Once again, parts of South Sudan have been devastated by record flooding of the Nile, with suggestions that the populations most severely affected could become the first in the world who are permanently displaced by the growing impact of climate emergency.
Against this backdrop pressure can only grow on richer countries to make good on their promises to significantly increase compensation for the ‘loss and damage’ that is being increasing inflicted on the world’s most vulnerable communities.
Specifically, there are renewed demands in the run up to latest climate summit, COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan in November for a significant boost in funding for the nascent Loss and Damage Fund, established at the previous summit in Dubai last year.
You may remember that the Scottish Government has led the way on this new type offunding since the COP26 gathering in Glasgow three years ago. Late last year, an extra £1million was released from the Climate Justice Fund to fund four pilot projects by Scottish development charities to find out the best way to support affected populations in makingtheir own decisions to recover and adapt for the future.
SCIAF, Oxfam, Christian Aid and Tearfund were awarded £250,000 each for their different challenges in Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Pakistan. This work has now been completed and these organisations who regularly share knowledge through their work with the Scottish Government’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund have collaborated once more to share their learnings with the international climate community.
Their paper has just been published here via the Loss and Damage Collaboration with some valuable fresh insight on how this funding can be applied in different climate contexts, how communities can shape the most appropriate responses with a strong feminist emphasis to tackle the deep seated cultural issues that leave women and their children especially vulnerable in times of crisis.
You can learn more about the work that Oxfam GB are doing to address loss and damage in Kenya in this video:
Tearfund continue their work primarily in the Rajanpur district of Punjab, where communities are still trying to come to terms with the record monsoon in 2022 and some of the worst flooding in the country’s history.
Cover photograph: A public toilet is surrounded by flood waters in Dasenech, South Omo, in south-west Ethiopia Credit: Yared Araya/Christian Aid