SE24: HFA Implementation in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region

Description

Climate change is now an imminent reality and the Arab region is in particular vulnerable due to the pre-existing geological and hydrological conditions along side with socio-economic vulnerabilities. Due to the observed and projected increases in temperature, evaporation, sea level and precipitation variability, depletion of underground and of freshwater systems might cause serious problems for the livelihoods. Many countries in the Arab region should be prepared for extreme precipitation events, which are likely to increase in frequency and intensity and thereby trigger floods. Another example of the combined effect of climatic factors and physiographic features is the formation of serious floods during the rainy season. Despite the low rate of rainfall, expanded areas of watersheds lead to the collection and formation of floods going with a high rate through wadis or dry areas, causing damage to installations, infrastructures and farmlands.

Water shortage is another major challenge which is already a constrain in most countries of the region, and IPCC model simulations indicate that water scarcity may worsen substantially as a result of future changes in climatic patterns, including desertification, rainfall patterns and sea level rise (SLR). Several studies on global warming highlighted the serious and potentially catastrophic impacts of climate change on the coastal zones in the Middle East and North Africa Region. The 2009 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction shows that Bahrain, Djibouti and Egypt are among the top 10 countries most exposed to sea level rise. This implies that people’s livelihoods will be devastated and ecosystems damaged. Higher temperatures will throughout the region affect the water resources and food production; furthermore it will increase the incidence and impact of droughts, which already have been documented in Algeria, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia.

Expected Outcomes

1. The participants are informed about the key developments and progress on disaster risk reduction in the context of regional efforts and policies for climate change adaptation;

2. Promote good practices on usage of a disaster risk reduction approaches in climate change adaptation.

Agenda

• Welcome remarks
• Overview of disaster risk reduction in the Arab Region
• Integration of disaster risk reduction in regional policies on sustainable development including for climate change adaptation
• Examples of technical assistance/projects on climate change and risk management
• Progress on disaster risk reduction in a changing climate at national level
• Regional priorities for 2009-2011 to inform regional plans and policies (open discussion)

Background Papers

> Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change in the Arab Region [DOC, 39.50 Kb]

Presentations

Outcomes

Note: this is an interim report pending publication of the Conference Proceedings from the 2009 Global Platform.

> Report from SE24 [PDF, 23.62 Kb]