On 6 and 7 August 2018, a workshop on Climate Resilient Development Pathways (CRDPs) of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin was organized by the Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development Facility (CRIDF), the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) and Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL), in Pretoria, South Africa. The CRDP process assessed different multi-sectoral development scenarios in the three riparian states Angola, Namibia and Botswana, against the most likely climate projections in terms of their potential impact on hydrology and livelihoods in the river basin. The workshop brought together scientists, consultants and policy advisors to discuss the optimal way of using the CRDPs in supporting sound decision-making processes in the three riparian states. This is a crucial issue, because the uncertainty associated with climate projections does not allow for the unambiguous identification of a single optimal development pathway, but instead results in a relatively broad range of different policy and investment options to decide between.
SASSCAL took an active role in contributing to the workshop and facilitating various participatory discussion sessions. The corresponding stakeholder input will help CRIDF and OKACOM to tackle existing gaps, develop tailored tools to translate scientific findings into understandable climate information and feed these into the relevant channels.
Attendees of CRIDF workshop
