From flexible funding to ‘half moons’: fresh ideas at the Global Dialogue Platform

(A version of this story appeared on Friday on the website of the Anticipation Hub – an initiative of the German Red Cross, the IFRC and the Climate Centre.)

By the Anticipation Hub
 
For three days the conversation flowed through the Bolle Festsäle, a former dairy in central Berlin. Participants from around the world packed breakout rooms and social spaces to reflect on the central theme at the three-day 12th Global Dialogue Platform: how to mainstream anticipatory action, especially in complex contexts. 

Opening the final day, Christoph Baade from the World Food Programme said: “I am up for a bit of friendly competition, but when it comes to saving people’s lives from predictable hazards, we shouldn’t worry about who gets there first.

“Mainstreaming means we have to maximize every synergy, find spaces for coordination and collaboration, and share our wins and losses – and trust each other.”

Participants agreed that we need to mainstream anticipatory action within the systems each country and region has for disaster risk management.

“Anticipatory action is a necessity, not a choice, in this era of climate chaos,” said Mohamed Yarrow of the Centre for Peace and Democracy in Somalia. “It presents a golden opportunity to change the aid system, which remained static for ages, to be more effective, efficient and dignified.” 

Ben Webster, head of the IFRC-hosted REAP secretariat in Geneva, said that “to achieve scale and sustainability for anticipatory approaches, we need to support government efforts at the national level and integrate these approaches into existing policies, strategies and plans.

“The international community can help to provide the necessary resources and technical assistance to make this happen, and local actors can ensure that support reaches the right people at the community level in times of crisis.”

‘Anticipatory action is a necessity, not a choice, in this era of climate chaos’

This point was echoed by Tasnima Mukit, of the Center for Natural Resource Studies in Bangladesh: “As a representative of local actors working at the grassroots level, I would like to emphasize the importance of prioritizing localization and community-led approaches.”

She continued: “Flexible and adaptive funding mechanisms, capacity building for local actors, and advocacy at the policy level are also crucial for mainstreaming anticipatory action effectively.” 

IGAD’s George Otieno said: “With about 40 governments participating [at the platform], the discussions about anticipatory action and its development must now shift towards them, with the priority being to build on existing governance systems as entry points.

“Regional intergovernmental organizations are instrumental in enhancing coordination for the effective delivery of this approach.” 

So what are the concrete steps that governments, practitioners and communities must take to mainstream anticipatory action?

‘Legal and policy environments for forecast-based anticipatory actions’

“One, set up legal and policy environments for forecast-based anticipatory actions,” said Bazarragchaa Duudgai, of Monglia’s National Emergency Management Agency.

“Two, increase communities’ understanding of anticipatory action. Three, set up a financial and investment system to decrease the potential damage and loss caused by slow-onset and sudden disasters.

And finally, governments should show leadership by increasing budget allocations for anticipatory action, while also improving the coordination between various stakeholders.”

The 12th Global Dialogue Platform was attended by some 1,800 people in person or online and supported by the German Federal Foreign Office; it was hosted by the Anticipation Hub, in collaboration with FAO, WFP, UNOCHA, the Start Network and Welthungerhilfe.

Poor rainfall triggered a US $9.5 million CERF grant to help reduce the impact on communities in Niger’s arid Dosso region and help farmers like Amadou Keydou (pictured) with drought-resistant techniques like half moons. “We are able to rehabilitate the soil, reducing the risk of flooding and retaining water. The soil used to be fertile and gave higher yields, but now it has changed,” he says. Amadou’s story appears in a UNOCHA publication presented at the 12th Global Dialogue Platform in Berlin last week. (Photo: Michelle Cattani/UNOCHA)