REPORT
PALOP: How to work around drought
Published on February 26th, 2016
“In Mozambique, there are people travelling dozens of kilometres a day to access water by digging a dry stream bed”. Inês Mourão, who works for the environmental consultancy group CAOS - Borboletas e Sustentabilidade (Butterflies and Sustainability), draws a picture of the situation that this country is experiencing: drought amplified by climate change. The expert, who coordinates three projects of climate change adaptation and mitigation in the PALOP, shares, in an interview with Clima@EduMedia, her experience on the ground.
If in Portugal, the drought is felt in agriculture, in a developing country like Mozambique, it is mainly reflected in the absence of drinking water. When there is water, it is not fit for consumption. This is the reality that the Mozambican population has been living with in recent years. The fault is, partially, of climate change, which has, in these countries, a more significant impact.
In Mozambique, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe, African Portuguese-speaking countries (PALOP), three projects of adaptation and mitigation are in effect, funded by the Portuguese Carbon Fund (Fundo Português de Carbono) and coordinated by Inês Mourão, an environment expert.
Listening was the first step of the Community Action Plans of Adaptation to climate change impacts (PACAs). The initiative involves nine Mozambican communities and has the active participation of the young and old, men and women, and local entities. “I was surprised because I noticed that people were already aware and had knowledge of climate change”, she mentions. “They had already experienced a change in the climate”, she explains.
“For example, there is a river from which the population gets all the water for the gardens (the fields), for consumption and for animals”, she says about the Mahelane community in Maputo.
“There was a drought which lasted for two years, and consequently forced people to dig the river’s stream bed to withdraw water”. There is a “pool next to it where all the animals go to drink”, creating a “huge problem of contamination because all beings have to resort to the same source”, she explains.
To identify problems and solutions in this project, “there was a vote on which measures would be implemented. At this moment, we are visiting communities to see which ones are feasible from a technical and financial point of view”, she continues. The expert explains that in the PACAs, each community has, literally, its own “pot of money” to manage.
It is, in fact, a participatory budget that also intends to cover the development problems of this country, which have been magnified by climate change. In the Ponte de Lúrio community, for instance, at least, one measure will now move forward, “vegetable nurseries to not only enhance the resilience to drought but also ensure food and nutritional security”.
“The fact that there is a greater lack of water causes the diarrheal episodes to be more frequent”, she exemplifies. “And if floods occur, the contamination is higher and there is also the issue of malaria because, with the increase of rain, there is an increase in mosquitoes”.
In Mozambique, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe, African Portuguese-speaking countries (PALOP), three projects of adaptation and mitigation are in effect, funded by the Portuguese Carbon Fund (Fundo Português de Carbono) and coordinated by Inês Mourão, an environment expert.
Listening was the first step of the Community Action Plans of Adaptation to climate change impacts (PACAs). The initiative involves nine Mozambican communities and has the active participation of the young and old, men and women, and local entities. “I was surprised because I noticed that people were already aware and had knowledge of climate change”, she mentions. “They had already experienced a change in the climate”, she explains.
“For example, there is a river from which the population gets all the water for the gardens (the fields), for consumption and for animals”, she says about the Mahelane community in Maputo.
“There was a drought which lasted for two years, and consequently forced people to dig the river’s stream bed to withdraw water”. There is a “pool next to it where all the animals go to drink”, creating a “huge problem of contamination because all beings have to resort to the same source”, she explains.
To identify problems and solutions in this project, “there was a vote on which measures would be implemented. At this moment, we are visiting communities to see which ones are feasible from a technical and financial point of view”, she continues. The expert explains that in the PACAs, each community has, literally, its own “pot of money” to manage.
It is, in fact, a participatory budget that also intends to cover the development problems of this country, which have been magnified by climate change. In the Ponte de Lúrio community, for instance, at least, one measure will now move forward, “vegetable nurseries to not only enhance the resilience to drought but also ensure food and nutritional security”.
“The fact that there is a greater lack of water causes the diarrheal episodes to be more frequent”, she exemplifies. “And if floods occur, the contamination is higher and there is also the issue of malaria because, with the increase of rain, there is an increase in mosquitoes”.
Having been in three different countries and contacted with the population, Inês Mourão describes us what distinguishes them. When comparing with Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe, Mozambique is the country that suffers most from climate change and the expert explains why: “We can fit many “Portugals” in Mozambique. It is a vast territory, with locations so remote that people do not have access to electricity or drinking water”. In several communities, Portuguese is not spoken, thus hindering communication in these projects.
But Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe, because they are insular countries should also be a target of concern, since they are more susceptible to the increase in the mean sea level, and they also struggle with drought.
Projects such as the PACA and the Integrating Climate Change into Development Cooperation (IAC) are related to the training of the population, one of the first identified needs. The objectives of the IAC, which takes place in these three PALOP, are helping in the identification of vulnerabilities in these countries and train people so that they can design projects to adapt to climate change, creating with them sources of income for the community. The initiative consists of a set of six courses for the representatives of local authorities and NGOs. “It's important to teach them to design their own projects and also to manage the structures that will be developed”, she explains.
After the initiatives are completed, this learning will create ways to provide continuity and sustainability to the work done. For example, in Mahelane, Inês Mourão tells us, a reservoir dug in the river with a motor pump that works on solar energy will be constructed, allowing the transport of water to the population. “We are interested in raising awareness regarding the way we explain to people that they must boil water before consuming it, to train someone to handle the pump in case of failure, and also to clean the tank”.
The IAC ends in March this year and has over a hundred trained professionals
But Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe, because they are insular countries should also be a target of concern, since they are more susceptible to the increase in the mean sea level, and they also struggle with drought.
Projects such as the PACA and the Integrating Climate Change into Development Cooperation (IAC) are related to the training of the population, one of the first identified needs. The objectives of the IAC, which takes place in these three PALOP, are helping in the identification of vulnerabilities in these countries and train people so that they can design projects to adapt to climate change, creating with them sources of income for the community. The initiative consists of a set of six courses for the representatives of local authorities and NGOs. “It's important to teach them to design their own projects and also to manage the structures that will be developed”, she explains.
After the initiatives are completed, this learning will create ways to provide continuity and sustainability to the work done. For example, in Mahelane, Inês Mourão tells us, a reservoir dug in the river with a motor pump that works on solar energy will be constructed, allowing the transport of water to the population. “We are interested in raising awareness regarding the way we explain to people that they must boil water before consuming it, to train someone to handle the pump in case of failure, and also to clean the tank”.
The IAC ends in March this year and has over a hundred trained professionals
The projects’ outcome is “very positive”
“We got the message through and the outcome was very positive”, says the expert. Gonçalves Lucas Lápis, an environmentalist, participated in an IAC course in Songo, Mozambique, and intends to enrol in a master's degree course in environmental management, in Portugal. “In the month that I attended the course, in February 2015, the capital city of Mozambique peaked at 44ºC, something that had not happened for 20 years, all due to climate change”, he describes in an interview with Clima@EduMedia. “The focus of my study will be the adaptation to climate change, environmental protection and biodiversity conservation”, he describes.
“There is a greater perception of the phenomenon and its current and future impact on the development of the communities among the decision-makers that took part in the training”, adds José Luís Monteiro, of the Oikos, an NGO that has offices in Mozambique and was directly involved in the projects.
This association is always present on the ground, trying to help communities to cope with climate change. The project manager explains that the work “in some communities” goes through “improving agricultural productivity, helping to organise the producers by introducing new crops or new methodologies, creating supply chains”. In others, it means “responding to disasters, organising risk committees, improving access to drinking water, contributing with wells, forming management committees and educating the population in their use”.
The outcome of these projects is positive for communities and, through examples of good practice and word of mouth, the population begins to work around drought. “It is positive due to the change of mentalities and due to the examples of solutions that slowly will be spread by people”, begins by telling us José Luís Monteiro. He explains that, for example, “if a community changes the way it grows corn - replacing traditional seeds for short-cycle seeds or planting in a different calendar - and if the surrounding communities see that that works, they tend to copy the solution that works”.
In these three PALOP, there is still a third project that covers more specifically the mitigation of climate change. The Low Carbon Strategies (EBAC) end in September this year. “We had courses in these countries on low carbon adaptation measures, helping technicians and representatives of civil society to design strategies, taking the mitigation into consideration”, explains Inês Mourão.
What measures came out from these courses? “The use of various types of renewable energy, the reduction of deforestation, energy efficiency and even the issue of transportation, despite the public transport offer being very low in these countries”.
These initiatives lead to the emergence of other ideas to implement. The youth’s awareness of the subject of climate change is one of the short-term goals. “These actions are planned to start in May and will last until October”, she concludes.
By: Renata Silva
“We got the message through and the outcome was very positive”, says the expert. Gonçalves Lucas Lápis, an environmentalist, participated in an IAC course in Songo, Mozambique, and intends to enrol in a master's degree course in environmental management, in Portugal. “In the month that I attended the course, in February 2015, the capital city of Mozambique peaked at 44ºC, something that had not happened for 20 years, all due to climate change”, he describes in an interview with Clima@EduMedia. “The focus of my study will be the adaptation to climate change, environmental protection and biodiversity conservation”, he describes.
“There is a greater perception of the phenomenon and its current and future impact on the development of the communities among the decision-makers that took part in the training”, adds José Luís Monteiro, of the Oikos, an NGO that has offices in Mozambique and was directly involved in the projects.
This association is always present on the ground, trying to help communities to cope with climate change. The project manager explains that the work “in some communities” goes through “improving agricultural productivity, helping to organise the producers by introducing new crops or new methodologies, creating supply chains”. In others, it means “responding to disasters, organising risk committees, improving access to drinking water, contributing with wells, forming management committees and educating the population in their use”.
The outcome of these projects is positive for communities and, through examples of good practice and word of mouth, the population begins to work around drought. “It is positive due to the change of mentalities and due to the examples of solutions that slowly will be spread by people”, begins by telling us José Luís Monteiro. He explains that, for example, “if a community changes the way it grows corn - replacing traditional seeds for short-cycle seeds or planting in a different calendar - and if the surrounding communities see that that works, they tend to copy the solution that works”.
In these three PALOP, there is still a third project that covers more specifically the mitigation of climate change. The Low Carbon Strategies (EBAC) end in September this year. “We had courses in these countries on low carbon adaptation measures, helping technicians and representatives of civil society to design strategies, taking the mitigation into consideration”, explains Inês Mourão.
What measures came out from these courses? “The use of various types of renewable energy, the reduction of deforestation, energy efficiency and even the issue of transportation, despite the public transport offer being very low in these countries”.
These initiatives lead to the emergence of other ideas to implement. The youth’s awareness of the subject of climate change is one of the short-term goals. “These actions are planned to start in May and will last until October”, she concludes.
By: Renata Silva