Drought Early Warning System in Karamoja UGANDA. ECHO-UNISDR Workshop May Nairobi

Transcription

1 Drought Early Warning System in Karamoja UGANDA ECHO-UNISDR Workshop May Nairobi 1

2 Defining EWS Definition: EWS is the provision of timely and effective information, through identified institutions, that allows individual exposed to a hazard to take action to avoid or reduce their risk and prepare for effective response. UN ISDR (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction) Priorities of the Hyogo Framework 1. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation 2. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning 3. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels 4. Reduce the underlying risk factors 5. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels 2

3 4 components of an EWS 3 rd international conference on EW, From concept to action - March 2006, Bonn - Germany 3

4 DROUGHT EWS: crucial in Karamoja Karamoja region: North/Eastern Uganda 1.15 million (1) Semi-Arid climate Mainly pastoralist & agro-pastoralist communities 4 consecutive years of drought, no time to rebuild their assets / Change in rainfall pattern Coping mechanisms adopted by the population are destructive over the long term Cattle raids creates insecurity Lack of alternative livelihood Poor education system, health services Lack of national policy in favour of nomadic population Lack of harmonized disarmament policy with neighbouring countries Population extremely vulnerable to drought Many stakeholders involved in Drought Preparedness but... - Lack of coordinated approach - No systematic monitoring of coming hazard and vulnerability of the population The population and stakeholders lack information for efficient and adapted preparedness to a coming drought 4

5 ACTED s involvement in EWS Under Regional Drought Decision - ECHO funding since 2008 In Consortium: DCA (Dan Church Aid), INGO leader of the consortium KADP (Karamoja Agro-pastoralist Development Program), local NGO C&D (Cooperation and Development), INGO ACTED (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development), INGO Project Title: Consolidation of livestock and water activities and improving EWS in Karamoja and North Pokot 2009/2010 5

6 FIRST STEPS First initiative in Nakapiripirit District - Started in June 2008 May Data collection in 26 parishes (26 sentinels, including 16 CAHWs) -Monthly Drought Bulletin published by ACTED Good feedback from development partners but several aspects missing: - Dissemination to the communities - Sustainability - Harmonization with the remaining 4 districts (Kaabong, Abim, Moroto, Kotido) - Standard list of indicators 6

7 DESIGN OF THE KARAMOJA WIDE EWS The project was designed following 2 national workshops in Moroto (04-06/2009) Wide range of participants: local authorities, OPM, relevant ministries, Dept of Meteorology, Uganda bureau of statistics, UN agencies, NGOs (national and international) and other stakeholders such as FEWSNET CEWARN Outputs: data collection, analysis and dissemination system and roles and responsibilities of stakeholders were agreed to. Raising Awareness (New Vision + Daily Monitor) Creation of data collection tool + monitoring tool Standardized List of indicators (36 in 6 sectors: Livestock; Agriculture; Health/Nutrition/Hygiene & Sanitation; Civil Security and Hazards; Water and Natural Resources; Livelihoods) Design of a EWS software 7

8 Core principles DESIGN OF THE KARAMOJA WIDE EWS 1. Project designed in consensus: district officials, representatives of national government (Office of the Prime Minister), UN agencies (UNICEF, WFP, OCHA, FAO, UNDP, WHO), local & international NGO 2. Government ownership (districts run the project, rely upon existing government institutional structure, national government gives support) 3. ACTED builds the capacity of the district + national government to run the budget 4. Low cost project: built under the current resources of the local government 5. Adapted to the context of Karamoja (list of indicators, chain of communication ) 6. Each district to produce its own Drought Bulletin, OPM to gather/disseminate data at national level 8

9 Chain of communication DESIGN OF THE KARAMOJA WIDE EWS C O L L E C T I O N A N A L Y S I S D I S S E M I N A T I O N Parish Chiefs Sub-County Chiefs DDMC District Water Officer Decides if any action plan must be implemented to prevent damages from foreseen drought District Natural Resources Officer District EW Focal Person Data Entry + Analysis Drought Bulletin District Health Officer DHO DISO DWO DVO District Internal Security Officer DAO DPO DNRO Decides if the community must be warned and advised with few recommendations to prevent damages from foreseen drought Sector working groups 9

10 BUILDING CAPACITY 1 Trainings Training of Sentinels Monitors (Parish Chiefs = 130, CBFs=60) in Data Collection, all parishes of Karamoja Training of Sub-County Chiefs in Data Collection, all sub-counties of Karamoja Training of DISO, DWO, DHO, DNRO in Data Collection, all districts of Karamoja Training of DEWFP in Data Collection/Entry/Analysis and production of a Drought Bulletin 2 Equipment Design of a EWS Software Bicycles given to Sentinel Monitors Computer + Generators given to DEWFP Laptop given to Focal Person at the OPM 10

11 Monitoring and technical support 1 Monitoring and technical support 2 Field Monitors to support to parish chiefs in data collection 1 Capacity Building Officer supports district heads of department and DEWFP for data collection/entry/analysis and production of Drought Bulletin 2 Regular Refresher training Community data collection, for Sentinels and Sub-County Chiefs (Feb 2010) Data entry/analysis and production of DB for DEWFP (18 th March 2010) 3 National Sustainability workshop Attended by the Hon. Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, National Coordinator for Recovery, Peace Building and Conflict Prevention / OPM, Senior Meteorologist, Department of Meteorology) Main output: Moroto Declaration 13 action points to be implemented by local and central government. Designed by all participants and brought to the attention of the Minister to be included in the National Disaster Management policy 11

12 Roles of other partners in DEWS C&D Livestock disease surveillance (testing, training of CAHWs). More collaboration in supervision of data collection at parish level currently being discussed OXFAM Support monitoring of data collection in 5 sub-counties (Kotido/Kaabong) after being trained by ACTED (April 2010) VSF-B Support monitoring of data collection in 1 district of Moroto after being trained by ACTED ACF Builds the capacity of the district in Community Based Nutrition Surveillance. Helps in collecting nutrition data from DHT KADP Collect information at market level (using Drought EWS questionnaires) Installed rain gages for better monitoring of rainfall data 12

13 Challenges met / Solution found (1/2) 1 - Data Collection Sub-County Chiefs busy or out of their sub-county, not following the Parish Chiefs as expected, not transmitting filled in questionnaires to the district Need to identify another solution in linking parish chiefs and DEWFP New way to send data (RapidSMS pilot project )? Parish Chiefs making mistake in filling in the questionnaires Great improvement noticed after refresher training done in Feb 2010 Reinforcement of ACTED technical support and monitoring since April 2010 (1 extra Field Monitor, collaboration built with partners like VSF-B and OXFAM) Reduce number of parishes involved in data collection, in the future?? No allowances for Parish Chiefs Decision to be made by the districts when budget from the local government allocated to DEWS 13

14 Challenges met / Solution found (2/2) 2 Data entry Some DEWFP not committed enough to enter data< National/local government to allocate more resources for this position (new position like Disaster Management Officer expected from the National Disaster Management Policy ) Mistake done at data entry DEWFP received technical support from ACTED which improved their performance 2 nd version of the software will make easier/faster data entry at parish level (to be ready by June 2010) Poor maintenance of the computer (Kaabong computer crashed and all data lost) Problem fixed by the district 3 Production of Drought Bulletin Technical problems with the software (not able to produce correct Drought Bulletin until March 2010). Delayed the production of DB Problem solved, first DB for Moroto, Kotido and Nakapiripirit received (waiting few corrections from DEWFP before dissemination) 4 Others Insecurity Attention required for population of Bududa slowed down implementation of the Moroto Declaration at national level 14

15 Successes Involvement/Support of the OPM: in all steps of the project. Recently the OPM wrote to all districts to instruct them to consider the DEWS into their planning and budget. National Coordinator 1 week in the field to visit all CAO, district planners, financial officers, DEWFP, FAO and OCHA to discuss implementation of the letter and challenges of the DEWS (1 st week May 2010) Dedication of some DEWFP (DB being produced in 3 districts though late) Dedication of many Parish Chiefs in collecting the data Involvement of partners in data collection monitoring: VSF-B in Moroto, OXFAM in Kotido/Kaabong (?) Awareness of the DEWS significantly improved (local&national level) Moroto declaration : Strong commitment by National authorities 2 districts already included DEWS into their next budget (Nakapiripirit and Moroto), more expected to be seen in the coming months 15

16 Our strategy for the next 2 years A. Reinforce what has been built so far 1. Frequent refresher trainings 2. Experience sharing workshops/exchange visits 3. Address challenges of data collection (Rapid SMS pilot project) 4. Advocacy for Enhanced support from national government 5. Community awareness to enhance community participation 16

17 Our strategy for the next 2 years B. Improve data analysis 1. Gathering and digitization of historical weather data 2. Building scientific forecasting capacity (linking DEWFP to Dept of Meteorology) 3. Upgrading EWS software (2nd and 3rd version) 4. Strengthening interpretation/trend analysis in the drought bulletin, i.e. ensuring that District Department Heads (Health, agriculture etc) participate in the production of the Bulletin. 5. Review the list of Early Warning Indicators based on o Capacity of districts to collect them o Relevance o Reliability of the information 6. Establish data quality control system 7. Strengthen linkages with other existing EWS 17

18 Our strategy for the next 2 years C. Develop data dissemination system Workshop involving all relevant stakeholders to agree on dissemination system o Identify means of communication to be used to reach all community members, incl. the most vulnerable. o Establish clear chain of communication o Determine roles and responsibilites of stakeholders D. and get more partners involved for: enhanced vulnerability monitoring & establishment of Early Response 18

19 Thank you! 19

20 Moroto Declaration (1 7) To be implemented by the national government 1. To finalize and activate the National Policy on Disaster Management 2. To equip and facilitate the weather stations and decentralisation the department of Meteorology 3. To put more resources in dryland research (agro-pastoral research institutes) and to relocate NABUIN in Karamoja 4. To develop Pro-Pastoral Policy 5. The Office of the Prime Minister should be fully established and operational in Karamoja 6. Mobilize resources to support the EWS at district government level 7. Office of the Prime Minister to write to the line ministries to include the EWS into their budget 20

21 Moroto Declaration (7-13) To be implemented by the national and local government 8. To integrate the Early Warning System into the local government / national government budget 9. To ensure better capacity for the Disaster Management Committees at all levels 10. To adopt integrated watershed management approach To be implemented by the local government 11. To develop program for education and awareness of communities on the Drought EWS 12. To enhance the participation and involvement of the community in the Drought EWS and integrate more the traditional EWS 13. To implement by laws and ordinance aimed at reducing the vulnerability of the population 21

22 Closure of the workshop The Hon. Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness mentioned that: The government is determined to see the policy on Disaster Management being operationalized soon. The sustainability of the Drought EWS will be discussed at the cabinet level so that the department of meteorology owns it effectively with more resources (like automatic weather stations). This additional resources will be available when this department becomes an autonomous agency («Uganda Meteorological Agency») The 12 resolutions mentioned by the participants during this workshop will be discussed with the Permanent Secretary, the department of Karamoja Affairs and the Prime Minister who will look at it attentively. 22