Context

The landmark Paris Agreement at COP21 called for enhanced adaptive capacity to strengthen resilience and thus reduce vulnerability to climate change.

To better manage potential climate risks and foster adaptation, climate-sensitive sectors require science-based and user-specific climate information connecting natural and socio-economic research with practice, namely Climate Services. Indeed, enabling access to climate information and providing user-friendly climate services will help decision-makers to build resilience at all levels and in a wide range of sectors, including food security, water, health and energy.

While the use of climate information is growing rapidly worldwide, the majority of the countries in Africa still lacks the infrastructural, technical, human and institutional capacities to provide high-quality climate services.

But Southern Africa is projected to become generally drier under low mitigation climate change measures and the SADC countries are particularly vulnerable to climate variability, change and extremes. Water resources, agriculture, hydropower generation, ecosystems and basic infrastructures are especially under stress as a result of the increased frequency and intensity of floods, droughts and landslides.

Thus, implementing adaptation measures using Climate Services is crucial for the region.

Focus-AFRICA implements case studies in five countries: Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa, Malawi, and Tanzania, and targets on the following four sectors: water, energy, agriculture, and infrastructure.

Fact examples to understand the current situation in the SADC region: