Cepa equips Balaka with disaster preparedness tool

Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (Cepa) says it has intensified climate shock responsive capacity among communities in Balaka.

Speaking on Friday at a two-day workshop meant to build climate change resilience for communities in Traditional Authority (T/A) Chanthunya in Balaka, Cepa programme officer Cynthia Simkonda said communities should have climate change adaptation strategies to secure their livelihoods and not depending on humanitarian support.

She said: “People need right information on weather forecasts to absorb environmental shocks because climate change has come to stay. The accurate forecasts will help communities and local governments to develop climate-resilient plans and advisories for securing socio-economic sectors prone to climate induced shocks.”

One of the facilitators at the workshop, Aldwin Mtembezeka, said integration of local and scientific weather indicators could help to avert effects of climate change than contingency planning done at high level.

“The advisories can be narrowed to households depending on the local situation affecting them. The shared interpreted climate forecasts reveal options to farmers on the crops that can thrive in a particular season,” he said.

In an interview, United Purpose programme manager McPherson Kapalamula said there is need to promote the implementation of climate-resilient livelihoods and disaster risk management programmes. n