DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND RESILIENCE FOR FOOD SECURITY The First Arab Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction March, 2013 Carlo Scaramella WFP Deputy Regional Director, Middle East and Central Asia

” Climate change has been at the top of my priority list since I took office in 2007…. The world’s poorest and most vulnerable to hunger have little resilience to intensifying cycles of extreme drought and flood.” UNSG Ban Ki-moon at recent Doha negotiations

Climate change, a hunger risk multiplier

A changing risk environment Climate change, a hunger risk multiplier Intensifying disasters trends Resource scarcity and degradation (land, water, food, energy, biodiversity) Eroding ecosystems and livelihoods Food price volatility Increasing governance challenges, ie, urbanization, migration, conflict, all affecting human security Equity, poverty, inclusion – all fundamental development challenges, and Inter-dependency and complexity of risk drivers

2 degrees, the tipping point

Accelerating hunger trends and deepening poverty and inequality in vulnerable countries/communities. For example:  Overall risk of hunger projected to increase by up to 20 % by 2050  In Africa, potential decline of 50% productivity in rainfed areas - over 650 million people already affected by land degradation

Droughts Floods Storms

9 billion people by % more food needed Decreasing stocks and increasing demand

Key recommendations:  Target populations and sectors that are most vulnerable  Increase resources allocated to adaptation and DRR  Enhance resilience through social protection  Scale up investments in capacities to deal with increasing environmental stress and potential shocks  Helping individuals, communities and nations build adaptive capacities to cope better themselves with the threat of disasters

most water scarce region in the world, highly food import dependent (over 50% of food imported), with growing urbanization challenges highly vulnerable to climate change, which will compound development challenges CC > increased water and resource scarcity, reduced agricultural productivity, heightened disaster risks, sea level rise, salinization of coastal areas poverty and under-nutrition becoming increasingly a urban phenomenon overlapping challenges of poverty, social exclusion, food insecurity, human security and climate risk

World Bank 2012 Report: Adaptation to a Changing Climate in the Arab Countries (December 2012)

IMPACTS:  Climate change is happening now. The year 2010 was the warmest since the late  Water scarcity a challenge, reduced agricultural production.  Urban populations growing, particularly vulnerable to climate change. Climate change and resilience in the Arab region RECOMMENDED ACTIONS: Assess and make available access to climate data and information. Build climate resilience through social protection mechanisms. Create conductive policy environment for adaptation.

WFP supported over 100 million people in 80 countries In 2012

WFP’s engagement in DRR and Resilience  Strong internal policy foundation: WFP’s Strategic Plan and WFP’s Policy on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management – Building Food Security and Resilience.  Programme mainstreaming: half of WFP’s programmes have a DRR or climate change component, accounting for 80% of countries where WFP operates.  Analysis and innovation: linking vulnerability and food security analysis with risk mapping and adaptation planning.  Inter-agency and process engagement: Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, UN-Plan of Action on DRR, UNFCCC negotiations, RBA-collaboration, and others.

Closing the gap between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction  Many climate change impacts will materialize through increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events  Both approaches aim to manage risks and reduce potential impacts by anticipating risks, addressing vulnerabilities, enhancing resilience

Managing climate risk at scale requires the integration of several building blocks… Knowledge, preparedness and response capacity Productive capacity of vulnerable communities enhanced & sustainable Effective social protection and safety nets for people at-risk Governance, policy frameworks, coordination

Knowledge, preparedness and response capacities Risk knowledge and disaster EW information is critical to facilitate early humanitarian action and to inform development processes Climate information used to inform preparedness planning and trigger scale up of targeted safety nets Effective EPR systems and services are central to food security and emergency response

 Egypt: Building Resilient Food Security Systems to Benefit the Southern Egypt Region  Mauritania: Enhancing Resilience of Communities to the Adverse Effects of Climate change on Food Security  Sudan: Resilience building and Safe Access to Alternative Energy (SAFE)  Palestine, Yemen, others... Climate adaptation - Concrete WFP examples from the region

Livelihoods and food needs met Seasonal food shortages Household Food Availability No shortages in a good year, but little margin Social protection and safety nets as a platform for risk management

Major drought/shock has immediate and long term impacts on household livelihoods Drought Household Food Availability Livelihoods and food needs met Social protection and safety nets as a platform for risk management

Household Food Availability Reducing quality or quantity of meals Children drop out of school Exacerbated land degradation Impoverishment & loss of assets and capacity Sale or loss of assets and negative coping Livelihoods and food needs met Social protection and safety nets as a platform for risk management

Integrated risk management and national safety nets can provide a platform to reduce risks and promote asset creation at the local level. This means protecting people from falling into destitution and supporting resilient livelihoods pathways. Drought Household Food Availability Livelihoods and food needs met Social protection and safety nets as a platform for risk management

Lessons for the post-2015 Framework for DRR: An integration agenda linking to disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation and resilience building as part of a coherent vision of sustainable and inclusive development Linking DRR/M to social protection, safety nets and livelihood enhancement approaches with special attention to poor, vulnerable and food insecure groups Link local and global – some risks are now globalized and increasingly interconnected Affirming and sustaining the central role of national governments, local communities, regional actors and organizations, and partners, bridging short and long term humanitarian and development objectives In conclusion

THANK YOU