards development partners to scale up pilot interventions and integrate the best practices have also been a strong priority of DRR interventions in the region.
Box 4 - Drought Risk Reduction innovations at work in arid and semi-arid lands in northern Kenya
The Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) in Kenya uses direct cash payments to meet basic subsistence needs. An innovative feature of HSNP’s approach is tailoring its delivery of social assistance to pastoralists’ mobility through the use of smartcards that can be redeemed at different agents or equity banks spread across the programme’s focal area of northern Kenya. In this manner the risks of limiting pastoralists’ mobility is minimised. Another innovation is an Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) to address the effects of climate shocks to livestock herds in pastoral areas. The insurance contract is based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from satellite imagery to construct a trigger point for insurance pay-out.
The EU has been supporting drought risk reduction pilot operations at community level in the arid and semi arid lands of Kenya since 2006 through its humanitarian funding. At the time of the 2011 drought, 8 pilot humanitarian operations were being implemented in Kenya, including 5 operations across the borders between Kenya and Ethiopia, or Kenya and Uganda and Ethiopia and Somalia (Somaliland). These operations have led to success stories, such as in the FunanQumbi and Torbi communities. Enhancing the preparedness of these communities has allowed them to take appropriate measures to minimize their economical losses when signs of drought were developing. The implementation of their disaster management plan led to the timely de-stocking of their livestock, giving these communities the means to pay for basic needs (i.e. animal health services, water and/or transport of their remaining livestock to areas were pasture was still available). At the same time, preemptive inter-community discussions facilitated joint management of natural resources at the time of drought, ending a long lasting conflict over water amongst Oromo groups. While neighbouring communities were in need of external assistance as early as December 2011, supported communities were better prepared to cope with the effects of drought, without external assistance, until February 2012.
The replication of the current pilot operations and the integration of the best practices and lessons learned into development strategies and national policies could be scaled up. A prerequisite is often that adequate food security information systems – including early warning systems, as well as nutritional information systems – be operational and harmonised at regional level. EU assistance has been instrumental in developing and operating such schemes, an achievement that will need to be sustained and expanded to cover the region. Cooperation with customary institutions, local authorities as well as national and regional drought management agencies could be enhanced.
5.4. National and Regional Trade
Enhanced resilience of rural communities in the lowlands of the Horn requires the facilitation of trade at all levels. Regular exchange of livestock, agricultural and other products provides economic and nutritional opportunities to agro-pastoralists in the lowlands, as well as highland producers. For such exchange to be mutually beneficial, several trade preconditions need to be fulfilled: the ability to reach markets, good information about market opportunities, the absence of dominant market powers, reliability of product quality and relative stability in the terms of trade.
The EU can assist in facilitating trade in the lowlands of the Horn of Africa by investing in physical infrastructure (roads, markets, cold-stores, telecommunications), in the availability and reliability of market information, or in improving the quality and traceability of local products. At the IGAD level, the EU could provide assistance to facilitate cross-border trade and integrate trade regulations.
Box 5 – Facilitating livestock trade through technical training
The Sheikh Technical Veterinary School and Reference Centre (STVS) has been an important factor in facilitating exports of high quality livestock. The STVS is located in Somaliland in the heartland of pastoral areas in the Horn of Africa. Funded by the EU, Denmark and Italy, the STVS was initiated in 2002 and implemented by Terra Nuova under the auspices of African Union, Inter-regional Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), and later IGAD. STVS currently offers two diploma courses in Livestock Health Sciences and in Livestock Product Development and Entrepreneurship as well as certificate courses, residentially and on line. In 2011, STVS had a student population of 95, including a growing number of girls (20%). The availability of competent human resources to support the health certification of livestock at the Somali ports, together with the existence of the quarantines, contributed to the lifting of the livestock export ban from Somalia by the traditional trading partners.
5.5. Nutrition
The protracted nature of emergencies in the Horn of Africa has generally implied chronically high rates of acute malnutrition, necessitating continuous humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian response is usually too late to prevent malnutrition and therefore the predominant reaction is to provide malnutrition treatment and food aid, including the provision of ready to use foods. However, improvements in nutritional status are better achieved through an integrated response based on a sound understanding of the local causes of under-nutrition. Evaluations highlight that interventions appear more effective where they take into account a multi-sectoral and multi-annual approach in tackling the problem of under-nutrition. Therefore, direct nutrition actions (both curative and preventative) should be scaled up, in conjunction with assistance to context specific mechanisms for strengthening food security, improving access and availability to quality water, sanitation and hygiene, and access to quality health and education services.
Emergency health and nutrition interventions that reinforce public health services have also demonstrated success, particularly in the Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM). The importance of the political and technical leadership of Ministries of Health, ensuring supplies and staff and integrating the humanitarian response with existing health infrastructure is paramount. Again, humanitarian funding and mechanisms face limits in being able to support the full integration and overall effectiveness of nutrition interventions within national health programming. Longer-term assistance is essential for sustained effectiveness.
5.6. Governance
The EU Strategic Framework for the Horn recognises that supporting better, transparent and accountable institutions and the development and implementation of suitable policies can benefit the Horn populations. An appropriate governance framework is vital for sustained resilience of various (vulnerable) groups in the Horn of Africa, including pastoralists. Such a framework covers multiple administrative levels and touches upon themes of access to resources, conflict prevention and management, and inclusiveness in planning and administration. For pastoralist communities, the governance mechanisms that regulate access to grazing lands and water resources are of particular relevance.
Several frameworks have been developed that are relevant to improve governance in the region's drylands14. EU assistance could be helpful to facilitate the translation of such policy intents into development practice as well as in building adequate capacities of the organisations involved in formulating and implementing the regional and national initiatives. The IGAD Secretariat and other relevant organs related to drought preparedness and mitigation and trade facilitation need support, as do the decentralisation processes and capacity building of administrations and institutions at various levels. The strengthening of pastoralist grassroots organisations and networks would also provide a useful avenue for their involvement in policy debates, consultations, planning and conflict resolution.
Box 6 – Advocating disaster risk reduction in the dry lands.
The Regional Learning and Advocacy Programme (REGLAP) is an EU-funded project aiming to reduce the vulnerability of dry land communities through policy and practice change in the Horn and East Africa. The project advocates and raises awareness among developmental planners and decision/policy makers on disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the Horn region. Working through a consortium of NGOs, REGLAP, has contributed to increase the capacity of international and national civil society organisations to document evidence-based practices from DRR pilot projects implemented at community level. The consortium has made a significant contribution to the promotion of DRR at national and local level, disseminating lessons learnt and good practice, through the various documents produced, such as newsletters and technical briefs.
In the framework of the 'Africa Union Pastoral Policy Framework', REGLAP has also been highlighting practices that could reduce the vulnerability to drought of communities whose livelihood is mainly based on pastoralism. In the Karamoja region of Uganda, as well as in the arid and semi arid areas of Kenya, the EU-funded KALIP and KRDP programmes, are now scaling up some of the most successful pilot community projects.
5.7. Research
Decision-making depends on adequate evidence-based knowledge and reliable information. Nevertheless, not all of the environmental and socio-economic conditions and dynamics in the vulnerable areas of the Horn of Africa are sufficiently understood, while regular and recent quality information is unavailable. In order to better inform future policy / decision making and related investments in the region, a number of development-oriented research activities are required, related to:
These include the 'Framework and Guidelines for Land Policy in Africa' (2009), the 'Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa' (2011), various documents in the framework of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), as well as the IGAD Livestock Policy Initiative
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• Socio-economic and environmental conditions and dynamics, including demographic trends, livestock population dynamics, interactions between different livelihood systems, trade and market dynamics, changes in access to land, vegetation, water and land-use dynamics, as well as developments in institutional settings (customary rules, local authorities, social networks, remittance schemes);
• Climate change effects and options, including adaptation and risk management strategies, the role of pastoral rangelands in carbon sequestration and possibilities for carbon trading and payment schemes for environmental services;
• Effects of technological innovations, for instance recent ICT-based innovations to provide mobile basic services to pastoralists.
EU assistance for such research could involve the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and relevant research institutions in the region, including those of the CGIAR-systems (such as the International Livestock Research Institute). Furthermore, valuable lessons can be drawn from researching recent experiences in EU-funded development projects as well as from other development agencies.
5.8. Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
Refugees and IDPs are of particular concern in the Horn of Africa. The region hosts the largest refugee camp on earth: Dadaab (North Kenya) with about half a million people. In addition there are refugees in Djibouti and large numbers of Somali, Sudanese and Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia, while IDPs are numerous in Somalia, as well as in Sudan and South Sudan. These large population movements are generally caused by conflict, political unrest, authoritarian rule, dwindling resources and natural disasters.
Although some of the population movements are temporary, others appear long-term, requiring appropriate response mechanisms. A repetitive emergency approach is not suitable for such a situation which, rather, requires a specific LRRD approach, with different instruments reinforcing each other. Experiences in Dadaab can serve as inspiration, not only as regards refugee camps themselves, but also the areas surrounding the camps where investments are required in services and economic infrastructure.
At the peak of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia, over 55,000 Somali refugees arrived in Dadaab refugee camps (in Kenya) per month. The massive influx of new refugees from Somalia, more than half of whom are children, has added to already pressing needs at Dadaab for more classrooms, desks, stationery, textbooks and teachers. Through limited short term humanitarian funding,the EU has been supporting education in Dadaab in 2011. Meanwhile, EDF funding has been allocated from the Somalia envelope to tackle education issues in Dadaab with a longer term perspective.
In general, adequate strategies and investments are needed to facilitate the reintegration and/or relocation of current refugee/displaced and destitute populations in different parts of the region. This involves investments in the skills and capacities of the target population, for them to be able to make use of economic opportunities in communities where they will settle.
Box 7 - Education in Dadaab
6. Conclusions
At regional level, as well as in the various countries of the Horn, priorities should be identified in conjunction with the regional and national plans to define the main thrust of post-2013 EU assistance, to provide additional guidance to the programming process for the period 2014-2020 (11th EDF). Given the commitment of IGAD and the IGAD countries to end drought emergencies in the Horn of Africa, as well as their subscription to the CAADP targets and processes, a prioritisation of agriculture, food security and/or rural development for EU cooperation in all countries of the Horn of Africa would be expected. The upcoming 11th EDF programming process will be the appropriate moment for partner Governments and organisations to express their commitment to these objectives, and for the EU to align its support to relevant programmes and plans developed by the AU and IGAD, especially the 'Initiative to End Drought Emergencies in the Horn of Africa' and, more widely, to the CAADP framework and the AU initiatives on pastoralism and land tenure.