Four DARAJA learnings for World Refugee Day 2021
In light of last Sunday’s World Refugee Day 2021, we’re pleased to share four headlines from our latest *DARAJA research.
At Resurgence we have been assessing how the DARAJA City and Community Forecasting and Early Warning Service and Partnership can support the climate resilience of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs):
- Significant populations of refugees/IDPs are now urban based and exposed to the same urban climate hazards as host vulnerable host communities.
- Protecting urban host communities and their livelihoods from climate disruptions may help in turn stabilise relations and reduce social tensions between refugees/IDPs and host communities.
- More targeted weather/climate/early warning services could be developed for refugees/IDPs under DARAJA to help them avoid further damage/loss and enhance their livelihoods.
- The community led Weather Mtaani model pioneered by our DARAJA co-partner, Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) could create both tailored DARAJA services (language/content/locality) and new income generation for refugees/ IDPs.
We are seeking to apply this emerging model in three target cities: Juba (South Sudan), Peshawar & Karachi (Pakistan) and Nairobi in Kenya. Other cities are also under consideration.
✍️ If you are interested in partnering with us please contact Resurgence’s Oscar Cartagena, who has been leading our research on this with expert support from Jacobo Quintanilla and Robert Powell . Or email info@resurgence.io
Information about *DARAJA:
DARAJA is a UK FCDO (UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) funded project of the Met Office-led Weather and Climate Information Services for Africa (WISER) Programme.
DARAJA aims to improve the climate resilience of vulnerable populations living in informal settlements in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya by building bridges between communities and weather and climate information providers.
DARAJA has been delivered to date in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam by Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) in Nairobi, the Centre for Community Initiatives (CCI) in Dar es Salaam, Resurgence, the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD), the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) and array of key local community partners, leaders and stakeholders.
- Residents through DARAJA services now access advanced and accurate weather, early warning and climate information (typically reserved for those in the agriculture and maritime sector). In Nairobi’s informal settlements access has risen from 56% to 93% within 18 months;
- 98% of surveyed residents now take action to avoid household loss (e.g. clearing community drains) as a result of accessing DARAJA services;
- 72% of surveyed residents state that they avoided personal damage and loss due to early warning weather information provided via DARAJA (e.g. saving income, protecting their household, clothing, beds, furniture etc);
- The net potential economic benefits to both Nairobi and Dar es Salaam over the 2 year project, in a new report by a UK Met Office consultant economist, are estimated over 10 years to be US$24 million to US$43 million, against a total project cost of under US$1 million.
In 5 years the DARAJA service aims to be available for 250 million residents of informal settlements in 30 cities across the globe.
DARAJA is receiving additional support to scale out of Nairobi and Dar es Salaam into other global cities, from the EIT Climate-KIC, the EU‘s leading public private climate innovation partnership.
Credits: Thumbnail image from UNHCR
