NAIROBI, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Climate change experts started a four-day meeting Monday in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, to discuss strategies for scaling up climate adaptation needs for resilience infrastructure.
The meeting, dubbed the Climate Adaptation Changemakers School, organized by the University of Nairobi (UoN) and the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), brought together 50 experts at a time when climate change continues to threaten infrastructure systems.
Participants will explore how to conduct climate risk assessments, identify vulnerabilities, and develop adaptation strategies to bolster infrastructure resilience.
Charles Nhemachena, regional director for Africa at the GCA, said that climate change-associated socioeconomic safeguards result in costly damages, repairs and maintenance in many countries.
"The poorest people in the poorest countries are the least prepared to withstand the health, social, and economic impacts of the climate emergency," Nhemachena told the participants, urging them to embrace learning, collaboration, and innovation opportunities in managing climate change since it is a real risk to economies.
During the meeting, the experts are expected to acquire practical tools to incorporate climate considerations into project management for infrastructure projects and learn about public-private partnerships to facilitate effective collaborations between public and private sector entities.
Nhemachena revealed that through the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program that is being implemented with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the collective efforts are already shaping a future where climate adaptation and resilience are foundational.
He said that since the project's inception in January 2021, the joint goal with the AfDB has been to mobilize 25 billion U.S. dollars over five years for adaptation to set the stage for a sustainable, vibrant, and equitable future.
Daniel Olago, chairman of the Department of Earth and Climate Sciences at the University of Nairobi, said that the meeting is a commitment to action that is meant to bridge the gap between science, policy, and practical implementation. Olago noted that the project is aimed at scaling up adaptation in Kenya and East Africa's infrastructure resilience through a multistakeholder approach.
The meeting, he said, is focusing on exploring scalable and innovative approaches that integrate infrastructure improvements with nature-based solutions to enhance resilience against climate impacts. He observed that the ripple effects of infrastructure failure due to climate events extend far beyond the immediate hazard zone as they affect everything from healthcare and education to agriculture.
"The infrastructure failures are far more than mere inconveniences since they threaten the very fabric of society and they end up undermining decades of development gains," Olago added.
Timothy Waema, professor of Information Systems with the Department in the School of Computing and Informatics at the University of Nairobi, urged new developers to embed climate adaptation and resilience into every facet of infrastructure investment.
Waema said that the UoN has a plan to develop a curriculum on adaptation and resilience infrastructure to help prepare students for the realities of climate change. ■
