Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) and Humana People to People partnered at COP26 to promote their $11.9M climate change project for Northern Namibia and Southern Angola
The Adaptation in Drought Struck South-Western African Communities, (ADSWAC) project on Climate Adaptation and Resilience seeks to mitigate the effect of climate change
13 November 2021
As climate change continues to severely affect the lives of people across Africa, Humana People to People and Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) partnered at COP26 to showcase a new environmental project created to support communities to adapt to changes, particularly in the Cubango region of Angola and the Okavango region of Namibia.
ADSWAC is an $11.9M five-year project that will work to build resilience against the effects of climate change. It will promote climate-resilient agriculture and water management, livelihood diversification and access to climate information, knowledge and awareness.
The project will work with 160 local Producer Organizations and 160 Water User Associations along with Angolan-Namibian border communities. Okavango River communities in Northern Namibia and Southern Angola will be supported to develop and implement Community Adaptation Action Plans, ultimately reaching 140,000 people
These areas increasingly see intense dry seasons, combined with extensive flooding in rain seasons, devastating the lives and livelihoods of people who live and work there.
At COP26, the partners engaged in numerous online discussions and facilitated conversations with delegates, stakeholders, and public members to increase awareness of the work they are doing.
A spokesperson for Humana People to People, Jesper Wohlert said:
“Environmental change knows no boundaries; neither should our reactions. We have utilised our extensive experience to help coordinate and implement this major funding that will save so many lives. It was important to ensure that as many COP 26 delegates as possible knew about the plight of these communities that are facing climate disaster.
“This was our first partnership at an event such as COP26 and we were thrilled to be in such good company with our friends and colleagues at OSS, who is the regional implementing agency for this project. Together, we will do all that we can to mitigate the effects of climate change and protect the people who will suffer from it”.
A spokesperson for OSS, Nabil Ben Khatra said:
“Reports show that the south-western region of southern Africa will be among the hardest hit by global warming of just 1.5 degrees. It is a race against time to help these vulnerable people, who have already experienced the terrifying effects of climate change. Working with our friends and colleagues at Humana People to People, we look forward to seeing the results of our collaboration take shape on the ground in the coming years”.
