The African Drought Conference, “Enhancing resilience to drought events on the African continent” in Windhoek, Namibia, from 15 to 19 August, concluded by adopting the Windhoek Declaration.
Building on the 11th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP-11) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which was held in September 2013, the conference also served as a follow-up, in many ways, to the WMO High-Level Meeting on National Drought Policies held in March 2013.
The conference brought together international and African experts who delivered presentations on drought monitoring, drought preparedness and risk management, early warning systems, sand and dust storms, food security, innovative financing, and other relevant topics.
The Windhoek Declaration for Enhancing Resilience to Drought in Africa adopted the Strategic Framework for Drought Risk Management and Enhancing Resilience in Africa, which proposes a Drought Resilient and Prepared Africa (DRAPA) at the national level guided by the following six elements:
- Drought Policy and Governance for Drought Risk Management;
- Drought Monitoring and early warning;
- Drought vulnerability and impact assessment;
- Drought mitigation, preparedness, and response;
- Knowledge management and drought awareness; and
- Reducing underlying factors of drought risk.
For more information on the Windhoek Declaration, visit: https://goo.gl/uEc0mj
