SWAKOPMUND – SADC countries must move beyond promises and translate climate discussions into action as communities increasingly face the consequences of droughts, floods and other extreme weather events.
This is according to minister of works and transport Veikko Nekundi, who says governments should strengthen preparedness and invest in systems that allow communities to receive warnings before disasters strike.
Nekundi was speaking at the opening of the 33rd Southern African Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF-33) in Swakopmund.
The forum brings together climate experts, representatives of national meteorological and hydrological services, sector specialists and users of climate information to develop and interpret a regional seasonal climate outlook. This will be translated into practical guidance for preparedness, planning and early action.
According to Nekundi, climate experts play an important role in protecting communities by providing governments with information that allows them to prepare for droughts and other extreme weather conditions.
“You are the ones who sound the bells before the storms, who read the skies before the drought and who warn us before hunger knocks on our doors,” Nekundi told climate experts attending the forum.
He said their work, however, cannot succeed through goodwill alone and requires political commitment and predictable domestic financing from SADC governments.
Nekundi also called on the SADC subcommittee on meteorology to ensure that discussions taking place at the regional level result in commitments that can be implemented by member states.
“Let us move from rhetoric to reality, from resolutions to resources and from promises to performance,” he said.
Adding that information generated by climate experts should guide action in climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water, energy, health, infrastructure and disaster management.
“That is why we must shift our paradigm from reaction to prevention, from response to readiness and from recovery to resilience,” he appealed.
He also referred to the United Nations’ goal of ensuring that every person is protected by multi-hazard early-warning systems by the end of 2027.
Nekundi explained that SADC cannot afford to fall behind and should prioritise strengthening early-warning infrastructure and national systems.
“Early warning is the single most cost-effective tool we have in the fight against climate disasters. It saves lives, protects property, and preserves dignity, and it is within our reach,” he said.
Also speaking at the conference, SADC secretariat director of infrastructure Rauna Mukumangeni said reliable weather forecasts and climate information allow countries to anticipate risks instead of responding only after infrastructure has already been damaged.
“For the infrastructure sector in particular, access to credible climate information can help us move from a reactive approach, responding to damage after extreme weather events occur, towards a more proactive approach in which risks are anticipated and resilience is built into infrastructure from the outset,” she said. She added that climate information should therefore increasingly influence decisions made throughout the lifespan of infrastructure projects.
“For us in the infrastructure sector, this means ensuring that climate risk becomes an increasingly integral part of infrastructure planning, design, financing and asset management,” she said.
“It means asking not only whether we can build infrastructure but also whether that infrastructure will remain safe, functional and sustainable in the face of changing climate and increasing weather-related risks,” Mukumangeni said.
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