Climate change and hunger WFP in the frontlines

Climate change and hunger WFP in the frontlines of climate change adaptation Grand Hyatt Bali, Nusa Dua - 3 December - 13: 00 -15: 00 United Nations Climate Change Conference Bali, 3 -14 December Menghestab Haile and Jordi Renarti. Vila Menghestab. Haile@wfp. org Jordi. Renarti. Vila@wfp. org The United Nations World Food Programme

Main objective of the side event • To highlight the linkages between chronic food insecurity, vulnerability to climate change, emergency response and adaptation • Share WFP’s experience in responding to humanitarian food crisis and helping adapt to climate change • Identify areas for collaboration based on comparative advantages of the various agencies working for the poor

Some Questions • Who are the most vulnerable to hunger and food insecurity and what are the main causes? • Who will face the greatest immediate impact of climate change? • Are we using existing climate resources effectively to respond to weather induced emergencies? • Do we have appropriate and effective response mechanisms to deal with climate related food crises? • Will the most vulnerable trapped in recurrent food crises ever be able to adapt to climate change?

Who are the most vulnerable? Rural populations heavily dependent on rainfed agriculture are the most affected The causes of food insecurity are a combination of multitude of factors including • Deepening rural poverty • Declining agricultural productivity • Inadequate investment in rural infrastructure • Increased disease burden (Malaria, HIV/AIDS etc) • Population pressure in fragile areas • Conflicts and civil strife • Frequent extreme weather events

What does climate change mean to people working on the land? 1. Increased climate variability – Increased frequency of extreme weather events – More extreme events such as droughts, floods and extreme temperatures 2. Change in trend including – reduced seasonal rainfall amounts – shifts in the growing season – shorter growing seasons – Increasing temperatures

Some climate change related facts The number of reported climate-related disasters has quadrupled between 1980 -2006 During the same period, the number of those affected by disasters has increased from 170 million to over 250 million a year, the overwhelming majority of them in developing countries Between 1974 – 2006 the worst drought (severity and extent) in Africa was in 1983/84

What would happen if we have a drought of the extent of 1983/84 It could be a massive disaster because • Population has almost doubled since 1983 • Increased environmental degradation • Increased conflicts in many places such Chad, Uganda, Darfur and Somalia • Increased disease burden and vulnerability (For examples HIV/AIDS was not a problem then) • High international food prices and increased cost of transport

Responding effectively to climate change induced crises – Basis for adaptation

The Effectiveness of Humanitarian Response Depends • Timeliness of the response • Appropriateness of the response • Adequacy of the response Accurate and reliable information is needed

In normal times, poor households develop self insurance mechanisms These can include… • Diversifying sources of income and production • Investing household resources in disaster prevention • Building up assets (e. g. , livestock)

In the event of a crisis, coping mechanisms include… These can include… • Smoothing consumption, with a subsequent setback in nutritional status • Taking children out of school to engage in income-generating activities • Reducing savings and selling assets This increases their vulnerability to future shocks

Gender and Adaptation • Disasters frequently claim far more female victims • Most WFP’s beneficiaries are children and women • Climate change is likely to exacerbate patterns of gender disadvantage: – Women in rural areas are the primary producers of staple food; – are expected to have to walk further to collect water or firewood; and – to contribute much of the labour that will go into coping with climate risks through soil and water conservation.

Humanitarian Response Mechanism PRESENT APPROACH EVENT ASSESS Aug/ Sept APPEAL FUNDING RESPONSE Nov/ Dec Jan/ Feb Mar/ Apr time PROPOSED APPROACH ASSESS APPEAL EVENT RESPONSE Aug/ Sept Oct/ Nov Dec Possible model with improved monitoring system time

Decreased food production Vicious Circle Environmental degradation Hunger + short-term planning

Increased food production + improved markets Virtuous Circle Sustainable agricultural projects Healthy communities, partnerships + long-term planning

Sharing WFP’s experience in responding to humanitarian food crisis and helping adapt to climate change

CLIMATE CHANGE and WFP • WFP is a frontline implementing agency in the global response to the effects of climate change • Addressing hunger and malnutrition WFP provides the basis for sustainable livelihoods, development and adaptation • WFP’s comparative advantage lies in climate change adaptation • But also has a role to play in climate change mitigation (carbon capture through reforestation projects)

Climate Change Adaptation and WFP By addressing hunger and malnutrition WFP provides the basis for sustainable livelihoods, development and adaptation Households facing shocks cannot invest in long-term development. WFP interventions contribute to building resilience and protecting the livelihoods of the poorest and most vulnerable communities WFP contributes to climate change adaptation by: • responding to complex humanitarian crises, a number of which are already caused or exacerbated by climate change, and • mainstreaming community and household-based adaptation

CLIMATE CHANGE and WFP The WFP Toolbox for both climate risk management and responding to the effects of climate change includes: – Emergency preparedness and response, including early warning systems – Emergency Needs Assessment – Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping – Joint Crop and Food Supply Assessment with FAO – Food Security Monitoring – Disaster mitigation including food assistance programming for livelihood protection and resilience – Global logistical apparatus and an extensive field network

Climate Change Adaptation and WFP • Infrastructure for climate shocks defence – Dykes and embankments against floods – Soil rehabilitation and conservation • Insurance - Hunger safety nets for livelihood protection - Access to formal insurance against drought • Disaster Risk Reduction, Preparedness and Response • Capacity Building

Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping • Effective responses require timely and reliable information to identify vulnerable populations as well as an understanding of the risks to their livelihoods • VAM collects data at household and village level in more than 80 countries, and uses a wide array of technological sources and analytical methods • VAM’s analyses support WFP decision-making in designing and managing emergency and development programmes. The information is crucial for targeting the poorest and most food insecure people

Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping • WFP is integrating climate information in its Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analyses (CFSVAs) • CFSVAs assessments are conducted in close collaboration with the National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA) teams • VAM works in close collaboration with many partners worldwide

Food Assistance Programming for Livelihood Protection and Resilience • A recent evaluation has found that food-based interventions contribute to build resilience and coping capacity to climate shocks • Food-based programming interventions help households and communities shift to sustainable livelihoods, improve productivity and prevent degradation of natural resources • Across WFP, such interventions were valued at US$440 million in 2005

Strengthening availability of information 1. Baseline risk mapping – land use, land cover, agro-ecological zones, cropping patterns, dominant crops, livelihood zoning, vulnerability profiling 2. Agricultural Monitoring - Area cultivated, vegetation status, Rainfall and yield indicators 3. Disaster assessment – flooded area, drought affected area, etc 4. Operational planning – infrastructure, accessibility, insecurity situation, water points

Food Assistance Programming for Livelihood Protection and Resilience Food assistance programming allows meeting households’ and communities’ short-term food consumption needs so natural assets are preserved: - It allows valuable time to be directed to laborintensive measures that would otherwise not be carried out; - Enables investment in longer-term asset production and preservation to increase productivity; and - Reduces risks associated with introducing new species and agricultural practices

Food Assistance Programming for Livelihood Protection and Resilience Broadly, these activities contribute to: (1) reduced effects of natural disasters as a result of an increase in vegetative cover in vulnerable areas; (2) reduced vulnerability of households to natural hazards, allowing them to preserve key assets and build their resilience to shocks; and (3) Increases in vegetative cover also contribute to adaptive capacities of communities and countries by decreasing their vulnerability to flooding, landslides and drought

Examples… • In Ethiopia, 200, 000 HA of land rehabilitated in Tigray alone. • 33, 000 HA of land improved in Tanzania since 2002 • 44, 500 HA of land rehabilitated in Rwanda since 1998 • Building 27 kilometres of flood-control dykes in Sudan. • Irrigating and rehabilitating 14 km of canals, digging 32 wells and protecting 380 hectares of farmland from soil erosion throughout Somalia. • Digging 227 water wells and rehabilitating 652 water reservoirs throughout Afghanistan.

The Example of MERET in Ethiopia • The MERET project targets food-insecure communities in degraded fragile eco-systems who are prone to drought-related food crises. The project uses food as an incentive for labour to help regenerate vegetative cover, which increases soil water capture and helps reduce the risk of drought and flooding. • MERET has contributed to restore 300, 000 hectares of soil and land eroded after decades of drought, floods, deforestation and over-farming.

Degraded fragile eco-systems who are prone to drought-related food crises… 1. 5 meters

…regenerated vegetative cover, reducing the risk of drought and flooding 1. 5 meters Original slope

Relief into resilience

Relief into resilience

To complement households coping strategies, WFP has started to provide access to formal risk insurance …increasing capacity to manage climate risk and

Weather-based Insurance Pilot Project in Ethiopia The rationale behind employing insurance is: • Obtain contractually-guaranteed contingency funding that allows vulnerable households to receive assistance before they resort to livelihoods-eroding coping mechanisms • Earlier and more predictable interventions that save livelihoods and foster development

Weather-based Insurance Pilot Project in Ethiopia • The 2006 production did not suffer from drought and therefore no payout was made during the pilot year • The project demonstrated the possibility to use innovative finance to manage risk, and that donors and the private sector are receptive to such proposals • Significant capacity was build in Ethiopian Institutions, particularly the National Meteorology Agency

Capacity Development: African Union and NEPAD • WFP helps building networks for livelihood risk analysis, vulnerability mapping and food security monitoring • Specific projects in which WFP is involved include: - Climate for Development – Clim. Dev. Africa - Climate Change Information and Food Security

Conclusion • Climate change is a reality but we need to deal with climate variability first – if we are to adapt to climate change • Communities and households facing recurrent emergencies will not be able to adapt to climate change • The impact of Climate Change will depend on how well and quickly we adapt to it.