1. E-Environment Climate Change Adaptation in Africa 28 May, Connectivity & Bridging the Last Mile in Africa
I was asked to talk about challenges and opportunities focusing on urgent connectivity needs in Africa. However, I will actually turn it around and start with some of the opportunities that ICT connectivity creates in Africa, a region that despite major progress, remains very vulnerable.
Dr. Cosmas Zavazava  Chief of Department, Projects and Knowledge Management Telecommunication Development Bureau ITU

2. Telecommunication standardization of network and service aspects
ITU Overview
193 Member States
+700 Sector Members
ITU
Helping the World Communicate
ITU-D
Assisting implementation and operation of telecommunications in developing countries
ITU-T
Telecommunication standardization of network and service aspects
ITU-R
Radiocommunication standardization and global radio spectrum management

3. ITU is committed to help connect Africa
While huge efforts have been made to increase national and international connectivity, many countries still face challenges in deploying and expanding next-generation networks. These bottlenecks affect the price and quality of ICT access and the types of applications and services, including in the area of climate change, that can be offered and used
ITU carries out many regional projects and fosters public-private partnerships to overcome these challenges and to leverage on existing opportunities:
Expansion of infrastructure
Better regulation
Greater investments
Development of applications and services

4. Africa is home to some of the most vulnerable economies
LDCs
Angola
Benin DR Congo
Djibouti
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Gambia
Guinea
Liberia
Madagascar
Mauritania
Mozambique
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Sudan
Togo
Tanzania
Both LDCs and SIDS
Comoros
Guinea-Bissau
Sao Tome &Principe
SIDS
Cape Verde
Mauritius
Seychelles
Both LDC & LLDC
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Central African Rep. Chad
Ethiopia
Lesotho
Malawi
Mali
Niger
Rwanda
South Sudan
Uganda
Zambia
The post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction – the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction which was adopted in March 2015, includes many reference to climate change and highlights the need for countries to be able to address the challenges of climate change, which often exacerbates disasters and impedes development. It also highlights the particular vulnerability of low-income economies, landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), small island developing states (SIDS), and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the large majority of which are in Africa. Since many African countries are particular vulnerable to the effects of climate change and face a number of challenges related to disasters, the Sendai Framework calls for ‘increased international cooperation and the provision of adequate support to African countries, to allow for the implementation of this framework” and for the need to have critical infrastructure, including telecommunication infrastructure.
LLDCs
Botswana
Zimbabwe

5. Interoperable Command Control Communication systems
WHAT ICT FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
Information systems
Socio-economic data
Hazard, vulnerabily,
crisis maps
Common spatial
data infrastructure
Web services
Semantic web
UAV
SensorWeb
Observing systems
EO satellites
In-situ sensors
HALE
Smart dust
Remote sensing
Interoperable Command Control Communication systems
Telecommunications Systems
IPv6
Wimax
Positioning systems
CAP , TSO
UMTS
Cell Broadcasting
UWB
TETRA/TETRAPOL
There is a need for secure infrastructure supporting knowledge based fully interoperable eRegistries and eServices
Need for URI, need for a variety of services necessary for collaboration.

6. The integrated Disaster Risk Management cycle approach
Preparedness
Scenarios development
Emergency Planning maps
Training
Risk assessment
Hazard prediction and modeling
Systemic , multi-risk approach
Vulnerability management
Building resilient communities..
Alert
Real time monitoring
& forecasting
Early warning
Public warning
Scenario identification
Post Disaster
Lessons learnt
Scenario update
Socio-economic and environmental impact assessment
Vulnerability re-assessment
Emergency response organisations
Response
Emergency telecommunication
Command control coordination
Situational awareness, crisis maps
Information communication
Dispatching of resources
Victims identification and tracing
Recovery
Early damage assessment
Re-establishing life-lines transport &communication infrastructure

7. All countries have benefited from a more connected world
One clear message from developments over the past decade is that given the increase in ICT access and use, all countries have benefited from a more connected world. This map is a visual demonstration of the level of backbone connectivity between continents and countries.
Terrestrial optical fibres and
microwave transmission networks, 2014
Source: ITU, Telegeography Note: Data collection is work in progress

8. Source: ITU, based on 2015 estimates
Just this week ITU released the latest ICT Facts and Figures – The World in 2015 brochure, which presents the end 2015 estimates for the key ICT indicators.
Source: ITU, based on 2015 estimates
…. AND INTERNET TRAFFIC CONTINUES TO GROW DAILY

9. Impressive growth in ICTs, especially mobile networks and services
Percentage of the population covered by a mobile-cellular network, 2015*
84% of Africa’s population covered by a mobile network
Mobile cellular penetration in Africa reaches 74%
Great potential for services and applications in the area of climate change BUT urgent need to connect those left behind
Over the last decade, growth in ICT use and uptake has exceeded all expectations and particularly the mobile cellular market been provided unprecedented levels of connectivity in many of the world’s previously unconnected areas. A high degree of competition, falling prices and prepaid services have driven mobile uptake in Africa
Source: ITU
Note: *Estimates

10. Strong but unequal growth in mobile broadband
Mobile-broadband penetration by region, 2015*, and in African countries, 2013
Mobile broadband services have grown rapidly over the last years and are allowing many more people to use the Internet, access a growing number of applications and services, and join the information society.
At the same time, mobile broadband penetration remains unequal between regions and within Africa.
Source: ITU
Note: *Estimates **2014

11. Share of kilometres of fibre and microwave routes, 2013
Limited national backbone infrastructure is a major challenge and an opportunity
Share of kilometres of fibre and microwave routes, 2013
Route metres per capita, 2013
New data collected by ITU on the deployment of fibre transmission capacity in countries shows that by end 2013, more than 11.7 million km of fibre and microwave backbone transmission networks were available in the five regions covered so far: Africa, the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, CIS countries, and Latin America and the Caribbean. While these numbers reflect the huge efforts that have been made to increase international backbone capacity, a closer look at the data also reveals major disparities across regions: Asia and the Pacific (in particular China and India) accounts for more than 85 per cent of the total length of backbone networks (left chart) While this reflects the huge geographical size of the region, and the two countries in particular, the figures for available route metres per capita are also higher than in other regions. In Asia and the Pacific, there are 6.5 times as many route metres per capita than in Africa (right chart).
These figures highlight the need but also opportunities for infrastructure development in Africa.
Source: ITU

12. The international Internet bandwidth divide
International Internet bandwidth per inhabitant, by region, 2014*, and in African countries, 2013
International Internet bandwidth is a crucial building block in Internet access and its availability is one of the factors determining the quality and the speed of the Internet connection that Internet users will experience.
The available International Internet bandwidth per inhabitant varies a lot between regions and is highest in Europe and very low on average in Africa. While the SIDS as a group have a relatively high level of International Internet bandwidth per inhabitants, it is mainly because some selected, non-African SIDS have relatively high levels. In particular, Singapore (which is a bandwidth hub) has 90% of the international Internet bandwidth of all SIDS. Excluding Singapore, the SIDS value would be bit/s/inhabitant. The African SIDS, including the Seychelles and Cape Verde, have relatively low levels of international Internet bandwidth.
Source: ITU
Note: *Estimates

13. Very low fixed-broadband levels across Africa
Fixed-broadband penetration, by region, 2015* and in African countries, 2013
Fixed-broadband penetration remains very low in Africa, although there are important differences within Africa. In most African countries, fixed-broadband networks are limited to urban areas and most other (rural) areas are covered only by a mobile-broadband network.
Source: ITU
Note: *Estimates **2014

14. AFRICA PROVIDES A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES
LDCs in particular provide a host of market opportunities
Capacity Building and Skill Development are key
Innovation, Creativity, and Improvement are key
Policy, Legal, and Regulatory Frameworks allow ICT to play a catalytic role in disaster risk reduction and management, as well as in socio-economic development
SDGs make several references to climate change and highlight the important role that ICTs play in achieving the sustainable development goals and targets.
Climate change adaptation is a key factor to reduce the risks of disasters that countries across the world are facing, and to foster and achieve sustainable development. The ongoing debate on the post 2015 development agenda recognizes the importance of addressing climate change, and Goal 13 is ‘to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts’.
The current SDG framework also recognized the importance of ICTs as an enabler for sustainable development and several targets make reference to ICTs, including:
Target 9.c: Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020
Target 17.8: Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology

15. WHAT WE NEED IS A VISION Prevent Prepare Monitor Detect Predict
EMPHASIS ON RESILIENCE

16. ADAPTATION RESILIENCE STRATEGY
RESILIENCE REINFORCES PRERAREDNESS
Standard
Advanced
Degree of Functionality
Resilience
Preparedness
Incident Response Capability

17. THANK YOU
Cosmas.zavazava[at]itu.int