Climate change think tank
Atwo day conference next week examines devastating climate change and extreme weather events in the Eastern Cape. The province is seen as one of the most vulnerable areas in the country to the disastrous impacts of climate change
“The last few years have seen one of the most severe droughts in recent times in the Southern African region, and warnings about cyclones, heavy storms and floods. These extreme events around the country has negatively affected our water, food and energy resources, resulting in social, economic, health, and livelihoods challenges, and their multiple and potentially disastrous impacts, are at the forefront of the public consciousness,” said Vhalinavho Khavhagali, Director for Climate Change Adaptation for the Department of Environment Affairs.
While the links between extreme climate events, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation are recognised at a policy level in the South African Climate Change White Paper, this is generally not the case at a more local level, and in the implementation of practical solutions. .
According to Professor Sheona Shackleton, Head of the Department of Environmental Science at Rhodes University, “we have impressive research on global environmental change in South Africa and our region, its impacts and the links to livelihoods and development, but this is often not shared as widely as it should be outside of the scientific community. We thought it would be great to hold the third multi-stakeholder colloquium in the Eastern Cape, as a province that has less direct access to the latest research and information and also happens to be one of the most vulnerable in the country to the impacts of climate change,” she said.
“Efforts to reduce disaster risk and poverty go hand in hand. Because disasters impoverish so many, disaster risk management is inseparable from poverty reduction policy. As climate change magnifies natural hazards, and because protection of infrastructure alone cannot eliminate risk, a more resilient population has never been more critical to breaking the cycle of dis- aster-induced poverty,” said Shackleton. Rhodes University will host the third two-day Adaptation Colloquium (Think Tank) on climate change from 30-31 May. Themed, “Climate change and extreme events: Linking disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) to reduce social vulnerability and build resilience”, the Think Tank aims to further the conversation on how to better link climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in policy, practice and research for the consideration of solutions. This will be achieved through sharing of research findings and hands-on experiences in the form of invited talks, case studies, panels and dialogues.
The conference is hosted by the Department of Environmental Science at Rhodes University in partnership with the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and the Adaptation Network; an organisation about climate change adaptation made up of representatives from civil society, government, parastatals, academia and business. The sessions work towards the Adaptations Futures Conference in Cape Town in June 2018.