Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events. In Southern Africa, more frequent and more intense floods present considerable risks to the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable communities, often with devastating effects.
Recognising the need to enhance communities’ capacity to cope with such disasters, our team on the Climate Resilience Infrastructure Development Facility (CRIDF) is pioneering solutions that help protect people and provide maximum opportunities for economic growth and development across the region.
In two of CRIDF’s recent case studies, Jonathan Barnes, Technical Advisor on the programme, illustrates how our team has established early flood warning systems in the lower Incomati river basin of Mozambique and in the Limpopo basin, an ecosystem bordering Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
CRIDF’s work transforms the way water infrastructure helps to build climate resilience and sets precedence for a shared approach to transboundary flood management and sustainable development through close collaboration among countries, communities, and other key stakeholders. With two of the primary goals of November’s COP26 meeting being adaptation to protect communities and natural habitats and mobilising finance, our efforts have never been more prescient or essential.
You can read more about CRIDF’s work across Southern Africa on the project website: www.cridf.net
