DROUGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

LINKING RELIEF

AND DEVELOPMENT

Ministry for the Development of

Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands

Reaction to Drought

The traditional reaction to drought and its

effect has been to adopt a crisis

management approach

This reactive approach is not good policy and

should be replaced by a risk management

approach which is anticipatory and

preventive

Drought preparedness, prevention

and mitigation

Without proper drought management, development initiatives for ASAL become ineffective since drought emergencies will continue to disrupt the long-term development process;

It is therefore essential to mainstream drought preparedness, prevention and mitigation measures to cushion the negative impacts of droughts on development dynamics. Hence, drought risk reduction strategies should be seen as indispensible elements in the development agenda for ASAL.

Drought Mitigation

Negative impact of droughts on food security can be mitigated by:

- mainstreaming DRR into development plans to enhance people’s resilience to drought

- saving livelihoods through timely disbursement of Drought Contingency Funds (DCFs) to implement sectoral Contingency Plans during drought crises

DROUGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The Arid Lands Resource Management Project (ALRMP) piloted a drought management system

composed of four components:

a drought early warning system

a set of district level contingency (‘shelf ’) plans

a drought contingency (response) fund

drought management structures

However, the system has not perpetual basis. In order to institutionalize the DM system, the MNKOAL

through support from the Drought Management Initiative (DMI), a project funded by EC, has prepared

proposals for creation of :

1. A Drought Management Authority (DMA) to provide for a systematic and effective method

of assessing, preparing and responding to the impacts of drought on the livelihood of Kenyans. This

will allow having a specialized institution dealing with drought on continuous basis and mandated

to spearhead preparedness for drought and coordination of stakeholders;

2. A National Drought Contingency Fund (NDCF) with the capacity to disburse funds to

drought-prone affected districts in a flexible, effective and efficient way

Drought Management Authority Main Functions: Promote mainstreaming of DRR into development

policies plans, programs and projects at national, county and community levels;

Operate an effective and efficient Drought Early Warning Systems;

Facilitate national, district and community level drought contingency processes that will result in the preparation of Contingency Plans to be regularly updated at all levels;

Coordinate the various drought response initiatives and liaise with the National Drought Contingency Fund for the disbursement of fund

WHY A CONTINGENCY FUND?

One of the main shortcomings in drought management remains the weak linkage between early warning and early response;

Inability of the Government and other relevant stakeholders to facilitate timely response is caused, to a large extent, by inadequate set-aside funds (in the nature of drought contingency funds);

SOLUTION

A National Drought Contingency Fund (NDCF) that

can allow contribution from both GoK and donors (a multi-

donor basket fund) and with the capacity to disburse funds to

drought-prone affected districts in a flexible, effective and

efficient way;

The availability of sufficient “set-aside contingency funds” will

ensure timely measures to mitigate the impact of drought,

protecting livelihoods and saving lives.

National Drought Contingency Fund

Functions

Providing contingency funds for early

response in drought emergencies;

Providing funds for recovery from

drought crises

NDCF MAIN FEATURES NDCF will not in any way replace large-scale

humanitarian interventions at a later stage of emergency. Hence the NDCF will not fund food aids; Activities funded under the NDCF are specifically

designed to support livelihoods and promote linkages with long-term development strategies (livelihood perspective); Critical areas for funding will be non-food sector

such as Livestock, Agriculture, Water & Sanitation, Health and Education, Conflict Resolution and Transfers

DCF TRIGGERING MECHANISMS The criteria for the release of contingency funds shall be

systematic, evidence-based and transparent and linked to the

drought management cycle

Drought response activities are specific initiatives triggered by the stages

of the drought cycle signalled by the EWS. Interventions are identified

for each stage, and activities are implemented depending on four

drought-warning stages based on drought monitoring data i.e. (i)

normal, (ii) alert/alarm, (iii) emergency and (iv) recovery warning

stages.

Comprehensive, multi-sectoral Contingency (shelf) Plans are prepared

and activated for rapid reaction to the early warning. They cover

necessary interventions at each phase of drought (normal, alert, alarm,

emergency and recovery) together with detailed budget for each activity

NDCF TRIGGERING MECHANISM

- EW Phase Classification based on objective criteria

(quantitative indicators)

- Standardisation of contingency plans through

software tool for Dynamic Contingency Planning;

- Drought response manual: describing guidelines for

the identification, design, implementation and

evaluation of drought response activities fundable

under the NDCF

- DCF business process and definition of

specifications for DCF management software

TIGHTENING OF EWS PHASE CLASSIFICATION

Retrospective analysis of EW data on key quantitative indicators in order to calculate deviations from long term averages as droughts emerge;

Recommending thresholds for individual indicators, specific for each district;

Developing a rigorous system for assigning early warning

phases based on combinations of indicators (convergence

of evidence);

DEVELOPING INDICATORS THRESHOLDS

FOR ALL STAGES OF DROUGHT

Normal Range

JAN DEC

LT

M

LTM

LTM

Outside Normal Range

Outside Normal Range

CONTINGENCY PLANNING

Development of a software tool for Dynamic Contingency Planning (CP);

Generation of contingency plans covering all aspects of the CP process, including scenario-building, trigger mechanisms, rapid intervention design and budgeting, capacity assessment, procurement methods and standard operating procedures.

ADOPTION OF DROUGHT RESPONSE MANUAL

Describe guidelines for the identification, design, implementation and evaluation of drought response activities fundable under the NDCF

Warning stages and interventions:

e.g. livestock movement

EW stage Examples of interventions eligible for NDCF support

• Evaluation of response interventions

Ensure that systems/mechanisms are in place to enable movement, such as conflict resolution, negotiation to access pasture and water, and functioning boreholes

Alert

Support bush clearing to open up areas of pasture

Negotiation to access pasture and water during droughts, including with game parks

Provide information to herders about underused pasture

Organise security (e.g. transport costs)

Provide water to facilitate access to grazing

Provide water, fodder and veterinary support on livestock corridors

For a very small number of animals, possibility of lorry transport to underused pastures or calf camp

Alarm Continue all above Emergency Continue security measures Recovery Assist return to habitual mobility pattern

WEB BASED SOFTWARE FOR DCF MANAGEMENT

Post Implementation Activity

Report

Formalising the role of communities

in drought management Federation of community-level planning units at

division/ward level carry out participatory disaster risk

assessments leading to the formulation of local drought

response plans and mainstreaming of DRR into local

development plans;

Local plans are reviewed and consolidated at sub- county and

county levels;

Development processes designed to enhance local resilience

to drought

Community contingency planning leading to enhanced local

preparedness to respond to droughts and other disasters

Mainstreaming DRR into county development plans

COMMUNITIES

Ward planning/Division unit

(federation of community -level

planning units)

Sub-county unit

(district)

County Drought Manager County Executive/

County Planning Unit

County

Assembly/County

Development Committee

DRR community structure

Bamba DRR committee in Kilifi District facilitated mainstreaming of DRR into community development

plans in Ndigiria location to enhance resilience to drought, boost food security and diversify livelihoods

The Ndigiria water pan after

it impounded rainwater. A farmer tends to a seed

bed

next to the water pan.

Improved variety of

sorghum provided by

KARI

Tomato harvest from a

greenhouse

at the Ndigiria Water pan. Eggplant crop inside a greenhouse at

the Ndigiria water pan A fish pond next to the Ndigiria water

pan.

THANK YOU FOR

YOUR ATTENTION

WATER BIRDS SAMPLE NDIGIRIA WATER PAN