CSTPR has closed May 31, 2020: Therefore, this webpage will no longer be updated. Individual projects are or may still be ongoing however. Please contact CIRES should you have any questions.

Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre Internship Program :: Center for Science and Technology Policy Research

About the internship program Application information Summer Placements Notes from the field

 

notes from the field

This is a personal blog and does not reflect the views of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre

Juhri Selamet

Maputo, Mozambique
June - August, 2018

Get to know "Forecast-based Financing" and the City of Acacias: Maputo, Mozambique

May 31, 2018

View photo gallery for more photos in the field by Juhri Selamet

According to Kreft & Melchior (2016), Mozambique is the third most vulnerable African country to extreme weather events such as floods, tropical cyclones, and droughts. This country's vulnerability is associated with its geographical location, downstream of nine major river basins in the southeast of the African continent. With climate change, these extreme events are expected to increase in frequency and magnitude. For instance, in the last three decades, there has been a rise in both the frequency and intensity of natural disasters in Mozambique, with droughts, floods, and tropical cyclones being the most frequent (INGC, 2009).
Left photo: Avenida Mao Tsé Tung, Maputo. Right photo: Parque dos Continuadores, Maputo. (credit: Juhri Selamet).

Considering that about 80% of the Mozambican population depends on agriculture and fisheries, two sectors highly affected by extreme climate events, the country needs to be better prepared to deal with the impacts of these extreme events (FAO.org, 2018). Taking this into account, Mozambique Red Cross (Cruz Vermelha Moçambique-CVM), in coordination with its international partners, German Red Cross (GRC) and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center (RCRCCC), designed the project entitled ‘Forecast-based Financing (FbF): closing the gap between disaster risk reduction and emergency relief, Mozambique.” The FbF project, which is in Second pilot phase in Mozambique, represents a new paradigm in humanitarian aid. The project calls for proactive measures to be taken before the materialization of extreme events.
Local craft with powerful colors. (credit: Juhri Selamet).

The concept of FbF (soon to be called Forecast-based Action by the DREF) is a mechanism coupled to risk-based operating procedures. Based on the successes and failures of previous efforts to act based on climate-based early warning information, it elaborates three components of a system for early warnings to become operational: (1) information about worthwhile actions, (2) available funding mechanisms, and (3) designated entities that are responsible for taking the pre-planned actions. A systematic forecast-based financing (FbF) system integrates each of these three elements, contingent on the availability of (skillful) forecasts for the region in question (Coughlan de Perez et al. 2015).


Mural artwork in Maputo. (credit: Juhri Selamet).

As part of University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) and Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre (RCRCC) internship program this summer, my project aims to support Cruz Vermelha Moçambique (CVM) and German Red Cross (GRC) on developing a Forecast-based Financing (FbF) beneficiary communication strategy and assist CVM and GRC in design and layout of FbF project materials (EAP protocols, reports, website, and activation posters). In term of developing practical communication materials, I will focus on visual aids and information designed to communicate the FbF project as well as CVM publications in general for the local audiences. Through this work, I wish to produce a set of strategic communication tools and employ the theory of change as a framework in the context both to evaluate and provide communication plans. This theory is essentially a comprehensive description and illustration of how and why the desired change is expected to happen in a particular context (theoryofchange.org) in which here is in the humanitarian and environmental communication context. Previously, the theory of change has been used to support and evaluate health promotion intervention (Warwick-Booth et al., 2014).


Mural artwork in Maputo. (credit: Juhri Selamet).

FbF team, the team that I work with, is a wonderful team. Arielle helps me a lot since the first day I arrived in Maputo (also for my pre-departure preparation before coming here). She patiently assists me to understand about FbF project as well as Hanne who gives me a lot of advice on how to explore the city and to work on my future project. Hanne also introduced me to Secretary General of CVM; Alfredo Libombo F. Tomas. I was welcomed by him with so much warmth. Janio, Arlindo, and Samuel, I have a lot of fun with these guys in our workspace room at CVM; they give me rich perspective about Mozambican's culture and teach me Portuguese simply words. Now, I can say "Obrigado" "Bom dia" "Boa Tarde" "Boa Noite" and count from "Um" to "Dez" clearly.


Street art in Maputo. (credit: Juhri Selamet).

I enjoy my time here in Maputo with its beautiful Mediterranean-style architecture, colorful Batik's style, waterside setting, wide avenues lined with Jacaranda and Acacia trees that makes this city is attractive with rich traditions and easy to walk.

I am excited to see how my project will develop and execute. And also, I am excited to learn more about Mozambique and its culture to get into local rhythms.

Reference:
Coughlan de Perez, E., van den Hurk, B. J. J. M., Van Aalst, M. K., Jongman, B., Klose, T., & Suarez, P. (2015). Forecast-based financing: an approach for catalyzing humanitarian action based on extreme weather and climate forecasts. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 15(4), 895-904.

INGC. (2009). Synthesis report. INGC Climate Change Report: Study on the impact of climate change on disaster risk in Mozambique. [van Logchem B and Brito R (ed.)]. INGC, Mozambique.

Kreft, S., Eckstein, D., & Melchior, I. (2016). Global Climate Risk Index 2017: Who suffers most from extreme weather events? Weather-related loss events in 2015 and 1996 to 2015. Germanwatch Nord-Süd Initiative eV.

Mozambique at a glance | FAO in Mozambique | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (n.d.). Retrieved May 29, 2018.

Warwick-Booth, L., South, J., Cross, R., Woodall, J., & Day, R. (2014). Using the theory of change to support an evaluation of a health promotion initiative. Sage Methodology Case Study Online.

What is Theory of Change? | Theory of Change Community. (n.d.). Retrieved May 29, 2018.