Communicating Disaster: Risk, Response & Adaptation in Sierra Leone
Society for Climate Change Communication were proud to take part in an informative and well-attended United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) workshop on climate adaptation and early warning preparedness Communicating Disaster: Risk, Response and Adaptation plans for vulnerable communities.
Informative discussions took place covering various aspects of prepareness and risk management with effective presentations by representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Office of National Security (ONS), as well as some natural resource and environmental technical experts.
The well-attended workshop - part of a programme reaching all regions in Sierra Leone - attracted many local actors - community based organizations, non governmental organizations and different civil society organizations, Bo Town City Council, who have a great role in implementation.
My top three take aways from the day :
We really need to protect and develop hazard buffers - our forests and wetlands and our beaches and reefs;
Rural agricultural communities need to intercrop - planting companion plants to reduce the need for pesticides and improve yields, as well as switching to more drought tolerant crops like Cassava;
Vulunerable communities need help building hazard resistant and climate friendly homes and structures.
Crucially, raising communities awareness is essential to ensure we can achieve all of these things.
The workshop sposnored by the the Global Environment Facility (GEF), works with partners to tackle the planet’s biggest environmental issues.
