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THE RESILIENCE OF THE BIGGEST SHIELD ON THE SOUTHEAST AFRICAN COAST

The promising results from Morondava, Madagascar

December 23, 2022 , 12:21 pm

DiMSUR, AF, Madagascar

Between the 12th and 19th of December 2022, DiMSUR, UN-HABITAT and OXFAM, carried out a monitoring and evaluation trip to the Project to Morondava, Madagascar under the “Building Urban Climate Resilience in Southeast Africa” project. This project, which is funded by the Adaptation Fund, is being implemented in 4 countries (1 city per country), Madagascar (Morondava), Malawi (Zomba), Mozambique (Chokwe) and the Union of Comoros (Moroni), in partnership with the National and local Governments of the beneficiary cities and has the support of the relevant ministries and agencies responsible for dealing with matters of disasters and climate emergencies in these countries.
The other important objectives of this mission were: 
• Witness the launch of a multipurpose building/ safe haven (417 m2) and the release mangrove rehabilitation campaign (183 Ha – 1229 people involved); 
• See and evaluate the rehabilitation of three bridges (Rapiera , Bemokijy and Ambalarao Ampasy), a drainage system (Morondava Center, Andakabe , Sanfil and Andabatoara ) and a road (948 m); 
• Understand, on site, more about the implementation of early warning systems, the improvement of solid waste management and the creation/rehabilitation of urban green spaces, also foreseen in the project.
These projects will benefit around 53,510 inhabitants of the city and municipality of Morondava (Menabe Region) and this should not be considered as an isolated initiative. According to the BNGRC, the institution responsible for disaster risk management at national level in Madagascar, the intention is to take the great virtues of this project to other cities that are already designing autonomous resilience strategies. Bearing in mind that problems are constantly repeated and that climate change has similar impacts on different cities, it is possible to use the good practices and lessons collected in Morondava to be able to carry out cross-fertilization in other cities that need similar support.
The great community participation and its adherence to the great information and preparedness campaigns to deal with the disasters were praised by the President of DiMSUR, General Elack Olivier Adriankaja, who also holds the portfolio of Director General of the BNGRC. To the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Madagascar, Mr. Issa Sanogo, it is possible to make the project sustainable if there is a passing of testimony, for the local Governments and communities, so that they can implement in the future, the good practices learned, with the investment of municipal funds and with strategies designed locally. Both showed satisfaction in realizing that it is gratifying to see the work of communities, coordinated by their local leaders and supervised by local administrative and Governmental authorities, working to correct common problems that affect their populations.
UN-Habitat, which is the overall coordinating organization of the project, through its representative for this event, Ms. Fruzsina Straus, congratulated Morondava’s successes and called for the continuity of this positive performance, calling for it to remain a reference for the country and the region. She also took the opportunity to praise the excellent work of the local implementing partner, OXFAM Madagascar which, with its very dynamic and capable team, managed to overcome the challenges encountered on site and fulfill all the premises stipulated by the project.
According to the Executive Director of DiMSUR, Mr. Nuno Remane, the dynamics of the work seen in Morondava and its encouraging results, must be shared with the other member countries of DiMSUR, thus allowing it to be possible to anticipate solutions to disasters that have become increasingly recurrent and with increasingly intense impacts. It is very important that the lessons learned from this project can provide the replication of successes in other cities in Madagascar, but also in other countries of the SADC region.
All local structures feel that the project is a great asset for Morondava and it is clear that there is a need to allocate additional resources so that the continuity of this good work is increased and multiplied. But for that, it is necessary that the results are always positive and that there is the engagement of the national and local Governments, of all the ministerial entities and mainly, of the beneficiary communities, which will be the most important facilitator of this process. 
Uncontrolled migrations, poor treatment of solid waste and lack of maintenance of urban infrastructure create problems in the management of environmental sanitation, urban population distribution and public health assurance, which are aggravated when they are escalated by the impact of climate change. In Morondava, through the dedication of local and national Governments, the commitment of local communities and the support of cooperation partners, it has been possible to demonstrate that we can build sustainable urban resilience, in a short time and with tangible and promising results.

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