Climate Resilience

Overall Goal: Communities resist, absorb and recover from climate change.

Problem analysis: Climate change can irreversibly damage the natural resource base rural communities depend on, affecting their right to food. Lack of resilience is caused by among others a limited knowledge and capacity to adapt to climate change. Though the effects of climate change are disproportionate, the poorest are the most vulnerable in both rural and urban settings. However, they are seldom included in decision-making or organised at community, national and international levels.

During this period (2016-2018), NCA and partners have engaged 133,315 rights holders, boosting communities’ risk mitigation capacity through applying methods to protect important infrastructure and ensured food security in times of more extreme weather conditions.

Implementing Countries

Our Results

Outcome 1

Context specific minimum standards for mitigating risk to structural interventions

Minimum standards are needed simply to keep people safe and protect their assets. Investing in the planting of vegetation around structures have protected important infrastructure, such as roads, schools, buildings, bridges, housing, storage facilities and water supply schemes. More than 3,000 physical structures now meet the context-specific minimum standards. Improvements to the soil have directly protected areas previously troubled by erosion during flash flooding.

Status	No. of Countries	Countries
Achieved	6	Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Myanmar
Partially Achieved	1	Zambia
Not Achieved	0

In most of the countries, minimum standards are developed and countries are applying the standards. In Ethiopia, NCA’s partner Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus developed and applied context specific minimum standards comprehensively towards all their own buildings and all project infrastructure in the Tigray region. In Guatemala, government approved standards were developed by the communities themselves, which contribute to reducing deaths by preventing for example landslides during flash flooding. The government has also asked the task-force to operationalise the official contingency plans. Reforestation is identified as one of the minimum standards in Burundi, resulting in the planting of one million trees annually, with strong support of church leaders. More than 2,000 physical structures have as a result been secured.

Outcome 2

Communities adapted their food production to changes in climate 

Over this period, farmers have adopted climate-smart agriculture techniques that safeguard yields during extreme weather conditions. Vulnerable rain-fed agriculture is being counteracted by adjusting farming calendars, adoption of better seeds, new techniques and irrigation systems, which have enhanced both soil and harvests.

Status	No. of Countries	Countries
Achieved	4	Burundi, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti
Partially Achieved	2	Angola, Myanmar
Not Achieved	0

In Burundi, 271 villages in the target area are applying climate smart agricultural management techniques on their land, an overachievement of about 70%. This has resulted in 10,035 farmers for the first time being able to save up excess funds to invest in the future. Farmers in Ethiopia have proven that it is possible to significantly reduce yield gaps even in a continuous drought, if climate-smart agricultural methods are applied. The net deficit gap has been reduced by 600 kilos per hectare in project areas, from 1,380 kilos in 2015 down to 740 kilos in 2018. NCA’s partners in Myanmar have gained gratitude from local authorities on their successful demonstration plots of their farmer-field schools. In Guatemala, environmental impact studies carried out by NCA’s partners Madre Selva and COPAE in five communities included in the programme, provide crucial evidence and inform the advancement of agriculture using traditional knowledge and modern weather and climate data to for example save the maize genetic heritage.

Outcome 3

Communities implemented sustainable land management plans

Sustainable land management is critical to withstand the impact of floods and droughts. It requires collaboration of communities and local governments. A shift in mindset is noted in all the countries, as rights holders and duty bearers now consider the value of trees higher than the sheer value of the timber they produce.

Status	No. of Countries	Countries
Achieved	0
Partially Achieved	4	Burundi, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti
Not Achieved	0

Faith-leaders embrace the massive reforestation initiatives in Burundi. The midterm review of the Burundi programme verified that the target coverage of sustainable land management plans has already nearly been reached, in 2018 at 95% (baseline 0). In tropical Guatemala, more than 10,000 hectares have been assessed and plans are developed for sustainable management of the natural resources. In Ethiopia, partners are active participants and deliver according to the government’s national program for watershed management and have contributed to the acceleration of interventions. The area of land under sustainable land management is now at 41% (baseline 0), covering a total of 2,911 hectares. In Haiti, 35% of the land in the programme area is now under the sustainable land management plan (baseline 0).

Outcome 4

Organised civil society structures demonstrated action on climate resilience

Outcome four includes outcome five, which is implemented as an output under outcome four in Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Guatemala and Haiti. No country has selected outcome five.

A proactive approach to climate change necessitates long-term solutions where communities themselves can manage, maintain and implement measures. Targeted communities now have better capacity and are more and more being recognised by the authorities for their role in Disaster Risk Management (DRM).

Status	No. of Countries	Countries
Achieved	6	Burundi, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Myanmar, Zambia
Partially Achieved	4	Angola
Not Achieved	0

NCA’s partners have been successful in establishing 411 community task-forces who can prepare for climate shocks and respond within 72 hours from the onset of an emergency. In total more than 100,000 primarily younger men and women have been trained and organised in community task-forces, motivated, mandated and equipped for risk mitigation. In Guatemala, 18 task-forces have been certified by the national authority on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Task forces in eight communities trained by local partner AHAAMES in Haiti have become specialised in village early warning communication, mitigating severe effects of cyclones. As part of their preparations, they regularly perform mock drills indicating a mature resilience mechanism. Ethiopia had very few DRR community task forces prior to NCA’s programme. Today, they are not only crucial task-forces, but also run contingency funds for families in need and function as a bridge of communication between villagers, communities and the authorities. Likewise, task forces in Zambia have broadened their expertise and ten task forces were hired by the government to assist in the country wide response to the outbreak of the African army worm pest which affecting agriculture and flora. Task forces in Burundi and Zambia have gained considerable advocacy capacity. In Zambia they influenced the government to set-up a coordination group for improving line management and communication. Burundi’s task-forces were instrumental when NCA’s partners organised the very first national conference on climate change and DRR.

Key innovations from the programme area

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.

Lessons learned and adaptation

After three years of implementation, community mobilisation has shown the most promising advancement. Farmers are feeling the effects of climate change on their harvests and are quick to adapt their farming practices. Churches and faith-based organisations can mobilise communities for climate resilience, and also provide infrastructure, organisation and ability to mobilise, and are increasingly recognised as vital to the government structure needed to fulfill the commitment to the Sendai framework on Disaster Reduction. During the past three years climate change has been lifted on the agenda, partly due to more media coverage, but also because the impacts of climate change globally are experienced at a faster rate than anticipated.

A lesson learned is that the development and implementation of sustainable land management plans takes more time than projected. However, there is now a momentum to speed up the process with land management plans to ensure investments and commitments are made for a sustainable future. Negative effects as a result of climate change impacts all development sectors. This fact becomes an opportunity for various actors to come together acknowledging a common challenge and could bridge the gap between civil society and governments where they come together to prevent damage and loss. NCA therefore plans to emphasise the advocacy aspects of climate resilience, in the coming programme framework from 2020.

Results case

NCA’s local partner ADRA in Angola successfully scales up rainwater harvesting system now adopted by municipalities

Access to adequate water is a major challenge for communities in the south of Angola, where periodic droughts are becoming frequent. 

Why:

Providing a durable solution for poor families to take advantage of rainfall through harvesting precipitation is crucial as it increases their resilience and reduces the risk of disaster in their communities.

What:

To solve this challenge, four rain water harvesting cisterns were built using successful blue prints of NCA’s local partner Diaconia in Brazil. In NCA’s progress report to Norad for 2017, this result was highlighted. The south-south partnership between Diaconia and ADRA fostered not only community commitment to water harvesting for drier periods, but it also taught Angolan communities how to better manage water availability over time. Since NCA reported the progress of the water cisterns in the 2017 report to Norad, ADRA has been able to convince the municipal administrations to replicate the water harvesting systems in Gambos and Cacula municipalities in the province of Huíla. The municipalities have included and budgeted for the construction of 100 cisterns in their plans. These water harvesting tanks can collect 5.2 million litres of water, and ensures that during the arid season, 950 people will be sustained with 15 litres of water per day.

How:

Community and faith leaders in Gambos and Cacula raised their concerns about the lack of coping and response strategies with duty bearers. ADRA, assisted with advocacy tools from Diaconia, presented the new method of collecting and retaining rainwater to the municipalities. The municipalities recognised the potential this presents and adopted the model into their planning. This shows that when people are mobilised, and community- and faith leaders present a new and practical solution to authorities, municipalities are willing to pay for the investment of crucial life-saving infrastructure.

Norad Results Report 2016-2018