Windhoek: Namibia on Wednesday launched a summit aimed at developing new, community-driven strategies to combat the escalating threats of climate change and disaster risks across Africa.
The three-day Climate Change and Futures in Africa Conference Series 2025, attended by international experts in climate change, disaster risk reduction, and policymakers, to share insights and explore innovative solutions, was officially opened in Windhoek by Namibian Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare, under the theme “Risk in Time and Space.”
This year’s edition placed special emphasis on community-based participatory research, an approach that empowers local communities to engage actively in risk assessment and decision-making, Xinhua News Agency reported.
In a keynote address, Ngurare warned that climate change is no longer a “theoretical or distant phenomenon,” but an everyday reality threatening livelihoods, food security, and infrastructure across Africa.
“The realities of climate change, disaster risks continue to test the resilience of nations, communities, and ecosystems,” he said.
According to Ngurare, Namibia is among the countries most severely affected by disasters, largely due to its arid climate and unpredictable rainfall patterns.
“Given the magnitude and consequences of disasters here, disaster management is a government priority for which every local authority and every region is expected to play their part,” he said.
Ngurare outlined the government’s commitment to climate resilience under the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6). “One of the goals enshrined in our NDP6 is that we want to reduce the number of people residing in climate change effect-prone areas from the current 979,786 to 500,000 by 2030,” he said.
He urged attendees to heed the call of this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction: “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters,” stressing the importance of investing in research, science, technology, and innovation.
The summit is a joint initiative organised by the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa in collaboration with Namibia’s National Commission on Research, Science and Technology.
(IANS)
