REGIONAL REPORT ON DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS, POLICIES, TRENDS AND PLANS. Michael Ochieng Odhiambo January 2012

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1 REGIONAL REPORT ON DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS, POLICIES, TRENDS AND PLANS BY Michael Ochieng Odhiambo January 2012 IGAD LIVESTOCK POLICY INITIATIVE CONSULTANCY IN SUPPORT OF THE REGIONAL INITIATIVE IN SUPPORT OF VULNERABLE PASTORALISTS AND AGRO-PASTORALISTS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronyms Introduction Background and context IGAD LPI and FAO Projects focus on DRM in the Horn of Africa DRM and resilience in the Horn of Africa Regional frameworks for DRM and resilience AU Regional Strategy for DRR The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa COMESA Policy Framework for Food Security in Pastoralist Areas (PFFSPA) IGAD Disaster Risk Management Strategy EAC Climate Change Policy, Strategy and Master Plan Conclusions and recommendations

3 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AMCEN African Ministerial Conference on the Environment ASALs Arid and Semi-Arid Lands AU African Union AUC African Union Commission CEWARN Conflict Early Warning and Response Network COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa DCM Drought Cycle Management CPPs Country Programming Papers DRM Disaster Risk Management DRR Disaster Risk Reduction EAC East African Community EACCCMP East African Community Climate Change Master Plan EC European Commission EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ICPAC IGAD Climate Predication and Applications Centre IDDRSI IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development LEGS Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards LPI Livestock Policy Initiative NEPAD New Partnership for Africa s Development NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations PRSPs Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers RECs Regional Economic Commissions REFORM Regional Food Security and Risk Management Programme RPF Regional Programme Framework SSA Sub-Saharan Africa UN United Nations UN-IATF United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction UN/ISDR United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction 3

4 INTRODUCTION The Intergovernmental Authority on Development Livestock Policy Initiative (IGAD LPI) was initiated to strengthen the capacity of IGAD, its member states, and other stakeholders to formulate and implement livestock sector and livestock related policies that would sustainably reduce poverty and food insecurity in the IGAD region. The initiative was informed by the realization that the region lacked appropriate policies for sustainable livestock development, which undermined the huge potential of the livestock sector as a pathway out of poverty. The Project was funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on behalf of IGAD. In September 2011, IGAD LPI commissioned a consultancy the overall objective of which was stated as regional policies and institutions developed in support of pastoralist livelihoods. This objective is identical to result 3 of the log-frame for the Regional Initiative in Support of Vulnerable Pastoralists and Agro-Pastoralists in The Horn of Africa implemented by the FAO with funding support from the EU. The consultancy undertook reviews of national policies related to livelihoods diversification and resilience in pastoralist communities in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda 1. It was also required to produce this regional report highlighting regional agreement on disaster risk management (DRM) policies, trends and plans. The regional report builds on the work undertaken by the consultant in supporting the production of national reports. The report is divided into four sections. Following this introduction, section 2 provides the background to the consultancy as well the context for DRM and resilience in the IGAD region. Section 3 presents key regional policies and strategies that have a bearing on DRM. The policies and strategies presented are by no means the only ones. However, they are the major ones and are illustrative of the main policy approaches. Section 4 concludes the report with recommendations for ensuring that the policies being generated at the regional level are translated into action at the national level in order to effect the desired changes. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT The background and context to this report are defined on the one hand by IGAD LPI and the Regional Initiative in Support of Vulnerable Pastoralists and Agro-Pastoralists in The Horn of Africa project of FAO Sub-Regional Emergency Office for Eastern and Central Africa (REOA) and on the other hand by the evolving discourse on resilience in the drylands of the Horn of Africa. The latter involves governments, intergovernmental agencies, development partners, international NGOs, civil society and pastoral communities. IGAD plays a key role in the coordination of regional governments in this regard. 1. IGAD LPI and FAO Projects focus on DRM in the Horn of Africa IGAD LPI was a collaborative project between IGAD and FAO to strengthen livestock related policy capacity in the IGAD region. A major focus of the project was the development of capacity to make policy formulation (i) more inclusive of the voice of poor and marginalised groups, (ii) more evidence based and (iii) more livelihoods focused. To this end, it established broadly representative stakeholder for a, called policy hubs, in all project countries. The policy hubs operate under the chairmanship of the ministries responsible for livestock, largely through ad hoc working groups. The project also established information nodes within each policy hub to provide information and analysis. 1 In the end the national process in Ethiopia never took off due to a number of logistical challenges 4

5 In their initial work, the policy hubs addressed the representation of livestock in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). They also developed a regional policy framework on animal health, vulnerability and trade, which was signed by the region s livestock ministers in December The framework the full title of which is Regional Policy Framework on Animal Health in the Context of Trade and Vulnerability of the Member States of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development commits the member states to, inter alia, enhance national and regional capacity for early warning and response for livestock-related emergencies, building on existing capacity where relevant; develop the means of incorporating emergency response into national development planning; and institute sustainable mechanisms by which regular and timely coordination will take place between member states on the above and related issues 2. The project Regional Initiative in Support of Vulnerable Pastoralists and Agro-Pastoralists in The Horn of Africa was designed by FAO Sub-Regional Emergency Office for Eastern and Central Africa (REOA) with the support of IGAD LPI to facilitate the Member States of IGAD to respond to the imperatives of Article 1 of the Agreement. It is a three-year project funded by the European Commission (EC) in the field of DRM and was operational at the commencement of the consultancy leading to this report. The overall objective of the FAO project is to contribute to reduced vulnerability of pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in the Horn of Africa, while the specific objective is to strengthen institutional and policy frameworks affecting the resilience of (agro) pastoral communities and the diversification of their livelihoods. The consultancy leading to this report fits within Result 3 of the project which is expressed as regional policies and institutions developed in support of pastoralist livelihoods and for the implementation of which IGAD LPI is collaborating with FAO. It was in order to contribute to the achievement of result 3 of the FAO project that the consultancy giving rise to this report was commissioned. Thus, the consultancy had an identical overall objective to result 3, namely, regional policies and institutions developed in support of pastoralist livelihoods. The specific objective of the consultancy was to assist national policy hubs in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda to assess the status of national policies related to livelihoods diversification and resilience in pastoralist communities while paying due regard to existing regional Disaster Risk Reduction frameworks. In addition to deepening understanding of national policies and processes, the consultancy was also to consider status, objectives, direction, effectiveness and challenges of regional policies and institutions affecting DRM. 2. DRM and Resilience in the Horn of Africa Countries of the Horn of Africa are closely associated with disaster risks, the most common being droughts and conflicts. As a direct consequence of exposure to disaster risks, the Horn of Africa has the highest levels of food and livelihoods insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa and by extension the world. The impact is manifested through regular famines for which the region has become notorious. In recent years, the impact of climate change is believed to have increased both the frequency and severity of droughts, floods and other extreme weather events, making access to water resource ever more variable. The increasing vulnerability of people in region is self-evident, thanks to a combination of socio-economic development, environmental changes, and impacts from global climate change. The Horn of Africa has a total population of nearly 200 million people, out of which more than 40 per cent are undernourished. In Eritrea and Somalia the proportion of the population that is undernourished is as high as 70 per cent. Nearly half of the population of the region lives in areas 2 Article 1 5

6 characterized by regular food shortages and around 40 million live in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs). Resilience to disasters is thus a critical concern for communities and governments in the region. ASALs constitute the majority of land in the Horn of Africa. The fact that large parts of the Horn of Africa are arid or semi-arid is a critical consideration in any discussion of DRM and resilience for the region. Save for Uganda, it is estimated that only 4 to 10 per cent of the region is appropriate for rain fed agriculture. Vast portions of the region s landscape consist of arid and semi-arid lands that are home to the majority of the poor and food insecure. With increasing populations, more and more people are forced to cultivate marginal lands in unsustainable ways leading to even more degradation of these fragile ecosystems. In a context of increasing variability as a result of climate change, this creates a vicious cycle of devastation. Other factors that exacerbate exposure of the countries of the region, especially the ASALs to disaster risk include conflicts, poor infrastructure, inadequate opportunities for diversification of livelihoods, poor agricultural productivity, and historical policy marginalization and neglect of pastoralism and livestock production. The situation in Somalia, which went without a functioning central state system for two decades, further compounded the reality for the citizens of that country. However, conflict exists in some form or other in virtually all the countries of the Horn of Africa. Conflicts between and within communities undermine opportunities for productive use of resources and divert scarce resources from development to military and disaster management, thereby denying societies the chance to build assets and establish the foundation for positive social and economic transformation. There is in fact, a symbiotic relationship between conflict one the one hand and livelihoods and food insecurity on the other hand. The one triggers and reinforces the other. Lack of infrastructure and investments are a major constraint to DRM in the region. Lack of infrastructure is both a cause and manifestation of underdevelopment and lack of investment in production and economic development in the Horn of Africa, particularly within the ASALS. These regions are characterised by the absence of physical and social infrastructure that constitute the foundations for social and economic transformation. Access to and quality of roads, telecommunications, energy, water and sanitation are critical determinants of the economic health of societies and the physical and social health of their populations, which in turn define opportunities and how citizens are able to take advantage thereof to secure and diversify their livelihoods and to develop. The absence of infrastructure in turn undermines capacities for responding to and managing disaster risks that are associated with these regions. The main economic and livelihoods activity in the ASALs is livestock production. As such no serious discussion of DRM and resilience in the Horn of Africa can be complete without a consideration of the place of pastoralism and livestock production. The ASALs covet more than 60 per cent of the land in the region. They are occupied by pastoralists and agro-pastoralists whose livelihoods depend largely on traditional livestock production. Yet pastoralism has not received the requisite policy attention in the region. Development policies in the Horn of Africa have failed to harness the potential of pastoralism and livestock production to foster resilience and promote economic development. Governments of the region have either ignored pastoralists and pastoral areas perceived to be of marginal economic value or implemented projects aimed at transforming them into settled farmers. Either way, this has undermined the potential for pastoralism and livestock production to contribute to resilience. The drought of 2010/11 that affected more than 13 million people in the Horn of Africa, most of them resident in the ASALs triggered serious introspection at policy and institutional levels at national and regional level with a view to putting in place appropriate and sustainable mechanisms 6

7 for enhancing resilience to disaster and humanitarian emergencies, particularly those related to drought. An initiative to end drought emergencies in the Horn of Africa was conceived, bringing together key stakeholders. A series of high level meetings resulted in the launch of the IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI). IGAD was mandated to lead and coordinate the initiative by providing support to Member States to develop Country Programming Papers (CPPs) and investment plans grounded on national investment priorities, which in turn are to be linked to a Regional Programme Framework (RPF) that focuses on regional interventions. Donors, international NGOs and research organizations working on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and ASALs development have bought into the initiative as the framework for coordinated action on DRM across the Horn of Africa. At the time of this report discussions are ongoing on the structure and operationalization of the initiative, but it clearly has the potential of redefining the context of DRM in the Horn of Africa. REGIONAL FRAMEWORKS FOR DRM AND RESILIENCE Regional is used in this report to refer to the Greater Horn of Africa, with a particular focus on the countries that were the subject matter of the consultancy, namely, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. However, regional policies referred to here have application throughout the eight Member States of IGAD, and even beyond for policies generated by other Regional Economic Commissions (RECs) or the African Union (AU). Other than IGAD and the AU the other RECs of relevance in this regard are the East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). A number of policy frameworks and strategies have been developed to address DRR and DRM in the context of vulnerable groups including pastoralists and agro-pastoralists. The policies and strategies are generated at the regional level and therefore focus on principles and actions that have regional relevance, but they are aimed at Members States. It is at the national level that policies and strategies are expected to be designed on the basis of the regional instruments in order to give effect to their imperatives. The idea is that the actions of the Member States shall collectively lead to regional impacts. Regional policy frameworks and strategies aim to provide common standards and approaches, provide frameworks for learning and sharing and address cross-border and trans-boundary challenges. Relevant policy frameworks and strategies are those that address challenges associated with food security, livestock diseases, droughts, climate change and other constraints to agricultural productivity, poverty reduction, conflict resolution and disaster risk management. Of particular significance in this regard are: the Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction adopted by the AU, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) of the New Partnership for Africa s Development (NEPAD), the AU Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa, COMESA Policy Framework for Food Security in Pastoral Areas, IGAD Disaster Risk Management Programme, and the EAC Climate Change Strategy. Although these are not the only policy frameworks of relevance to DRM, they are sufficient to demonstrate regional efforts that inform national actions. 1. AU Regional Strategy for DRR Adopted by African Ministers of Environment at the 10th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in June 2004 and submitted to the AU Assembly Summit the following month, the Strategy which was developed by the AU and NEPAD seeks to contribute to the attainment of sustainable development and poverty eradication in Africa by facilitating the 7

8 integration of disaster risk reduction into development processes. To this end, it articulates six strategic objectives: to increase political commitment to disaster risk reduction; improve identification and assessment of disaster risks; enhance knowledge management for disaster risk reduction; increase public awareness of disaster risk reduction; improve governance of disaster risk reduction institutions; and integrate of disaster risk reduction in emergency response management. The six objectives are to be realized through six strategies, namely: increase political commitment to DRR; improve identification and assessment of disaster risks; enhance knowledge management for DRR; increase public awareness of DRR; improve governance of DRR institutions; and integrate DRR into emergency response management. For each of these strategies appropriate strategic directions are specified. The main institution responsible for implementation of the Strategy is the Africa Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction, which was established by AU/NEPAD on the recommendation of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction (UN-IATF). It is chaired by the AU and has a membership that comprises the AU Commission, the NEPAD Secretariat and all RECs. It receives technical support from the Africa Office of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR Africa. The main task of the Working Group is to support national governments in their efforts to advance DRR and facilitate its mainstreaming and integration into all phases of development. A Plan of Action developed to guide implementation of the strategy commits national governments to lead the process of developing DRR capacities, integrate DRR into development planning, establish enabling environments for DRR, adopt appropriate legislation and set up mechanisms and platforms for stakeholder participation. 2. The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) CAADP was established as part of NEPAD in 2003, although it had been endorsed by African Ministers of agriculture at a special NEPAD-focused session of FAO in The Programme was conceived to respond to the failure of previous development programmes and paradigms. Its overall goal is to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty through agriculture. In this connection, the Programme aims to improve food security, nutrition, and increase incomes in Africa's largely farming based economies. To this end, African governments have committed to increase public investment in agriculture by a minimum of 10 per cent of their national budgets and to raise agricultural productivity by at least 6% annually. CAADP also seeks to address policy and capacity constraints that have undermined the agricultural sector across Africa. Through CAADP African governments have committed to practical steps that will improve coordination, the sharing of knowledge, successes and failures, and enhance joint and separate efforts to achieve the goals of the Programme. In this regard, CAADP provides a policy framework and a regional context for country-led processes. Such processes include national roundtables that define strategies for halving hunger and achieving increased agricultural growth through policy reform as well as increased and more efficient investment. These lead to the development of national compacts that are the basis for implementing CAADP at the country level. The Programme is organized around four key Pillars, namely: Land and Water Management, Market Access, Food Supply and Hunger and Agricultural Research. A fifth pillar, sometimes referred to as CAADP 2, was added on the recommendation of the AU Heads of State in July 2003 to address the development of livestock, fisheries, and forestry resources. The implementation of the Pillars is complimented by two cross-cutting themes of academic and professional training in agriculture and knowledge systems, peer review and policy dialogue. 8

9 The major CAADP outcomes of food and nutrition security, increased incomes, improved investments in market infrastructure and research are of relevance to DRM and the livelihood security of pastoral and agro-pastoral communities. More directly, the fifth pillar on livestock fisheries and forestry provides an entry point for CAADP to deal directly with constraints to livestock economies that include disaster risk. However, being a continental framework, the success of CAADP in influencing national level policies and implementation will depend on individual country commitments to provide resources for policy development and implementation, and to focus on issues that are of relevance to pastoralists and agro-pastoralists. 3. Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa The Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa was adopted by the Conference of African Ministers of Agriculture held in Lilongwe, Malawi in October The intention of African Heads of State in adopting the framework is well articulated by its full title, Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa: Securing, Protecting and Improving the Lives, Livelihoods and Rights of Pastoralist Communities. The Framework, which was developed through an elaborate and extensive consultation process involving experts, civil society, pastoral communities and other stakeholders and organized at regional levels across the continent, is the first continent-wide policy initiative with a specific focus on securing, protecting and improving the lives, livelihoods and rights of African pastoralists. In this connection, it is a platform for mobilizing and coordinating political commitment to pastoral development in Africa. It privileges the participation of pastoral communities and the integration of the regional nature of pastoral ecosystems in designing frameworks for the development of pastoral areas. Thus, it calls for harmonization of policies across the RECs and Member States. The Framework has two overall objectives, namely: (1) to secure and protect the lives, livelihoods and rights of pastoral peoples and ensure continent-wide commitment to political, social and economic development of pastoral communities and pastoral areas; and (2) to reinforce the contribution of pastoral livestock to national, regional and continent-wide economies. The strategies for achieving the first objective include recognition of the rights, existing economic contributions and potential future contributions of pastoralists to development, and the formulation of appropriate policies that fully integrate pastoralism into national and regional development programmes and plans. Those for achievement of the second objective include the protection and development of pastoral livestock, risk-based drought management, and support to the marketing of pastoral livestock and livestock products in domestic, regional and international markets. It is thus within the framework of the second objective that the concerns of DRM can be addressed under the Framework. The Framework acknowledges that pastoralism is defined by a high reliance on livestock as a source of economic and social wellbeing and depends on strategic mobility to access water and grazing resources in areas of high rainfall variability, which makes the livelihood system vulnerable to hazards and disasters. It recognizes the impact of natural and other disasters on pastoralism, and emphasizes that these impacts are becoming more acute as populations in pastoral areas grow. In particular, it underscores the impact of droughts that have contributed to increasing levels of destitution in pastoral areas. It calls for institutionalization of risk-based approaches to managing drought, such as drought cycle management, which have been developed and piloted successfully in in East Africa. In this regard, it aims to promote risk management rather than emergency response for pastoral areas. The Policy Framework acknowledges that the policy and institutional environment in African nations have a major influence on processes that can reduce or undermine vulnerability and resilience of 9

10 pastoral livelihoods. It calls for policies and institutions that promote the rights of pastoralists by acknowledging their existence, acknowledging and addressing their vulnerability and developing strategies to promote their coping capacities and build their resilience. The strategies proposed in the Framework if well implemented will improve DRM in pastoral and agro-pastoral areas of Africa. 4. COMESA Policy Framework for Food Security in Pastoral Areas (PFFSPA) This Policy Framework was developed to address the specific needs of vulnerable and food insecure pastoralist populations in COMESA region, in order to achieve Pillar III CAADP of increasing food supply, reducing hunger and improving responses to food emergency crises. It is underpinned by an acknowledgement that pastoralist communities are among the most vulnerable and food insecure in the COMESA region; and that this is largely as a result of the impact of natural and man-made disasters. In particular, the Policy Framework singles out droughts and conflicts as the most important causes of food insecurity in pastoralist areas. Food production in pastoralist areas is also affected adversely by floods. The Policy Framework recommends that policies and strategies for addressing food insecurity in pastoralist areas should take into account DRM concerns and approaches. Drought Cycle Management (DCM), DRR and livelihoods-based planning are among the key strategies recommended in this regard. In this connection, the Policy Framework builds on the approaches institutionalized at the international level through Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS). The Policy Framework challenges the notion inherent in most development interventions that strategies designed for improving food security in non-pastoralist communities can be applied to pastoralist communities. Instead, it recommends that in order to cater for the unique contexts and circumstances of pastoralist communities, policies intended to address vulnerability, enhance food security and achieve growth, must take account key factors that underpin the reality of these areas, including poverty, vulnerability and economic value of pastoralism, pastoral production and mobility, herd growth, vulnerability and pastoral livestock marketing, livelihood diversification, cross-border livestock trade and export of livestock and livestock products, and livelihoods-based responses to drought and risk management. In order to effectively reduce vulnerability and ensure food security amongst pastoralist communities, the Policy Framework calls for adequate provision of at least three basic services, namely: human health services to improve human capital, education services to improve human and financial capital, and veterinary services to protect livestock assets and financial capital. In addition, it calls for regional harmonization of policies to support cross-border movements of pastoralists as a means of enabling efficient use of transnational rangeland ecosystems, and for livestock trade. This Policy Framework is underpinned by an acknowledgement that pastoralism is cross-border in nature and as such can only be sustained through regional approaches. Harmonization is particularly critical in DRM generally and dealing with specific challenges such as animal diseases, drought, and conflicts. 5. IGAD Disaster Risk Management Strategy IGAD has developed a regional strategy to strengthen sub-regional disaster preparedness and response capabilities. The IGAD DRM Strategy is implemented through a broad donor-funded Regional Food Security and Risk Management Programme (REFORM) which focuses on regional and national capacity building for development for improving social protection, disaster risk 10

11 management and cross-border trade. Although the Strategy takes an all-hazard approach that includes drought, it does not have any specific target on pastoral areas. The Programme has six specific objectives, namely: to facilitate the development and effective implementation of policy and legislative frameworks and program interventions among member states; to strengthen community participation in disaster issues; to establish a sub-regional mechanism; and to promote international cooperation. To support the implementation of the Programme, IGAD facilitates capacity building of its Member States for DRR. It is noteworthy that IGAD was founded to address the challenges of a hazard, to wit, desertification. As such, much of its work has implications for DRM. Within the context of the DRM Strategy, it developed a DRM Training Kit in 2005 to support capacity building for national disaster risk management institutions. The REFORM Programme is essentially designed to implement DRR objectives. The work of IGAD s Conflict Early Warning and Response Network (CEWARN) in monitoring cross-border pastoral and related conflicts and providing information to Member States concerning potentially violent or escalating conflicts makes a huge contribution to the conflict avoidance and management which is an essential component of DRM in the region. IGAD has also established the Climate Predication and Applications Centre (ICPAC), a specialized institution of charged with the responsibility of coordinating all regional climate risk reduction related issues in the region. ICPAC provides climate information, including prediction and early warning for applications in support of environmental management, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development in the IGAD region, and supports capacity building for users of its information and services. 6. EAC Climate Change Policy, Strategy and Master Plan Two of the countries involved in this consultancy Kenya and Uganda are members of the EAC, which has recently adopted policy frameworks on climate change that include a Climate Change Policy 3, Climate Change Strategy 4, and Climate Change Master Plan 5. The EAC Climate Change Policy seeks to guide Partner States and other stakeholders on the preparation and implementation of collective measures to address climate change in the region while assuring sustainable social and economic development. It prescribes measures for adaptation and mitigation to combat climate change. Of direct relevance to DRM are the policy prescriptions related to adaptation. These include: strengthening meteorological services and improving early warning systems, increasing preparedness for disaster risk management,scaling up of efficient use of water and energy resources, irrigation, crop and livestock production, protection of wildlife and key vulnerable ecosystems such as wetlands, coastal, marine and forestry ecosystems, improving land use, soil protection, intensifying diseases, vectors, and pests control. The policy commits each Partner State to develop a national policy, strategies and institutional arrangements to give effect to its provisions. National frameworks shall provide enabling measures on financing, capacity building, technology development, monitoring and evaluation. For their part, the EAC Secretariat and other EAC Institutions will develop effective structures and engage appropriate capacities that will initiate, coordinate and follow up implementation of the policy. The policy identifies disaster risk management as being essential to addressing the impacts of climate change. Of direct relevance to pastoral and agro-pastoral communities is the targeting of droughts and other weather-related disasters and the commitment to develop adequate disaster 3 East African Community Climate Change Policy, Arusha, May East African Community Climate Change Strategy ( ), Arusha, August East African Community Climate Change Master Plan , Arusha, September

12 management responses to deal with them. Specifically, the Policy prioritizes disaster reduction and risk management, including early warning, preparedness, emergency response and postdisaster recovery for adaptation to climate change. The EAC Climate Change Strategy, which runs from 2011 to 2015, is designed to guide the implementation of the EAC Climate Change Policy. It provides a short to medium term framework for implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation programmes and projects, and is thus a regional blue print to guide regional climate change response measures in the long term.. It prioritizes DRR measures in the various sectors, noting that that DRR approaches are climate change adaptation tools. The implementation of the EAC Climate Change Strategy is grounded on key regional instruments signed by the Partner States, including the EAC Protocol on Environment and Natural Resources Management, which recognize national and regional coordination and collaboration on environment and natural resource management as key to success in the context of transboundary ecosystems and resources. The EAC Climate Change Master Plan (EACCCMP) is underpinned by the desire for a unified regional approach to combat climate change. It provides a long-term vision and a basis for Partner States to operationalize a comprehensive framework for adapting to and mitigating climate change in line with the EAC Protocol on Environment and Natural Resources Management and their obligations in international climate change agreements. The overall objective of the Master Plan is to strengthen regional cooperation to address climate change challenges with particular reference to regionally shared resources. It establishes eight key Pillars to guide implementation, namely: adaptation interventions; mitigation interventions; technology development and transfer; capacity building; education, training and public awareness; gender, youth and marginalized groups; climate risk management and DRR; and climate finance. While all the Pillars are relevant to DRM, it is the seventh pillar on climate risk management and DRR that is of most relevance. The Master Plan recommends establishment of a Climate Change Coordination Unit at the EAC Secretariat that shall coordinate and facilitate its implementation as well as the implementation of the Strategy. It is envisaged that an appropriate monitoring and evaluation plan shall be designed incorporating a mid-term independent evaluation after two, and an evaluation after five years as a prelude to the preparation of a new five-year Strategic Plan. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The foregoing review demonstrates that significant effort has gone into the development of policy frameworks for DRM in the IGAD region. Concerns about exposure to natural and man-made disasters are shared by both national governments and regional integration frameworks. The prevalence of weather related disasters, particularly droughts, has generated a lot of concerns at national and regional levels about the impact of climate change, resulting in significant focus in the development of policy responses to disaster risk from the climate change perspective. The development of policies, strategies and plans at the regional level is important for generating collective political will as well as common standards and approaches. But the main challenge has to do with translating regional policy recommendations into national level laws and strategies that are then implemented to realize the envisaged changes on the ground. There continues to be a gap between regional level policy development processes and national implementation. Countries 12

13 often lack political will, capacity and resources, while RECs lack enforcement mechanisms compel action at the national level. A joint report on the status of DRR in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) 6 identified the following priority needs for improving DRM, which have direct relevance to the IGAD region: Improvement in the identification, assessment, and awareness of disaster risks; Capacity development and coordination Enhancement of knowledge management for disaster risk reduction Increase public awareness of disaster risk reduction Strengthening disaster risk reduction institutions Integration of disaster risk reduction into emergency response management Increased financial support for disaster risk reduction initiatives Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into development planning The policy development processes going on at regional level as well as within the Member States of IGAD are important for addressing these priority needs. They constitute critical building blocks for an effective and sustainable DRM framework in the Member States and at the regional level. But a lot more will have to be done to ensure that the policies so generated are translated into action on the ground for the benefit of pastoralists, agro-pastoralists and other communities in the region. 6 Report on the Status of Disaster Risk Reduction in the Sub-Saharan Africa Region, January 2008 AUC, UN/ISDR, The World Bank 13