Adaptation to Climate Change in Rural and Urban Areas of Mozambique

Context

Mozambique is one of the countries most strongly affected by climate change. Poverty, limited institutional development and frequent extreme weather events make Mozambique especially vulnerable. Climate-related hazards such as droughts, floods and cyclones are occurring with increasing frequency, which is having a cumulative and devastating impact on a population that is insufficiently prepared. Central Mozambique, where the focal provinces of German development cooperation are located, is particularly hard hit. These provinces suffer recurrent agricultural losses as a result of droughts, floods and uncontrolled bush fires. To compound these threats, the densely populated coastal lowlands are repeatedly affected by severe erosion, saltwater intrusion, loss of vital infrastructure and the spread of diseases such as malaria, cholera and influenza. This all adds up to a significant burden for the poor, and the people in these provinces live with the constant threat of losing the basis of their livelihoods.

Objective

In the provinces of Sofala and Inhambane, the resilience of the population in the face of the adverse effects of climate change has been strengthened and climate change adaptation measures are being systematically implemented.

Approach

Over the last nine years, a number of disaster risk management (DRM) projects have produced a body of experience in areas such as community mobilisation, early warning schemes and institutional capacity development. The current project draws on these experiences as it pursues its aims to:

link climate adaptation with income generation for the poor
support the coordination of institutions involved in climate-focused urban development in the country’s second city, Beira
mainstream climate adaptation by climate proofing public planning and private investments.

To these ends, GIZ is cooperating closely with the national and provincial structures of the National Authority for Disaster Management (INGC) and Ministry of the Environment (MICOA). Together with them, we are supporting local DRM committees, producer groups, city, district and provincial planning boards, private enterprises, sector departments and technical education institutions.

Ten national and international experts and eight local community facilitators are engaged in delivering GIZ’s advisory services. This staff is distributed between the cities of Maputo, Beira and Inhambane, and the priority districts of Sofala and Inhambane. An integrated expert has also been placed with the Catholic University of Beira to support the development of curricula on climate change adaptation and DRM, and to provide extension activities for the dissemination of innovative approaches such as climate proofing and adaptation monitoring. A development advisor will be supporting the planning school (IMPFA) and the Planning Division of the Ministry of the Environment.

One of the main aspects of the project is the effort to link rural development with climate change adaptation. Important ways of achieving this include the use of development partnerships with the private sector, capacity development to build entrepreneurship skills among smallholder farmers, support for value chains, and the creation of incentives for the communities to become involved in climate change adaptation and DRM activities.

A central part of our work is the collaboration with other actors involved in the fields of DRM and climate change adaptation. At the national level, this involves working with the main stakeholders and donors that are developing tools and instruments for conducting vulnerability analyses, and monitoring the impacts of adaptation measures. In the provinces and in the city of Beira, we will also collaborate with a number of higher education institutions, local stakeholders, provincial planning boards, NGOs and private enterprises involved in climate change projects.

Results achieved so far

A network of diverse actors in Beira has agreed a plan of action for adapting the coastal city to the changing climatic conditions. Local DRM committees have been set up in areas of the city and in villages in Sofala and Inhambane provinces, which are particularly at risk.