Adapting to climate change in the Omusati Region
The Office of the Governor in the Omusati Regional Council in collaboration with the Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) project hosted this year’s conference under the theme Water, Food Security and Adaptation to Climate Change earlier this month.
This event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders ranging from political office bearers, local and regional authorities, public administrators, academia, media practitioners, religious leaders, farmers, policy makers, donor agencies, representatives of civil society institutions, the private sector as well as community members to discuss the challenges faced by the region as a result of climate change and seek dialogue on solutions that can address these challenges and move beyond this to a sustainable solution.
They identified and prioritized that when it comes to funding needs for climate change adaptation in Omusati, water proposals to include water harvesting, water channeling and portable water distribution, animal fodder production and commercialization of local produce using advanced technologies were priority interventions.
ASSAR aims to deepen understanding of climate vulnerability and adaptation in semi-arid regions and to inform and influence climate change adaptation practice and police. It aims to embed proactive, widespread adaptation in development activities and to advance adaptive livelihoods for vulnerable groups in dry lands by building capacity and closing knowledge gaps.
ASSAR is a five-year research project (2014-2018) funded by the Canadian Intentional Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).
