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Zambia could lose US $210 million annually due to droughts by 2030
By Abraham Kalito
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Speaking during the disaster management workshop in Lusaka, Monday, UNISDR Regional Office for Africa representative, Katarina Soltesova, said potential losses to crops are estimated to increase from US $16 million at present to about US $50 million by 2030 due to droughts. Hydro-power production is also estimated to be highly affected.
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“In a future climate, and taking into account socio-economic projections, the number of affected people could reach 20%. This equate to more than 4 million persons per year affected by drought. Potential losses to crops are estimated to increase from US $16 million at present to about US $50 million due to droughts. Hydro-power production is also estimated to be affected by climate change and, in the future, it will potentially lose about US $210 million per year. Our focus therefore ought to be on risk-proofing relevant public and private investments, both nationally and internationally. Evidence shows that whereas the least developed countries register the highest number of casualties, transitional economies suffer the highest economic losses.”
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Meanwhile, [Sylvia Chalikosa, Minister in the Office of the Vice-President] stressed the need for the international community to help Zambia build capacity to address disasters.
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“The great enabler for reducing disaster losses under the Sendai Framework is the target which seeks to have a substantial increase in the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020. The information from the floods and drought models will aid with the entrenching of risk reduction initiatives at the country and local levels. Zambia also recognizes the opportunity to ensure that plans for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation merge to avoid any duplication of effort and to maximize the use of resources to reduce the loss of life, the amount of people affected, economic losses, and damage to critical infrastructure. National and local strategies for reducing disaster risk, including climate risk, will be the bedrock for reducing disaster losses by 2030. Local planning for improved disaster risk management helps create social demand for action at the local and national levels.”
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