LESSONS LEARNED ON POST-DISASTER RECOVERY THE CASE OF THE DROUGHT IN THE PROVINCE OF CUNENE (ANGOLA)

Transcription

1 LESSONS LEARNED ON POST-DISASTER RECOVERY THE CASE OF THE DROUGHT IN THE PROVINCE OF CUNENE (ANGOLA) Country ANGOLA Region AFRICA Key Result Area DISASTER RECOVERY Project ID PREPAREDNESS FOR RESILIENT RECOVERY Project Activity Dates Start: Feb End: Sept. 2017

2 ABSTRACT From 2013 to 2014, over 1.5 million people were hit by a severe drought in the Southern provinces of Angola. Cunene Province was the most affected where it is estimated that 550,000 people alone were impacted. Drought in Cunene was the consequence of the combination of prolonged dry spells and rainfall deficit in a natural climate cycle, aggravated by the impacts of climate change. Prolonged dry spells and poor rainfall have resulted in severe crop failure, and stressed water resource availability for human consumption, livestock, and agriculture. The result of the drought in the Province of Cunene was an acute humanitarian crisis at the peak of the 2013/14 season, most acutely felt by poor households and rural and agro-pastoralist communities. While the Angolan government (GoA) concentrated its efforts on responding to the crisis and addressing basic humanitarian needs, no systematic approach was adopted to support the drought recovery process in the longer term. In 2013/2014, few interventions effectively targeted the restoration of livelihoods and living conditions of the disaster-affected communities, with many communities left to cope on their own. Willing to extend its support beyond crisis response, the GoA with the support of UNDP has engaged since 2015 in setting up the policy framework, developing the institutional arrangements and enhancing technical and financial capacities to better support long term recovery processes and improve people s resilience to future shocks and risks. Against that background, the CNPC in partnership with UNDP has been supporting the implementation of the National Plan for Preparedness, Contingency, Response and Recovery from Calamities and Disasters , through the project entitled Strengthening Capacities for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Building. One of the critical components of this Plan is the establishment of a pre-disaster resilient recovery common framework in 2017, which is aimed at reducing social and economic consequences of disasters, avoiding recreation of risks during recovery period and ensuring build back better, with a special focus on the most vulnerable populations. This document systematizes lessons learned during the Cunene 2013/2014 drought recovery phase, as well as during the 2016 El Nino-induced drought. It provides an analysis of aspects that should be strengthened and improved, in order to create the conditions for a resilient and sustainable recovery planning. Organized around six essential pillars of recovery, namely Institutional arrangements for recovery, Laws and policies for recovery, Post-disaster needs assessments, Financial mechanisms for recovery, Monitoring and Evaluating Recovery and Information and Communications Systems, the document intends to feed the reflection among national stakeholders and guide the design of pre- and post-disaster resilient recovery common frameworks, at national and sub-national level. INTRODUCTION Country context and hazard profile Overview Angola is situated in Southern Africa, bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Zambia, with a total area of 1,246,700 km². Administratively, it is divided into 18 provinces, 173 municipalities and 618 communes, even divided in rural villages, and with an estimated population of 25,789,024 inhabitants, whose 52% is female. 62.5% is represented by people who live in cities, whereas 37.5% live in rural areas, due to the rural exodus for the civil war. The 27-year civil conflict in Angola - which ended in caused the widespread destruction of the country s infrastructures and social services, the dislocation of the rural population and the spread of landmines throughout the country. The effects have been profound and resulted in a massive decline of the country s productive capacity and socioeconomic conditions. The country s education, water and sanitation infrastructure and services were also significantly destroyed by the conflict. In addition the state of protracted crisis contributed to diminished institutional capacities, both at technical and managerial levels as well as to difficulties with public financial, information & communication management systems. Angola made substantial progress in economic and political terms since the end of the war in 2002, aided by an economic boom that was fuelled by increased oil production and prices. Governance and policy frameworks, interinstitutional coordination, financial management systems, information collection and management, among others have improved. Nevertheless, large pockets of the population still remain in poverty and without adequate access to basic services. Only 20 percent of the population has access to electricity. According to the 2014 census, only 44 percent of 2

3 households have access to appropriate sources of drinking water. In the rural sector, this percentage is significantly lower at 22.4 percent. Cunene Province Cunene province is located in the Southern region of Angola, and its capital is Ondjiva. It is found between the latitudes 15º10'S and 17º24'S and the longitudes 13º17'E and 17º23'E. It has 77,213 km 2 with a population of 990,087 people, of which 782,931 live in rural areas. It has a border of 460km with Namibia. The province has six municipalities and twenty-two communes. The population has Ambo origins and is essentially rural. Very different from the majority of Angolan population, people from Cunene are not from Bantu ethnic group. Their main ethnic groups are: Ambos, Nyaneca- Nhumbi, Herero, Ovakwangala (Bushman), and Mutuas. The last two are Bantu people. Oshikwanhama or Ambo language is spoken in Kwanhama and Namacunde municipalities. The Province is sparsely populated and many rural communities are marginal and have low levels of socio-economic development. In relation to education, nearly 29 percent of children and youth aged 6 to 17 have never attended school and 25 percent of the population between 15 and 24 years of age cannot read or write. In Cunene only 23 percent of the population has access to water; less than 12 percent of households have access to sanitation facilities and only 11 percent of inhabitants have public electricity. The province of Cunene falls within the arid and semi-arid agro-ecological zone of Southern Angola, characterized by desert and savannah. Cunene is most frequently affected by disasters linked to climate variability and change, namely dry spells/droughts and floods. Other biological hazards from infectious diseases or generated by poor water and sanitation management have also impacted the province, imposing large economic and human costs. Communicable and other diseases such as malaria, diarrheal and acute respiratory diseases (typhoid, cholera, and tuberculosis) have high probability of occurrence in all provinces, including Cunene. Given the high rainfall variability in the province ( mm rainfall per annum), rangeland, transhumance pastoralism or the seasonal migration of livestock between the lowlands and adjacent provinces are common practices. While most households own cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and poultry, these are the primary livelihood assets among the poor. Cattle are rarely sold unless a household is under duress or the cattle are in extremely poor condition as a result of drought conditions. Access to lowlands (riverbeds, depressions, etc.) for agriculture is also a major livelihood asset, particularly in the western part of the livelihood zone. Rains support millet farming, though yields are very low; depressions support irrigated agriculture of sorghum and vegetables. Normally local production of millet and sorghum provides food for consumption for up to half of the year, while during the other half of the year consumption needs are met through market food purchases. Since Cunene is maize and bean deficient, markets are supplied by nearby Huila Province (maize and beans) and Namibia (maize). People living in the zone depend on the sale of livestock (mainly small stock), own cereal production as well as market purchases for food, fishing (coastal and riverine areas), gardening, and labour markets fuelled by trade and industry. In 2012, six out of 18 provinces across central and western Angola experienced a drought that affected up to 932,927 people. From 2013 to 2014, the drought continued to affect the Southern provinces, especially Cunene, Cuando Cubango, Huila, and Namibe; according to government data, over 1.5 million people were affected by the drought in these provinces. In the Cunene province alone 550,000 people were affected. Drought in Cunene was the consequence of the combination of prolonged dry spells and rainfall deficit in a natural climate cycle, aggravated by the impacts of climate change. The effects and impact of the 2013/2014 drought on the population of Cunene were amplified by the following vulnerability factors: Human and Social Factors Poor health status of the population before the disaster; High percentage of HIV positive people (4.8%) and other chronic diseases; 3

4 Isolation of rural inhabitants that live far away from each other; Low level of literacy, especially in rural areas and for women; Social protection system is very limited, low capacity to cover the territory and all vulnerable population; Uncontrolled population displacement and migration; Cultural and traditional barriers to innovation; Infrastructures Limited access to basic social infrastructures e.g. irrigation; water supply; sanitation systems; and energy; Bad conditions of roads, which have not facilitated urban-rural communication flow and the quick support to communities affected by drought; Economic and Productive Sector Food insecurity; Poor and unsustainable livelihoods, low productive capacity, based on climate or informal business; Agriculture dependent on climate (subsistence agriculture) and low capacity to implement smart agriculture practices; Economic systems strictly dependent on agriculture; The prolonged dry spell has changed the natural seasons, negatively influencing the harvest; Crosscutting issues (DRR, environment, governance and gender) Uncontrolled human action/pressure on the environment - with an alarming and pre-existing land degradation condition; Absence of early warning systems for drought; Inadequate preparation for drought and underestimation of the prolonged dry spell; Low and slow implementation of administrative decentralization, poor autonomy and weak power of local authorities to consolidate a financial, technical and planning dependency from the central government. Description of disaster effects and impacts, recovery planning process and recovery interventions Different parts of Cunene Province face mild-to-moderate droughts or floods each year. However, rainfall in 2013/2014 season was extremely low, leading to below-average vegetation conditions, particularly in the western part of the province bordering Namibe, including Onco cua (Curoca municipality) and Cahama town, Otchinjau, Evale, and Mongua (Cahama municipality). Rainfall was also low in the northern part of the province in Cuvelai (Mupa municipality), and southern part near Ombala yo Mungo (Ombadja municipality), as well as in the Curoca municipality. Due to the poor rainfall, access to water for livestock, human consumption, and agriculture was the major constraint for households to meet their minimum needs at the peak of the 2013/14 season. The result of this severe drought in the Province of Cunene was an acute humanitarian crisis. According to the Angolan Government, 550,000 people have been affected by drought in Cunene alone. Effects and impacts of Drought The 2013/2014 drought has had significant effect and impact on the people s lives. The effects are mainly related to the depletion of food stock, reduction of available food, degradation of water points, 4

5 and reduction of fertile land for pasture and for agriculture. The social and human impacts of the drought are particularly significant, especially in the short and longer term, such as a rise in malnutrition, low school performance and school abandonment. The main effects and impacts of drought can be summarized and estimated in the following points. Effects: Impacts: Rural communities progressively lost their stocks of food and seeds, further aggravating their levels of poverty and increasing future vulnerability to climate shocks. Agro-pastoralist communities lost the capacity to cope with compounding environmental hardships, such as a decrease in the quality of pasture and rangeland, decreased access to water for human and animal consumption, livestock diseases and losses, and related lack of capacity to cultivate fields, and degradation of soil fertility and water quality. The water table was also declining and about 80 percent of the existing boreholes were non-functional due to water scarcity and disrepair. Poor local authorities lacked the necessary technical and financial resources to fully implement the drought response, and remain mostly dependent upon central government resources. The central government did not have enough human, financial and logistical resources to provide adequate support for attending to all needs of local communities and authorities. Harvests decreased to range from 50 to 70 percent below average in the province. Rural households and farmers turned to alternative sources of food and income, such as producing / selling charcoal and gathering wild food for consumption and sale. Prices for staple foods were approximately 10 percent higher than those observed over the same period in the previous years due to the above-average demand from below-average local production. Households refrained from selling or bartering cattle, primarily a social asset, until the animals were near death. Malnutrition was exacerbated by the poor harvest, especially affecting children under age 5. Mortality rates also increased in Cunene province, especially in children under age 5. Greater school abandonment and lower school attendance due to the impact of the drought were observed. due to hunger and lack of water and closure of some schools as direct causes, as well as to the increased need for child labour, out-migration, longer transhumance livestock migrations, greater difficulties in fetching water for family consumption as indirect causes. Environmental conditions deteriorated as a consequence of the increasing production of charcoal, leading to a higher rate of deforestation and land degradation. Transhumance livestock migrations began earlier and lasted longer than is customary, and women experienced an increase in workloads. Recovery planning process and recovery interventions Following the 2013/2014 drought, the Angolan government and other stakeholders (such as UN agencies, INGOs, churches, CSOs) concentrated their efforts on response and emergency management in support of the most vulnerable populations. For example, at the national level, in 2012, the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) launched a joint drought response in collaboration with the Government of Angolan through OCHA s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) support. This support was in response to the drought experienced during the agricultural calendar season in , which was marked by rainfall deficit of more than 60 percent compared to normal years. In the same year, the international community mobilized US$ 6.5 million. Of this amount, the CERF rapid response mechanism mobilized US$ 5.1 million for humanitarian projects to: a) provide emergency nutrition and lifesaving care to under-5 children with global acute malnutrition to reduce to less than 5 percent case fatality rate of severely acute malnourished children treated in the Therapeutic Feeding Centers (SAM in-patients); b) alleviate 16,550 drought affected families in three provinces; and c) enable drought affected families to better overcome similar situation in the future. The projects were implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (MINADERP), the Ministry of Health (MoH), and Ministry of Social Welfare (MINARS). In 2013 the international community significantly increased its contributions reaching a total amount of US$ 13.4 million, which were mostly distributed in three key areas of support: nutrition (91.3%), food security (7.9%) and disaster risk 5

6 reduction (0.7%). The Angolan Government put in place a multi-sectorial response plan in 2013, which consisted of food and non-food distributions, the construction of boreholes and distribution of water through tankers, agricultural inputs, construction and rehabilitation of dams, and health and nutrition support. This response plan, with a budget of roughly US$ 234 million or 38 billion AKZ, targeted the most vulnerable in the drought-affected provinces of Benguela, Cuanza Sul, Hui la, Cunene, Namibe and Cuando Cubango. At the same time, the GoA established an Inter-Ministerial Commission to coordinate all the sectorial humanitarian responses, led by the Minister of Planning and comprised MINAGRI, MINARS, and other ministries. Yet, while these interventions helped address the humanitarian consequences of the 2013/2014 drought in Cunene, no systematic concerted approach was adopted to plan and implement the recovery process in the longer term, nor was there any institution clearly appointed to lead recovery efforts. Governmental support for the implementation of interventions to restore lives and living conditions of affected populations, reduce drought exposure and build adaptive capacity was limited. Acknowledging the need to go beyond crisis response and to strengthen people s resilience to future shocks and risks, the GoA with the support of UNDP engaged in strengthening recovery policy frameworks, institutional arrangements for recovery as well as technical and financial capacities to plan and implement sustainable disaster recovery processes. In February of 2014 a joint mission of UN agencies composed by experts from UNDP/OCHA, UNICEF and IOM conducted a drought rapid assessment in three provinces of Angola (Huambo, Huila and Cunene). This rapid assessment mission had the purpose to evaluate the effects and impact of drought on vulnerable people, the response of the provincial authorities and the coordination mechanisms and information management at provincial level. The experts carried out interviews with provincial authorities and local NGO representatives to collect data. Based on the mission report recommendations provided by the drought rapid assessment by the UN, the National Civil Protection Commission (CNPC) with the support of UNDP assisted the drought-affected Southern provinces to prepare Action Plans for enhanced Coordination and Information Management. Those affected provinces were also assisted in developing Pilot Strategies comprising strategic and operational priority action to ensure building resilience of vulnerable communities before and after a disaster. Pilot Provincial Strategies have been implemented from 2015 to The purpose of these Pilot Strategies for Building Resilience, elaborated considering the sectorial development plans of the provincial government and its partners, is to harmonize and coordinate interventions of various sectors and partners, to implement integrated and sustainable approaches for resilience-building. These pilot strategies include disaster risk reduction considerations and aims at building institutional and community resilience. 1 To further improve preparedness both for response to and recovery from disasters, the Angolan government renewed the National Plan for Preparedness, Contingency, Response and Recovery for the period. The CNPC in partnership with UNDP has been implementing critical components of the National Plan through a project entitled Strengthening Capacities for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Building. One of the critical components is establishment of a pre-disaster resilient recovery common framework in 2017, which is aimed at reducing social and economic consequences of disasters, avoiding recreation of risks during recovery period and ensuring build back better. In 2015, with financial support from Japan and UNDP s technical assistance, the CNPC initiated a process to develop the tools, mechanisms and capacities needed to strengthen disaster resilience and management of post-disaster recovery processes, while supporting the implementation of Pilot Strategies for Building Resilience in the provinces affected by the drought, namely Cunene, Namibe and Huíla. In 2015 and 2016, CNPC held Provincial Seminars on Preparedness for Resilient Disaster Recovery, to integrate key concepts of recovery and resilience-building in planning by sectorial departments, such as Planning, Finance, Agriculture, Education, Energy and Water, Social Assistance and Reintegration, and Health. These actions undertaken by the CNPC with the support of the UN after the 2013/2014 drought, aimed at building capacity in disaster recovery, include: 1. Drought Assessment of February 2014 by UN; 2. Preparation of the Pilot-Provincial Strategies for Building Resilience along with Action Plans for Coordination and Information Management; 3. Preparation of the National Plan for Preparedness, Contingency, Response, and Recovery ; 4. Preparation of the Provincial Plans for Preparedness, Contingency, Response, and Recovery ; 1 For example, for the construction of a school under the leadership of the education sector, the civil protection supports the identification of an area with no risk of flooding, the social department supports the prioritization of the most vulnerable children, the water and sanitation sector inserts this school in its sectorial programs for water and sewer connections. In addition, complementary programs are integrated: the school produces crops on-site for school meals under the supervision of the provincial agriculture department or promotes campaigns for trees planting with the support of the provincial environment department. 6

7 5. Preparation of the National Strategic Plan for Prevention and DRR , including work plan ; 6. Preparedness for Resilient Recovery (Pre-DRP) activities supported by Japan from 2015 to 2017 including: National Training Seminars on Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA); A Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) on the drought; Provincial and Municipal Seminars on Pre-DRP, PDNA and Resilience-Building; Resilience situation analysis, mapping of vulnerable groups, training on recovery / resilience-building for Civil Protection members and focal points at national, provincial and municipal levels; Preparation of the Municipal Strategies for Building Resilience; Preparation of a Roster of National Recovery and Resilience-Building Experts; Recovery capacity assessment at all levels; Exchange of experience on recovery / resilience building; and Launching of the National Disaster Loss Database. Despite these progress, more work still needs to be done to address both consequences of and response to disasters, and reinforce the institutional, legislative, and financial arrangements and mechanisms necessary to ensure sustainable and resilient disaster recovery. The GoA has demonstrated its commitment and availability for further development of recovery capacity, especially in leading the recovery process in the aftermath of the most recent 2015/2016 El Ninoinduced drought. Lessons learned study: purpose and methodology This document collects the lessons learned based on post-disaster recovery activities undertaken in the Cunene province after the 2013/2014 droughts to inform and improve future recovery processes in Angola. As mentioned above, Angola does not yet have clearly defined systems, tools or processes to plan and manage disaster recovery. The institutions and the national system of Civil Protection primarily focus on the response and mitigation of immediate effects of drought. Therefore, this document has tried to focus on the aspects that should be strengthened and improved, based on the past and current situation, in order to create appropriate conditions for a resilient and sustainable recovery planning and implementation. The methodology for capturing lessons learned was based on a desk review of documents and assessments realized during 2013/2014 and on semi-structured interviews with key actors who were part of the 2013/2014 drought management team. Interviews were conducted with the Second Provincial Commander and the Risk Analysis Technician from Civil Protection in Cunene, the Provincial Directors of Agriculture and Social Assistance and Reintegration of Cunene Province and 4 municipal administrators of Cahama, Ondjiva, Namacunde e Ombadja Municipalities. In addition, a field visit was conducted in the Cahama Municipality where members of the administration were interviewed. The field visit offered the opportunity to gain a good understanding of on-going projects supported by FAO and the local administration, aiming at building resilience in vulnerable communities (agro-pastoral schools, production of mineral blocks for animals and community agents of animal health). Several interviews, semi-structured discussions and hearings from the community were organized during a week-time period to understand end-users perspectives on the benefits of the main activities implemented for drought's management by the Provincial Government and its partners in the Cunene Province. A set of guiding questions were clustered under six pillars: 1. Institutional arrangements for recovery 2. Laws and policies for recovery 3. Post-disaster needs assessments 4. Financial mechanisms for recovery 5. Monitoring and Evaluating Recovery 6. Information and Communications Systems Each recovery pillar was analysed following the four criteria: 7

8 1. Achievements and critical success factors 2. Main challenges / shortcomings / unforeseen circumstances 3. How the challenges were overcome? 4. How things should have been done differently / better? KEY PILLARS Institutional arrangements for recovery No institution is officially mandated to plan and implement disaster recovery in Angola. The National Plan for Preparedness, Contingency, Response, and Recovery from Calamities and Disasters emphasizes the importance of defining the recovery phase, developing institutional guidelines for its implementation, delineating governmental and partners responsibilities, agreeing on a budgeting process as well as on intervention timelines. Reaching an agreement on these aspects would prove critical in guiding the Government and its partners in the recovery processes. In Angola, the Civil Protection is the institution in charge of disaster management. Angola s National Civil Protection System was established in 2003, with the purpose to facilitate inter-sectorial coordination and synergies on prevention, mitigation, preparedness and emergency response across sectors, and between different government levels. The Civil Protection in Angola has a vertical structure: from the central state to the municipalities and communes. The Civil Protection System consists of the following: National Council of Civil Protection an inter-ministerial body for consultation chaired by the President of the Republic and which comprises the sector Ministers and the Director of the National Civil Protection Service. The President coordinates disaster response. National Civil Protection Commission (CNPC) a specialized body responsible for technical assistance and operational coordination. It is led by the Minister of Interior and is composed of representatives of ministries and representatives of other relevant institutions. The Minister of the Interior coordinates response actions. The Executive Secretariat of the National Civil Protection Commission, a permanent multi-sectorial body coordinated by the National Commander of Civil Protection and Firefighting Service (SPCB), technically supports the National Civil Protection Commission. SPCB has an operational role and is responsible for supporting the sectors to implement the activities established by the Working Group and to assist the Provincial Commanders of Civil Protection in the disaster response. This national structure is replicated at the provincial and municipal levels through the Provincial and Municipal Commissions of Civil Protection (CPPC and CMPC), and is coordinated by the Provincial Governors and Municipal Administrators respectively. Coordination between the national system and the United Nations and its partners is done through the CNPC and the Disaster Management Team (UNDMT), including through technical groups comprising representatives from every sector and organization. Technical groups are constituted according to the type and severity of emergency (i.e. malnutrition, floods, droughts etc.). In a crisis situation, the technical groups are organized according to response sectors. In such a case, the interested sector heads the other sectors to define a response strategy and action, assisted by the relevant UN agency. If the Nutrition Working Group is led by the Section of Nutrition of the National Directorate of Public Health / Ministry of Health with the support of UNICEF, it will be composed of all sectors' representatives (water, education, agriculture, etc.), UN agencies and NGOs. For example, in 2013, the GoA established an Inter-Ministerial Commission that would coordinate all the sectorial efforts to support the drought-affected population in the country, led by the Minister of Planning and comprised of the heads of MINAGRI, MINEA, MINARS, MAT, and MININT, which did not fully follow the structure established in the National Civil Protection System. With regards to coordination at the Provincial level, Cunene is an interesting example. From 2007 to 2014, cyclical and frequent droughts and floods affected the Province. This stimulated local authorities to implement the response coordination mechanisms guided by the National Law of Civil Protection System. Through a learning by doing approach, the local authorities tested their disaster management skills and defined responsibilities of each actor and institution involved. It has been highlighted that during the 2013/2014 drought response, all actors in Cunene worked very closely (i.e. provincial government, municipalities, NGOs, civil society organizations, UN agencies etc.). Informants on the ground 8

9 considered this as a success factor in effective response. At the provincial level, difficulties related to the low availability of resources have prompted the actors to broaden the dialogue and to participate in coordination meetings and joint field visits to vulnerable communities. Although the government and its partners conducted some independent evaluations, informants highlighted that for the first time they involved and consulted the vulnerable populations and local governments. These people expressed and described their situation caused by drought, explained their real needs and voiced possible solutions. Even if the population did not receive the support expected, they had participated in the consultations and they did not feel they were completely abandoned to cope on their own. Although there were some difficulties in agreeing and formalizing statistics by the government and partners, dialogue has been strengthened for future collaboration between the actors present in Cunene. This point is very important for future recovery interventions, noting that inter-institutional coordination at the local level is critical for planning and implementing sustainable interventions. It is important to note that the combination of the trainings and workshops followed by a practical application on the ground helped local actors to improve their general understanding of disaster response, recovery and disaster risk reduction. In fact, significant resources have been invested in provincial seminars to build local capacity on Preparedness for Resilient Recovery (Pre-DRP), disaster risk reduction, disaster response, early warning systems, etc. Particularly at provincial level, members of the local institutions have increased their understanding on the structure of Civil Protection, its roles and responsibilities, and are now able to participate and take decisions on response to and management of disasters, in particular with regards to drought interventions. A national database of practitioners trained on resilient recovery has also been established and an assessment of capacities on recovery was conducted, contributing to improve the understanding of institutional capacities as well as gaps and challenges to improve recovery capacity. The effective planning and management of recovery processes in Angola will require further coordination, dialogue and collaborative action, and a continued strengthening of technical capacities of human resources. With regards to institutional arrangements for recovery, the challenges noted in the recovery planning and implementation phases is summarised as follows: Government s priority is still on response, trying to integrate the resilience building approach, not yet on recovery; No recovery is possible in the absence of long-term development interventions integrating disaster risk reduction approach at local level; Government s low absorptive capacity to implement development programs, both national and internationallyassisted; Lack in the professional capacities at provincial and municipal levels to implement and monitor the interventions, and analyse risks and vulnerabilities; Understanding disaster recovery and defining cross-sectorial strategies, bridging the gap between emergency response and long-term development; Limited involvement of municipalities and affected vulnerable communities in recovery planning and decisionmaking; Highly bureaucratic processes at all levels; Difficulty to put in place the decentralized governance system due to differences in the technical capacity and the distribution of resources i.e. Central-Province-Municipality-Commune-Community; Frequent change of the staff of public institutions reduces the continuity, understanding and cooperation on recovery. The people interviewed have indicated some actions and strategies to overcome these difficulties: Investing more on capacity building of municipal administrations, including strengthening of professional capacity in recovery planning and interventions, and identifying local resources for recovery and resilience-building; Organizing cyclical seminars and training for Civil Protection agents. Laws and policies for recovery Basic Law of Civil Protection 28/03, adopted on November 7, 2003, established the National Civil Protection System, as 9

10 the coordinating and mobilizing body for sectorial actions in the disaster prevention, preparation, response and mitigation. However, no laws or policies directly address elements of disaster recovery in Angola. The CNPC has achieved several milestones both in Risk Governance and Disaster Risk Reduction initiatives that are important in defining future recovery processes and plans. Among them are the following: 2010: Adoption of the National Plan for Disaster Preparedness, Contingency, Response and Recovery. This plan introduced the concept of recovery for the first time in the country and recommends defining a recovery framework, which would guidepost disaster recovery efforts. 2010: Establishment of the National Centre for Operational Coordination (CNCO) by Presidential Decree 229/ : Adoption of the Strategic Plan for Risk Management with emphasis on Poverty Reduction and Adaptation to Climate Change 2009/2014 to contribute to sustainable development by reducing vulnerabilities and the impact of disasters, with priority on geographic areas with higher levels of poverty and environmental degradation. 2015: Approval of the National Plan for Disaster Preparedness, Contingency, Response and Recovery Chapter III of this plan makes a provision for the formulation of a National Recovery Framework by 2017, under the responsibility of the National Civil Protection Commission and with the participation of the Ministry of Planning and Territorial Development. The recovery procedure needs a specific law that must be defined to indicate the national responsibilities considering the current country context and the experience gained in the Civil Protection sector. The GoA must invest in the definition of legal structure to implement a recovery framework and to plan the post-crisis phase. 2015: Approval of the Strategic Plan for Prevention and Disaster Risk Reduction. The plan is considered as a contribution to the National Development Plan ( ), and is structured according to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction : Development of Provincial Plans for Disaster Preparedness, Contingency, Response and Recovery for Cunene, Huíla and Namibe. In line with national specifications, these provincial contingency plans did not define plans for recovery, but gave an orientation to do so. During the interviews, it became clear that so far Angola has managed and tried to minimize the immediate effects of drought without real recovery plan. The need to go further than support to emergency interventions and define a longterm vision for recovery was expressed by all the key-actors interviewed. Among the challenges are: Ensuring broad political engagement for the definition process of a national disaster recovery framework, backed by legal provisions; Consolidating understanding on recovery policies among the sectors as part of planning process, integrating building resilience and disaster risk reduction in a short time with a focus on vulnerable populations; Supporting the GoA for defining, approving and disseminating recovery law and policies; Supporting the GoA for the development of recovery guidelines and framework. Beyond developing integrated disaster recovery frameworks, improving disaster preparedness in general is key to mitigate disaster impact and recover in a quicker, more sustainable and inclusive manners. This should include efforts to strengthen early warning systems as well as contingency planning. It is also important to integrate disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation concerns into national and local development strategies, plans and budgets. Post-disaster needs assessments No Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) was undertaken for the 2013/2014 drought. From 2013 to 2014, various rapid assessments, researches and studies were conducted on the effects and impacts of drought by both government and non-state actors. Unfortunately, these assessments were frequently carried out by individual organizations or only by government institutions; No joint assessment had ever been conducted. These rapid assessments resulted in the development of contingency plans, not recovery plans. The assessment reports published by the government and by the other partners reached very different findings, demonstrating a lack of cooperation and dialogue between sectors and stakeholders as well as a critical gap in data availability and reliability. The issue of data had a consequence on the difficulty to fully and objectively assess the impact of the drought and therefore to define concrete and consistent interventions, as programs or projects, to support the recovery of the affected population, in particular of the most vulnerable. The PDNA conducted in 2016 in Angola following the El Nino-induced drought was the first of its kind in Angola. It was 10

11 successfully led by the CNPC involving all key sectorial ministries with the support of the UN, the European Union and the World Bank. The formulation of a Disaster Recovery Framework (DRF) based on the needs identified by the PDNA is expected to take place in the coming months, once the GoA formally endorsed the PDNA report. The 2016 PDNA will serve as a basis to define recovery interventions in a more concrete and articulated way. Financial mechanisms for recovery In Angola, there are no mechanisms to allocate or manage funds to support disaster recovery. From 2012 to 2014, funds mobilized nationally or internationally were invested mainly on response, disaster management and impact mitigation, rather than recovery. More generally, the National Annual Budget of Angola (OGE) has never allotted any funds for recovery. The people interviewed emphasized as challenge the lack of specific financial mechanisms and funds for response and recovery actions. Municipal administrations mainly used the local administrative fund to support people affected by the drought. At the same time, when municipal administrations received response funds, they evidenced a low capacity in budget management. Moreover, despite the emergency needs, the funds received were often used to solve basic local problems to implement the response activities, for instance, to buy fuel for administration cars and public generator for power supply, to repair roads, or pay for telecommunications, etc. These previous challenges may be overcome by: Improving the local human resources capacity to manage funds and to be accountable; Strengthening the financial, technical and managerial capacities of local government structures to improve and manage social infrastructure; Defining a special fund for recovery independent of the annual national budget allocation, while establishing dedicated budget lines to support specific pillars of recovery and focused on local needs; Improving the involvement of local authorities in decision-making on the necessary funds for drought interventions at local level while decreasing the centralized financial management by the National Government. However, at provincial level, the interviewees emphasised the importance to strengthen financial management capacities of provincial governments first, prior to allocating extra annual funds for emergency and recovery. The Disaster Recovery Framework to be defined after 2016 PDNA will suggest a financial mechanism for drought recovery and a methodology for monitoring and reporting the implementation at all levels: national, provincial, municipal and communal levels. This pilot experience will serve as a basis to strengthen financial mechanisms for recovery. Monitoring and Evaluating Recovery Recovery interventions are hardly ever accounted for, monitored or evaluated. However, it was noted that as a result of the investments made by the national government at the subnational level to address the 2013/2014 drought, there has been an increase in monitoring visits and evaluation by the government's multi-sectorial teams. In , evaluations were conducted quarterly by a national team to assess the impacts of government-implemented projects for drought response from 2012 to The provinces and the central government mainly realized evaluation through regular missions. At the same time, the data gathered for evaluation also contributed to monitoring. However, municipalities could play a more critical role in monitoring because they are situated close to the areas where the projects are implemented and they can follow the activities regularly. This involvement requires improving financial, human and technical capacity of municipalities, providing also useful tools that can help in the monitoring process. Among the challenges presented by the interviewees are: Continuity in the monitoring; Regularity in the evaluation; Lack of quality data from the field and national level; Inconsistent data between sectors; Improving the involvement of municipalities in the monitoring of projects activities; Establishing a multi-sectorial team involving the government, UN and actors of the CSO; Lack of consensual/harmonized tools for collecting and systematizing data; Poor capacity and few human resources to monitor and evaluate the recovery; Few resources for monitoring missions in the municipalities; 11

12 Precarious situation of communication routes to cover the municipal area in a short time and frequently. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) needs to be improved at all levels of Angolan institutions. This is closely related to communication and information management. In fact, there is a large gap in information and data handling, for example regular communications from the national or provincial levels to the municipalities and communities. Also, local authorities and focal points in the communities should be involved in and trained for data collection and monitoring to ensure transparency. The implementation of a subsequent recovery plan to the 2016 PDNA will require a very consistent M&E tools and guidelines, regular and transparent mechanisms with all stakeholders involved at all levels. So it is crucial to improve the institutional capacity for social monitoring and accountability and for having a more structured, participatory and formalized monitoring system. Information and Communications Systems In the province of Cunene, one of the positive aspects evidenced by key informants is the easiness of communication between the institutions and actors in the province. This means that people have a good relationship and are able to communicate easily, including the community and local authorities. This positive flow has been mainly stimulated by the dynamism of the Civil Protection s command in the context of disasters that is playing a crucial role of coordination, collection of sectorial information and data analysis. The local Civil Protection has collected relevant data and produced very important and useful maps and database on vulnerable groups and social services' location in nearly 90% of provincial territory. These maps are available upon submission of a formal request to CNPC. These good practices and tools must be used for the future implementation of a recovery strategy and programme in Cunene but also in other provinces in Angola, and to produce national maps and database on vulnerable groups and risk areas. 12

13 Despite these positive results reported by the actions of the Provincial Civil Protection, communication and dissemination of data between different sectors and stakeholders must be further improved. For this purpose, in 2014, the provincial government of Cunene and UNDP defined the Action Plans for coordination and for information management to drought response, supporting the provincial institutions and partners in the communication flow as well as sharing coherent and official information. Unfortunately, these action plans have not been used and enough disseminated. These plans have been updated in 2016 for immediate regular application by the provincial government in the 2015/2016 drought recovery process. The challenges on the information pillar are closely linked to those of monitoring and evaluation pillar: Low technical capacity to collect quality data in general. Lack of Municipal capacity to collect and analyse information quickly (monitoring and evaluation, as well as systematization and sharing of updated data). Local institutions have still a high limitation to elaborate and communicate data, affecting a future recovery phase. Lack of coherent, recognised and official tools used to collect data. In 2014, at the national level the FARM (a multisectorial rapid assessment questionnaire) was developed by the CNPC, but as the Action Plans for coordination and for information management to drought response, it has not been used, distributed and known by the local governments for drought or other disasters. FARM is a very important tool to collect data and to officialise them in every phase of disaster: preparedness, response and recovery. To improve these weaknesses, the interviewees suggested: Activating the Action Plan for Coordination at all levels of the province; Activating the Action Plan of Information Management at all levels of the province; Realizing seminars and training on the use of FARM at all levels of the province; At the central level, overseeing the implementation of the established plans and coordination meetings; Organizing intersectional and municipal meetings to check the major problems in the recovery and in the implementation of the plans, and seek common solutions; Unifying the data collection system; Decreasing bureaucracy for data sharing; Collecting and sharing data analysis regularly; Disseminating the results. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The management of the 2013/2014 drought, mostly focused on response, did not leave populations and institutions better prepared for the next disaster, nor did it contribute to strengthen people s resilience to future shocks and risks. As it failed to put the affected Southern region back on a sustainable recovery pathway, the impacts of the 2015/2016 El Ninoinduced drought were particularly severe. For a province strongly subject to the negative impacts of climate change, developing adaptive capacities and implementing recovery interventions is extremely important to reach sustainable development and to exit fully from a dependency and emergency phase. This is the case of Cunene Province, which even before the 2013/2014 drought was highly affected by disasters related to climate. The succession of emergencies and their management, as well as the huge financial investment have influenced the government of Angola (GoA) to focus on the development of a recovery strategy, which would allow a more sustainable and resilient stability. Disaster after disaster the province of Cunene has found itself after 2014 to manage an even more severe drought caused by El Nino, which increased the poverty and vulnerability of people and decreases the response capacity. Social and economic issues are structural in Angola; long-term cross-sectorial interventions backed with significant financial resources are needed to create significant and sustainable change. The case of Cunene province reflects this 13