Biosphere Reserves as Observatories for Climate Change Adaptation in Southern Africa

United Nations BIOSPHERE RESERVES Educational, Scientific and CLIMATE CHANGE OBSERVATORIES Cultural Organization The Context

Climate change impacts are being observed across the Southern African region, with water-related hazards causing massive flooding, landslides and severe droughts, significantly affecting natural resources and posing a direct threat to human security. While climate change is driven by global processes, the solutions to offset the negative effects of climate risks are particularly dependent on local conditions. In this respect, UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BRs) have the potential to become global observatories for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The BE RESILIENT project aims to strengthen BRs and their communities to address climate change challenges and associated water-related hazards. The project will engage a set of established and proposed BRs in the region to pilot effective pathways towards climate change adaptation, using a multidisciplinary approach around four main components.

Project Objectives

The project objective is to strengthen the role of Biosphere Reserves in Southern Africa as Observatories for Climate Change Adaptation and to act as drivers of change and demonstration learning sites for sustainable development and disaster risk reduction. © Blyde Canyon Afrique du Sud. Linda Nienaber. Shutterstock © Blyde Canyon Afrique du Sud. Linda Nienaber. Lines of Action

THE PROJECT WILL BE services, through applied research IMPLEMENTED ALONG FOUR and technology transfer, and DIFFERENT BUT COMPLEMENTARY adjustments from recent, successfully LINES OF ACTION: developed services in other parts of the world. The first one addresses Climate Change the link between drought risk and Impact Assessment food security, providing pathways for local farmer communities to benefit For Biosphere Reserves to become from the foresight of climate science ‘real-life observatories for climate and remote sensing products to change mitigation and adaptation’, reduce their vulnerability to water several steps are required. First, their scarcity and unexpected crop failure. vulnerability to climate change needs The second line of work addresses to be identified. The project will the lack of a fully operational flood adopt several activities to derive the monitoring and early warning system vulnerability of the BRs present in the (MEWS) that can provide crucial region. information on potential risks at the short term. A third line of work A climate change impact assessment focusses on the threat of landslides will be developed in a two-tiered that have generated significant approach. In the first step, a global damage and loss of life in Biosphere analysis will be performed on the Reserves. Shutterstock © Mount Mulanje. impacts of climate change on the Southern African region, with a focus Education for Sustainable on the identification of vulnerable BRs. Development and Citizen Science In the second step, the selected BRs will be used to run a full Climate Risk To ensure that the lessons learnt of Citizen Science. By engaging organize dedicated activities to allow Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA). from the Biosphere Reserves find local communities through their exchange of experiences and lessons their ways into the classroom for school environment, more localized learnt between stakeholders in the A second activity will focus on further dissemination, Education information can be collected that potential transboundary BRs in order identifying one or more climate for Sustainable Development (ESD) benefits the accuracy of forecasts to facilitate their creation. change indicators for each Biosphere and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) for disaster risk reduction. This will Reserve in the region. This will will be further strengthened. This allow to pilot the blending of Citizen Project Outputs allow to effectively use the BRs as entails the development of teacher Science information with regular global change observatories, while materials that are aligned with the meteorological station networks and • Climate change indicators in BRs recognizing the variability of their curricula of primary and secondary remote sensing data into calibrated, identified environmental functions. This will teaching, but that integrate elements bias-corrected input fields for drought • CRIDA pilot case studies developed combine biodiversity monitoring of ecosystemic thinking using local and flood monitoring and early • Innovative tools for DRR piloted in and identification of species present biosphere elements. Additionally, the warning applications. BRs in the BRs as well as the information concepts on DRR will be integrated • Schools in BRs integrate concepts of obtained from remote sensing by into the teachers’ knowledge base. A strengthened Man and ESD and DRR satellites and the environmental Biosphere Programme • Citizen science activities support parameters measured. The project will also focus on an data collection for DRR active engagement of communities The project activities are expected • Regional and transboundary Tool development for Disaster in the BRs to bring the Citizen to strengthen the role of BRs in exchange of lessons learnt in BRs Risk Reduction (DRR) Science concept into maturity. The Southern Africa, using potential approach taken by the project is BR sites to provide pathways for This component of the project to build further on the educational expansion of the project impact focusses on the development and component of the project, to engage as well as upscaling of the project application of innovative climate school communities as drivers in later phases. The project will Quirimbas Zambia Malawi Target Lake Chilwa Project Sites Lochinvar and Blue Lagoon Park Lower Zambezi Escarpment Honde Mount Mulanje Valley Middle Zambezi Mozambique COUNTRY OTHER SITES COUNTRY Harare Wetlands BIOSPHERE RESERVES Okavango Delta Ramsar Site Chimanimani Transboundary Waterberg Makgadikgadi Zimbabwe Kogelberg South Africa Drakensberg Lesotho Wetlands Namibia Botswana Mozambique/ Vhembe Mount Mulanje Malawi Chimanimani Zimbabwe MAPWaterberg Kruger to Canyons Groot Marico Mozambique/ Magaliesberg eSwatini Cape West Coast South Africa Milange Greater Sossusvlei- Zimbabwe Namibi Landscape Lubombo

Waterberg South Africa Honde Valley Zimbabwe Lesotho Tsehianyane South Africa Bokong Drakensberg

Kruger to Canyons South Africa Harare Wetlands Zimbabwe Cape West Coast Garden Transboundary Route Cape Winelands Lake Chilwa Malawi Tsehlanyane- Lesotho Gouritz Cluster Wetland Bokong Kogelberg

Lower Zambezi Cape Winelands South Africa Zambia Escarpment Partners & Beneficiaries Lochinvar and Vhembe South Africa Zambia Blue Lagoon • UNESCO National Commissions • Deltares will support the and IHP and MAB Committees development of Adaptation Makgadikgadi will support implementation of the Pathways in Biosphere Reserves Middle Zambezi Zimbabwe Botswana Wetlands project • US Army Corps of Engineers will Goritz Cluster South Africa Okavango Delta Botswana • Flemish Institute for Technological support and co-fund the Climate Research (VITO) will develop the Risk Informed Decision Analysis Drought and Crop Yield Monitoring (CRIDA) in Biosphere Reserves Greater Sossusvlei- Application through Shared Vision Planning Magaliesberg South Africa Namibi Landscape Namibia • Princeton University / Princeton • German National Commission will Garden Route South Africa Waterberg Namibia Climate Analytics will develop the support regional MAB activities Flood Monitoring and Early Warning via co-funding of activities and Application meetings Quirimbas Mozambique • Catholic University of Leuven • USAID Resilient Waters Programme (KULeuven) will develop the will co-organize activities on Groot Marico South Africa Climate Change Assessment and Climate Change Adaptation in Landslide Assessment selected Biosphere Reserves

Lubombo eSwatini • Alliance for Global Water • Targeted communities exposed to Adaptation (AGWA) will support drought and flood risks will benefit the Climate Risk Informed Decision from the tools developed to reduce Analysis (CRIDA) in Biosphere vulnerability and improve resilience Reserves to climate variability in BRs. BIOSPHERE RESERVES CLIMATE CHANGE OBSERVATORIES

Project Contact Details

UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa 8 Kenilworth Rd, Newlands Harare Zimbabwe

Tel: (+263) 242 776 775 http://en.unesco.org/fieldoffice/harare http://en.unesco.org/be-resilient

@unescoROSA Project focal point: Dr. Koen Verbist [email protected]