(UNDP , Hargeisa, Somaliland)- Resolution on Climate Change Adaptation to Build Development and Humanitarian Nexus and Disasters Risk Reduction
Recognizing that climate change has serious implications on society, natural resources and economic and human development of Somaliland, the Government of Somaliland commit to address the challenges and disaster risks posed by the climate change and variability.
Addressing climate change and disaster risks is also crucial for Somaliland to meet the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Paris Climate Agreement, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and of the World Humanitarian Summit.
Strong political commitment is necessary to address the negative consequences of climate change and prioritize actions to strengthen resilience and coping capacities.
The Government of Somaliland will take a leading role to integrate climate and disaster risk solutions into national policies and development plan to minimize the negative impacts of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, storms etc. Among others, especially the Ministries of Planning, Environment, Agriculture, Livestock, Water, Public Works, Fisheries, Energy, Health, Education, Women, Social Affairs and Information have to fully engage in taking the relevant actions.
In Somaliland, Development Actions and Humanitarian Response have to go hand in hand to build resilience (restoration of rangeland management, establish water infrastructure, implement land use policy, sustainable energy systems etc.), facilitate adaptation and reduce social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities.
In order for Somaliland to achieve these goals, capacity development will be central to deal with the climate challenges at the institutional level, community level and individual level. This can only be done in partnership with the involvement of multiple stakeholders such as the government, civil society organizations, private sector, diaspora, academia, media, donors and the United Nations.
The Government of Somaliland will develop a climate change policy to define the vision, strategy and responsibilities of stakeholders to manage climate risks and build resilience within a concrete time frame.
Given the importance of timely and understandable early warning information, capacities of the Somaliland Meteorology and other institutions should be developed for an End-to-End early warning system. This should include expansion of the climate data observation network of Somaliland the Meteorological service and human and technical capacity development observation, analysis, forecasting and dissemination of early warning. This will enhance timely decision making based on informed analysis.
In this regard, we look towards building partnership with the regional and international institutions working on climate early warning. Internally, the role of media, community activists,
religious leaders and community elders is critical for dissemination of warning to vulnerable communities.
Government gives high priority for capacity development of NERAD for performing their mandate of early warning systems, contingency planning, coordination, climate monitoring in collaboration with the national and international organisations.
The awareness of the broader Somaliland society is equally important to improve its understanding about climate change as a driver of droughts, floods and other natural hazards. In this regard, government agencies like Ministry of Environment and Rural Development, NERAD, ministry of social affairs, media, United Nations agencies, donors, national and international NGOs, and academic institutions will have to play a leading role to develop awareness campaigns and implement them in most vulnerable communities.
The formal education system needs to specifically focus on teaching climate change concepts, its impact and the ways to deal with it. This will help in engaging the youth to positively address the challenge to the society.
The marginalized and most vulnerable segments of Somaliland society should be specially supported for protecting them against the negative consequences of disasters and extreme weather events; e.g. droughts, floods, storms etc. Social safety nets should be established and the traditional safety links revived and strengthened to provide support to the vulnerable groups (women, children, IDPs, unemployed youth, elderly and physically challenged persons).
The best practices of community level adaptation need to be scaled up for building resilience of all vulnerable communities and to minimize livelihoods and economic losses at the
local and national level. The traditional systems of coping with droughts and floods should be revived as part of projects funded by the government and international community. The traditional systems need to be documented and taught as part of education curriculum.
The government will work with the international community to mobilize necessary technical and financial resources for building resilience against the climate change impacts. The government of Somaliland is committed to strengthen and improve the coordination of the development initiatives to reduce the duplication and overlap of the development projects.
Last but not least, since this Climate Change Forum has been very useful to engage partners and stakeholders in dialogue about climate risks and identification of solutions, it should not be considered a one-time event but institutionalized under the leadership of Somaliland Ministry of Environment and Rural Development to facilitate regular dialogue and track progress on agreed actions.
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