Disaster risk reduction

Kulima strongly believes in closer alignment between the disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation communities, in order to build on lessons learned and good practices.

Our disaster risk reduction projects have included:

2013-2014

Engendering disaster risk reduction in Mozambique

Kulima Integrated Development Solutions has been chosen by CARE Mozambique as an implementing partner in a BMZ-funded project on engendering disaster risk reduction.  Running until 2014, the project will develop new gender-sensitive vulnerability assessment methodologies and train personnel to facilitate their use in participatory vulnerability assessments in Homoine and Angoche districts.  After field testing, refinements will be made and the final gender-sensitive toolkit will be used to advocate for gender-sensitive disaster risk reduction.  Further training will also be conducted with national and local level government and civil society members in the hopes that gender-sensitive vulnerability approaches become standard in the future.

2011

-Assessing the sustainability of a food security disaster risk reduction intervention in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique

Recognising that disasters such as floods and cyclones typically ruin crops before harvest, an ECHO-DIPECHO project in 2011 supported the use of early maturing crop varieties in flood and cyclone-prone areas in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique.  Use of early maturing varieties by farmers in hazard prone areas acts as a food security disaster risk reduction intervention in several ways.  Firstly, the shorter time required for the crop to reach maturity reduces the likelihood of crop loss due to  floods, cyclones and other natural hazards. Through attainment of early maturity, the crop is able to escape the peak hazard period.  Secondly, the short growing period required for such crop varieties could make it possible to produce a second crop on the same piece of land, thereby intensifying production and increasing yields.  The project implementer, FAO, commissioned Kulima to undertake a qualitative assessment of the sustainability of this intervention, in terms of whether farmers are willing and able to repurchase early maturing seed after three planting seasons (in terms of availability and affordability).

SEI-UN/ISDR Writeshop and Mentorship Programme to Support Developing Country Publications on Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation to Climate Change

Both Kulima directors were invited to act as mentors on the SEIUN ISDR Writeshop and Mentorship programme to support developing country publications on disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change.  Roles included screening applications for the anglophone Africa writeshop, held in Ghana in February 2011, providing training during the workshop on various aspects of the peer-reviewed publication process, and mentoring participants over the six months following the writeshop until their papers were ready for submission.