Firefighters participate in a fire drill training after the USAID Community Support Program (CSP) equipped the area’s fire truck with needed fire prevention equipment. The Jurd el Qaitea Union of Municipalities (UoM) serves 15 villages in Akkar, North Lebanon. Due to climate change, the area is experiencing increased, recurring wildfires that are destroying the local forest, putting residents’ lives at risk, and reducing eco-tourism in the area, which has severely impacted local economic opportunities. As such, the UoM purchased a fire truck to facilitate firefighters’ access to remote locations, but, amidst the country’s economic crisis, they were unable to equip it with the necessary gear to make it fully effective. In response, USAID CSP equipped the truck with all the needed equipment to ensure fire prevention and firefighter safety. These included water pumps and thrusters, fire-resistant water hoses and protective garments, extinguishers, air pressure tanks, and handheld transceivers to facilitate communication and coordination within the firefighter team during response operations. In parallel, CSP organized fire drill training on the use of the equipment and helped to improve the coordination between firefighting stakeholders in the region, which has contributed to a 97 percent decrease in forest fires.
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After unprecedented flooding swept through South Sudan, families fled their homes and sought high ground and safety in Paguir. With little resources left, many faced widespread poverty, food insecurity, and life-threatening malnutrition.
After months of submerged crops and ruined harvests, Action Against Hunger partnered with the community to seek new solutions to combat hunger in the face of these climate shocks. Today, men and women are building resilience through a rice growing project, the first of its kind in Paguir, which allows farmers to plant even in the deepest floodwater. The crop replaces sorghum, which is unable to grow in water. Along with seeds and farming tools, the people of Paguir are using newfound skills and collaborating to achieve greater resilience.
In their own paddies, women plant, cultivate, harvest, and process rice, which helps them earn their own income. For the people of Paguir, growing rice is a climate-resilient strategy that has transformed the entire community. The project has not only created Paguir's first rice farmers, but also the teachers who will pass down their craft for generations to come.
Anchá Vasco holds up heads of lettuce from her grower plot on agroforestry firm Grupo Madal lands in Quelimane, Mozambique. About 50,000 people have been farming on Madal’s underutilized landholdings. Rather than evicting these farmers, Madal has granted approximately 4,0000 of them (85% women) land use rights and farming contracts under a USAID pilot, providing farmers with inputs such as coconut saplings, cowpeas, maize, and peppers and extension support, with a guaranteed purchase by the company. Quelimane was recently hit by Hurricane Idai, making these livelihood opportunities even more important to help families rebuild. Post cyclone, Madal helped farmers like Anchá replant horticulture plots so they would have some income for the 2023 growing season. As climate change puts increasing pressure on smallholder farmers, innovative partnerships with the private sector can help farmers diversify their livelihoods and have a guaranteed source of income each season.
To support waterworks personnel like Rustom and Rowel, USAID Philippines, through its Safe Water Project, stepped in to assist the Aborlan Municipal Government in Palawan. This initiative involves the funding, reconstruction, and redesigning of the water supply systems in Culandanum and Talakaigan, Aborlan, which will benefit more than 2,000 households. The project aims to create climate-resilient water systems that can withstand the impacts of future disasters. By providing robust infrastructure, the water supply system can be better prepared to face climate-related challenges.
Once the reconstruction is complete, waterworks personnel will no longer have to rely on frequent repair works, which are often challenging inside the watershed. The improved water system will enhance their ability to perform regular operations and maintenance effectively, ensuring consistent and reliable access to clean water for the community.
In the wake of Typhoon Rai (Philippine name: Super Typhoon Odette) devastating the nation in 2021, numerous local governments have earnestly invested in climate-resilient water supply infrastructure. The Rizal local government unit in Palawan, after a year of intensive training and mentorship through USAID Philippines' Safe Water Project, constructed a new intake structure, adhering to climate-resilient design standards and evidence-based water source assessment and development.
The Shanda Ugute group is taking a proactive approach to adapting to the challenges posted by climate change by conducting gulley reclamation in Hopley, Harare province in Zimbabwe. GOAL, an international humanitarian response agency, implements Cash for Work activities under USAID's UPLIFT/SIMUDZA project to address the impact of massive rainfall that has caused environmental degradation over the years. The community is taking a proactive approach to adapting to the challenges posed by climate change and building resilience to withstand future environmental risks by restoring and fortifying the degraded gulley.
In drought-prone Buhera, Manicaland, Vongai Mutsauri feeds her goats with the fodder she planted last year, countering the effects of climate change-induced droughts. Her proactive approach demonstrates adaptation and preparedness. It also reflects the commitment of GOAL, an international humanitarian response agency supported by USAID, to climate resilience.
Most disaster management interventions rely on services to people who can see, hear, and respond to instructions. Often, critical information is presented in languages and formats not accessible to the Deaf. These practices contribute to the escalating disparity encountered by the Deaf in accessing social protection programs, particularly in climate disaster preparedness and resilience.
Rommel Agravante, a sign language researcher and a member of the Filipino Deaf community, interviewed Deaf residents of Cavite City about the challenges they faced during calamities to document the signs used for climate-related concepts. Using signs and climate-related images posted on the wall, Marites, Merlinda, and Rosario shared how they were unable to evacuate in time during typhoons and detailed the difficulties they endured. Signs, including variations, employed in their narration will aid Rommel and other researchers in establishing the lexicon for effectively communicating weather- and climate-related concepts to Deaf communities.
The Oscar M. Lopez Center, with the support of USAID through its project entitled Signs for Inclusive Governance and Development or Project SIGND, works with Deaf organizations to create a lexicon for Filipino Sign Language to improve their preparedness and adaptive capacities to climate-related risks and disasters.
Borneo, an island in Asia shared by Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, has experienced rapid deforestation in recent years. Driven by palm oil plantations, rubber plantations, and logging, many species are at risk of losing their habitats. This series of satellite images taken over the Central Kalamantan region of Indonesia, depict the rapid growth and movement of settlements from 2015 to 2019 and the increasing road network between what is likely a rubber plantation. Deforestation, a leading cause of human CO2 emissions, can lead to an increase in floods, forest fires, droughts and could have negative impacts on fresh water reservoirs and human health in this area. Mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and marine wildlife are all threatened by the increase in deforestation. In this series of photos, natural regeneration can be identified where large areas of deforestation had once occurred. Allowing deforested areas to regrow provides hope that deforestation on the island will slow and larger areas of forests will be protected. USAID plays a large role in helping Central Kalamantan protect their endangered species, especially the Orangutan, through the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF). This initiative has seen the rehabilitation of over 100 orangutans and their release back into this region, all with the support of USAID. USAID is also a partner of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) where climate challenges are tackled through the use of Earth observations and other techniques and informed decisions can be made through careful evaluation. These partnerships will allow for a more sustainable future on the island of Borneo.
The USAID-NREL Partnership, in coordination with Clean Power Asia, partnered with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) to conduct a vulnerability assessment of the Lao PDR power sector. The assessment included a review of climate change related risks as well as vulnerabilities related to technological and human-related threats. At the time of the assessment, the Lao PDR was experiencing severe flooding related to greater than normal rainfall and tropical storms. Impacts from these threats include potential fuel supply shortages for transportation and energy generation, physical infrastructure damage, shifts in energy demand, and disruption of electricity supply to the end user. These disruptions adversely affect critical services and facilities such as hospital services, water treatment, and communications networks. Despite significant infrastructure vulnerability to climate threats, the people of the Lao PDR display incredible resilience. Here, residents play and fish in the rising flood waters in Vientiane, Laos. Learn more about planning a resilient power sector at the Resilient Energy Platform website: http://bit.ly/30LeCqV. Learn more about the power sector vulnerability assessment in this webinar: http://bit.ly/2P3Triy. Photo taken by Sherry Stout, NREL, August 2018.
Typhoon Maysak crossed Chuuk and Yap States between March 29 and April 1, 2015, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. As USAID’s implementing partner under the Disaster preparedness for Effective Response project, the International Organization for Migration mobilized to implement USAID’s Typhoon Maysak Reconstruction Project (TMRP). The multi-sectoral initiative was designed to help Maysak-affected communities rebuild following the devastating storm, and to help restore critical public infrastructure and utilities. For both new homes and public infrastructure facilities, IOM worked to design buildings that would be able to withstand another storm and maintain traditional design elements whenever possible. IOM also trained local community members in sustainable construction techniques. In this photo, taken by Ms. Rachel Weinheimer on November 10, 2016 on an outer island of Chuuk, H.E. Robert A. Riley III, the current ambassador of the United States of America to FSM, presents a local beneficiary with a newly reconstructed home.
Palabek Refugee Settlement, Northern Uganda. August 31, 2018.
Incorporating the Resilience Design and Permagarden methodologies of the USAID TOPS/SCALE program.
Learning principles from African Women Rising’s resilience design and permagarden program, South Sudanese refugees in Palabek refugee settlement deploy techniques that help mitigate destructive flooding and seasonal drought. Mulch, contour swales and berms, deep soil preparation, biomass planting, drought tolerant perennials and tree crops. The permagarden method helps meet the short-term food needs of the refugees as it builds their long-term resilience. Despite refugee camps being inherently degenerative, refugees learn to manage natural resources through the intentional design of their compound, harvesting water and capturing waste streams to enhance the fertility and productivity of their 30m x 30m plot of land. The management of existing trees and planting other multipurpose trees, living fence and other biomass plantings provide materials for building, pest remedies, dry season nutrition and medicine. This helps reduce pressures on the environment – such as the collection of fuelwood, gathering of wild foods, burning of charcoal - that will continue to worsen as time goes on, exacerbating tensions between host communities and refugees. Strengthening the ecological base of food systems also reduces vulnerability across time by shoring up resilience in the face of climate instability and extreme weather events.
For more information: https://www.africanwomenrising.org/about-us/agriculture/
Palabek Refugee Settlement, Northern Uganda. Incorporating the Resilience Design and Permagarden methodologies of the USAID TOPS/SCALE program. July 24, 2019.
Working with refugees to map the flow of water and nutrients across the landscape in Palabek refugee settlement. This participatory exercise is part of African Women Rising’s permagarden program that proactively trains refugees to mitigate flooding and drought by understanding the way heavy rainfall, sunshine, and the slope of the land all can negatively affect the landscape. Focusing on the basic principles of water and soil biology and using a design framework to help farmers capture rainwater and enrich the soil using local materials such as manure, wood ash, tree leaves and charcoal dust. It’s a process of learning and using guiding principles to design the best set of interventions possible.
For more information: https://www.africanwomenrising.org/about-us/agriculture/
Encouraged by leaders of a new, farmer-focused enterprise called Sesame Farmers Development Association in Magway Township in Myanmar's Central Dry Zone, producers in July and August 2019 began experimenting with new methods of dealing with erratic and extreme weather aimed at preventing crop losses. The Association teamed up with USAID's Value Chains for Rural Development project and the local Land Use Department to brainstorm ways they could better conserve water and control erosion in their sesame fields. By using small, easy-to-build, earthen "check dams" in shallow trenches around their fields, farmers developed new ability to prevent their fields from being inundated during periods of torrential rain. They also began planting wild almond saplings as windbreaks around their sesame fields to stem erosion and provide a second source of income (the trees produce sterculia gum that can be exported to Korea.) The new practices are working, farmers say, and sesame plants are healthier than in previous seasons, with "extra" stems flowering beautifully in advance of the coming harvest.
Mrs. Noun Muoyheang fundraising to support her community’s fish conservation efforts in Aren, Pursat province, Cambodia. Noun and other community members have used these funds to plant trees and to make lasting improvements to key local fish habitats. With support from the USAID-funded Feed the Future Cambodia Rice Field Fisheries II project, 140 Cambodian communities like Noun’s have raised over US$150,000 to support and sustain their fish conservation efforts. Over 100 communities have expanded local dry season fish refuges, including in partnership with local government and the private sector. These expanded refuges provide wild fish with sustained protection from climate shocks such as seasonal and unseasonable dry periods, thus protecting a valuable resource that many local families rely on. Photo credit: Nin Mao, ANKO
Bataraza, Palawan, Philippines, June 18, 2019.
By Jessie Cereno, Talakatha Creatives.
A woman farmer in Bataraza, southern Palawan walks through a slash-and-burn area of an agricultural section of Mount Mantaligahan, 140 kms south of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, Phiippines.
The Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape encompasses five municipalities, within these municipalities and bordering the protected area are 140,184 hectares of forestlands. The largely forested protected area and the forestlands around it provide various ecosystem services that benefit the local and indigenous communities. These ecosystem services include supplying water, food, medicine, scenic places, fertile soils, and wildlife habitats. The forest cover also prevents the occurrence of destructive forces like flash floods. Thus, it is in the best interest of the communities to have their forests and forestlands placed under an effective management system.
The USAID Protect Wildlife Project builds farmer capacities to use sustainable farming methods. The Project promotes planting a diversity of food crops, creating buffer zones of native trees around existing forest, and the reclamation of degraded land through reforestation and other practices.
Forests are still being cut down and burned to clear land for farming, ranching, and road building. Slash-and-burn contributes to climate change by releasing all the carbon that the forest trees have absorbed over their lifetimes.