This past January, Mozambique experienced massive flooding which took the lives of 70 people, left hundreds homeless and impoverished, washed away bridges, and left little soil to grow corps. This was the worst flooding in 13 years.

“I helplessly watched all my cattle disappear into the red sea of rushing floodwater while our family house was collapsing, leaving us with the clothes on our backs,” said Rofina Mathe, a mother who lives off sustenance farming. “Now we are wondering what the future has in store for us.”

The Climate Investment Funds’ Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) has provided funding to Mozambique in the amount of $91 million. PPCR is helping Mozambique prepare for future extreme weather. The hope is that the money will go towards enhancing infrastructure that will help the people of Mozambique be more prepared when a flood occurs.

PPCR efforts aim to upgrade 7 meteorological stations and 52 hydrological stations this year. By 2015, the number of stations should increase to 35 and 71 respectively. There will also be policies to enable hydrological and weather data, as well as allow information to be shared among agencies and farmers. Furthermore the funds will go towards improving the early warning systems that warn locals about coming floods.

Since the floods, the government has increased the amount of Climate Investment fund money allocated to developing flood protection efforts and improving hydrological and meteorological services to $15 million from $10 million. The Norwegian government is providing an additional $4.5 million.

“It will be a big step (towards) climate resilience. We are moving towards investment where we want to prove that climate resilience is achievable,” said Xavier Chavana, coordinator of the program at the Ministry of Planning and Development. “The funding is coming at the right time because people will learn and be able to deal with climate change.

– Catherine Ulrich

Sources: Alertnet, IRIN Africa
Photo: ASEM