From Disaster to Resilience Challenges and Opportunities for Disaster Prevention and Recovery In Namibia

1. From Disaster to Resilience Challenges and Opportunities for Disaster Prevention and Recovery In Namibia Hon. Prof. Peter Katjavivi, Director General National Planning Commission Office of the President, Namibia pkatjavivi@npc.gov.na

2. Namibia has always been a Dry Country • Year Round “Wet Rivers” only occur at its international borders • Historically, the only national disasters known to our young nation have been droughts and wildfires

3. The Memory of Living with Floods had been Lost… • In the Caprivi and Kavango border regions, the last big floods occurred in the 1960-1970s • After a 20-year calm, the North and Northeastern Namibia were hit by alternating flood and drought events. • The 2009 Floods were a 40-year event… • In many areas, there was no living memory of so much water. • This was an abnormal event! People were unprepared for the disaster…

4. The 2009 Disaster • In February and March 2009, torrential rains increased water levels in the Zambezi, Okavango, Cunene and Chobe Rivers. • This led to a 40-year flood in the Caprivi, Kavango and Cuvelai basins, affecting some 750,000 people (37.5% of the population of Namibia) • Whole villages were cut off and had to be relocated into camps. Some 50,000 people were displaced • Livestock were stranded and died of hunger • 102 people died

5. In April 2009, the Government requested a Post Disaster Needs Assessment • The PDNA was carried out by the Government of Namibia, UN, World Bank, EC, Luxembourg, and USAID • About 70 experts participated in the assessment • All six affected regions and 11 economic sectors were assessed

6. The Total Damages and Losses of the 2009 Disaster Amounted to US$214 million Private sector sustained more destruction of assets Economic losses were also incurred mostly by private households

7. Summary of Damages and Losses

8. Summary of Damages and Losses Most damages occurred in socio-productive sectors such as housing and trade Losses were concentrated in agriculture, manufacture and trade

9. The Disaster Further Compounded the Impact of the Financial Crisis Economic growth for 2009 which was predicted at a modest 1.1%, will now be 0.5% due to the disaster, a 0.6% decline 0.6%

10. More Important Still was the Impact at the Personal Level • In Caprivi and Ohangwena, people lost over 12 percent of their annual income • In Kavango, a region where 93% of the people are poor or severely poor, they lost 6% of their annual income.

11. The Floods Compounded the Impacts of Previous Shocks Households in North and Northeast Namibia were already fragile due to previous floods and droughts in the mid-2000s, foot-and-mouth disease and a drop in construction contracts

12. Strategy for Recovery and Reconstruction • Phase 1. Back to Pre-Disaster Reconstruction (US$136 million). • Early recovery • Reconstruction of damaged assets to their pre-disaster conditions • Phase 2. Build Back Smarter (US$463 million). • Spatial risk management planning to relocate in safer grounds • Climate resilient infrastructure • More efficient water use for agriculture and flood protection • Long-term Disaster Risk Management Clearly,Namiba does not want to repeat the mistakes of the past.

13. The Build Back Smarter Strategy

14. From Business As Usual to Building Back Smarter Disaster Risk Management Our nation is only 19 years old. DRM institutions are still incipient and need considerable strengthening

15. From Business As Usual to Building Back Smarter Water and Sanitation

16. From Business As Usual to Building Back Smarter Agriculture

17. Estimated Funding Commitments to the Namibian Floods (to Date) * Expected engagements

18. Remaining Challenges and Opportunities We Need Stronger Regional Cooperation • Prior to the 2009 disaster, Namibia received insufficient early warning information from the Zambezi River Basin Authority and from the Okavango River Basin Commission • Collaboration with these two Regional Commissions should be strengthened in the future

19. Namibia is Hindered by its Status as a Middle Income Country This seems to hinders its capacity to access concessionary funds for disaster relief Yet the floods affected the poorest and most vulnerable regions of Namibia

20. Reconstruction will Require Participatory Hazard Zoning • We will need to choose a flood safety level that is acceptable to our people • Based on that, we will have to conduct participatory zoning to determine which structures should remain in place (and be climate-proofed) and which should be relocated to safer areas. This is an important part of the DRM support that we are seeking from GFDRR donors for the reconstruction of Namibia

21. And… Flooding has Started Again… • On Friday, Kwando River in Southeastern Caprivi reached 4.04 m, the highest levels on record (highest even than 1969) • The rainfall in June has been the highest on record and unprecedented for the dry season • Is this climate change?

22. Acknowledgments We want to thank GFDRR, the UN, the World Bank, the EC, Luxembourg, and USAID for their financial and technical support to the Namibian flood assessment The full assessment results are expected by July 2009 at www.GFDRR.org