Presentation Outline

ECHO, Regional Support Office, Nairobi

Building Resilience in the Horn of Africa: A DG ECHO Perspective

Think Space: Resilience in the Horn of Africa, Nairobi, 23th January 2013


Presentation Outline

Definition and conceptual framework

Resilience of whom to what?

A case study from the arid lands

The need to do business differently: the way forward


Definition and conceptual framework

• “Resilience is the ability of an individual, a household, a community, a country or a region to withstand, adapt and to quickly recover from stresses and shocks” (EU Communication on Resilience)

• In the HoA, mainly concerned with building resilience to drought – in the context of increased vulnerability due to chronic structural causes - but also includes other shocks such as floods and natural resource based conflict (more on this later…)


Definition and conceptual framework• Multi-sectoral approach aimed to reduce risks (mainstream

DRR) and improving rapid coping and adaptation at all levels;

• Aligning humanitarian action with longer term development processes: expansion/ contraction rather than start/ stop;

• Implies an in-depth understanding of the underlying causes of vulnerability (JHDF) and a long-term approach to build capacity to better manage future uncertainty and change, while retaining early response capacity;

• Requires a focused effort to identify resilience of whom to what


Resilience of Whom to What?

• Of Whom? • Pastoralists and ex-pastoralists in the arid lands –

Somalia, N Kenya, S and E Ethiopia, Djibouti;• Agro-pastoralists in the ASAL zones;• Marginal agriculturalists


Resilience of Whom to What?To What?• Region with recurrent droughts with increased

impact due to:• Decades of marginalisation and lack of development

investment• Rapid population growth• Erosion of traditional livelihoods and huge increase in destitute

asset-depleted people• Chronic food and nutrition insecurity and poverty• Conflict – especially Somalia, but common throughout the

region.• Flood prone areas: eastern Kenya and S/C Somalia


Case Study from the arid lands

Two Big factors are changing how people live in the arid lands:• Demographic change: a doubling of population every

20-25 years• Commercialisation of pastoralism with increased

demand locally and the middle East• Reduced per-capita livestock holdings• Increased livestock holdings of the wealthy• Net transfer of livestock from poor to wealthy• Massive increase in ex-pastoralists and increasing

sedentarisation of ‘diversified pastoralists’


Source: Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey, 2011

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Proportion of population (%)

lowest second middle fourth highest

Wealth quintal

Wealth Distribution, ASAL zones in Ethiopia

Afar

Somali

Ex-Pastoralists:•Few or no livestock•Sedentarised•Dependant on aid: food assistance and social protection•>50% of population•Future prospects???

Diversified Pastoralists:•Few small ruminants•Other sources of income•Sedentarised•Highly vulnerable•about 25% of population

Pastoralists:•Traditional or commercialised•Mobile/ absent•Cashing in on increased meat demand •Highly drought resilient.•About 25% of popn.


Future = commercialization and trade, domestic + export= continued use of mobile livestock production systems

Future= “traditional” pastoralism and mobility

Future = added value on livestock products= diversification

Future = exits and protracted destitution for some = alternative livelihoods for others


Example: Turkana, Kenya

• Conflict –causing immobility• Population growth• Drought• Inappropriate aid

Poor pastorali

sts “Moving

Out”

“Traditional”

pastoralists

Only 51% of HH own livestock


Case Study from the arid landsVolume and price of shoats exported from Bossasso and Berbera


Case Study from the arid lands


Business as Usual…• Development funds invest in the “Growth Model”:

• High potential areas (agricultural productivity)• In the “pastoral area”: livestock health, marketing and fodder

production: effectively the wealthier pastoralists.

• Humanitarian funds channeled to the most vulnerable: “Equity”• ASAL and marginal farming areas;• High and persistent levels of food and nutrition insecurity: the

very poor and poor. Different communities are being targeted Trickle down from rich to poor does not work


Doing things differently… Principles

• Action research to understand the dynamics/ changes and opportunities to build resilient livelihoods.

• To re-balance development funding such that both the most vulnerable and the growth model approach are included,

• And to identify key geographical areas of focus and the most vulnerable communities.

• Critical to align humanitarian and development funding instruments to address the structural and transient needs of the most vulnerable.


Doing things differently… Process/ state of play

• We don't have a good understanding of the dynamics in the arid lands – we need:• Joint situation and risk analysis: livelihood profiling, wealth

ranking, threat and vulnerability analysis;• We have no concrete strategy – there are government

frameworks, but they are too broad:• We need Joint Strategy Development;

• SHARE did Joint Programming at HQ: • We need to have joint programming at the national level,

including all stakeholders;• Common Log frame/ results framework;• Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework;

• Very weak coordination between humanitarian cluster system and development coordination mechanisms, or between donors• We need enhanced coordination of all actors.

Presentation Outline

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