Climate change affects all development sectors. Synergy with other programmes proves to have great potential, not least for sustainability. Ethiopia and Burundi have both been successful in creating synergies between the WASH and the Climate Resilience programmes, securing win-win solutions for both. As a result of investments made in fostering south-south exchanges the Community of Practice (COP) for Climate resilience, colleagues from NCA Zambia certified by the Asia Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) assisted in NCA and partners’ response to cyclone Idai in Malawi.
In Burundi community resilience has increased as a result of an innovative method introduced by NCA’s local partner CEISPU, using human excreta to produce a natural fertiliser for agriculture. With small inputs, a high value product has been produced and commercialised. This method not only improves soil fertility and food security, but it also contributes to improved hygiene by safely recycling excreta available through community sanitation systems into a new product. Demand has been stimulated, yielding a good return on the investment. This innovation has potential for replication also to other countries, if the use of human excreta does not present serious challenges to cultural norms.
Another low-cost environmentally friendly innovation by local partner Village Water Zambia is using old ant hills as foundation for water pumps, avoiding the use of concrete and thus also reducing emissions from transport. These ant hills are usually permanent in communities, as they are stronger than concrete and close to impossible to destroy.