Integration of Weather and Climate Information

 

Objective

 

The complex nature of conflicts including pastoral obligates a multidisciplinary approach to address the causes or mitigate conflicts. Resource plays a key role in pastoral conflicts. The sole livelihood dependence on livestock in most of these pastoral areas coupled with migratory way of life in search of grazing land and water necessitates availing information on these issues to stakeholders starting from policy formulation to the local level enabling them to effectively respond before the crisis.

 

Critical information that shall be integrated and packaged will incorporate information obtained from different specialized institutions with different focuses such us livestock early warning, assessment of water resources, forage information, food security, nutrition  including institutions that use remote sensing and GIS.

 

The effort is to provide among others critical information on spatial rainfall distribution, pasture availability, water points, land use, food security, livestock density and movement, market places, game parks, migratory patterns.

 

Another important climatic data that would be provided would be archived climatic information that backdates to more than 10 years.

“It is through collaborative efforts that the sub-region’s development challenges namely—economic and social environmental degradation, increasing food insecurity, massive dislocation and movement of people across borders can adequately be addressed”

Prof. Laban A. Ogallo

Director ICPAC

One way of averting negative impacts of climate and weather related outcomes such as degradation of land and pasture, effects of global warming, recurrent incidences of too much rain or little or no rain and thus flood or drought, livestock diseases etc.., that change the dynamics of conflicts is providing specifically tailored early warning information for pastoral areas.

 

It is with this aim that CEWARN is in the process of partnering with the regional office on climate - IGAD Climatic Prediction and Application Center (ICPAC).

 

The integration of climate risk management information into CEWARN’s analyzed early warning reports will also enhance its capabilities in providing informed and realistic response options that are effective in averting conflicts.