Eswatini strengthens drought mitigation strategies
By Kwanele Dhladhla
The Kingdom of Eswatini has embarked on the process of reviewing and updating the National Drought Plan for Improved Drought Management to strengthen drought preparedness, mitigation, and response mechanisms.
The Eswatini Environment Authority (EEA), led by Gcina Dladla as Executive Director, has explained that the review process was aimed at developing a drought risk financing portfolio.
He mentioned that they intend to review the National Drought Plan (NDP) and Drought Preparedness and Response Plan (DPRP) and assess their implementation progress.
In the Request for Proposals (RFP), which has been issued by the Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (ESPPRA), it was explained that the review further seeks to mainstream drought risk investment and management and define institutional roles, coordination mechanisms, and financing options for drought management.
“The review seeks to enhance and coordinate private sector support for drought financing and response initiatives,” reads the RFP in part.
It was explained that the desired consultant would be expected to facilitate multi-stakeholder consultations to analyse identified gaps in the NDP and contribute to the definition of key elements for the review of the NDP.
The consultant should elaborate recommendations based on the outcomes of the consultations and gap analysis, and facilitate the final validation workshop to inform the elaboration of the revised National Drought Plan.
It was mentioned that the consultant would be expected to assess potential financing modalities, including Public-Private Partnership (PPP) options, for drought risk management in the Eswatini context.
EEA pointed out that they would expect the would-be consultant to collect data on national-level public spending for drought mitigation and evaluate the financial feasibility of selected drought response measures.
When providing a background, EEA said in 2020, with support from the UNCCD Secretariat, the country developed and adopted a National Drought Plan (NDP) for comprehensive and sustainable drought management. In addition, the country developed a Drought Preparedness and Response Plan (DPRP) in 2023.
The purpose of the NDP and DPRP was to ensure that proactive measures are in place to enable effective response and recovery to minimise the negative impacts of drought on the population and assets to enhance population resilience.
Some of the major limiting factors in implementing the NDP and DPRP were a lack of adequate financial resources, poor coordination mechanisms (sectors), a lack of advanced infrastructure and technology, a fragmented early warning system, the National Drought Policy not yet finalised, and a lack of capacity to develop bankable proposals for drought Initiatives.
Therefore, it was explained that in line with commitments to the UNCCD and the Sendai framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Government of Eswatini seeks to update its national drought plan to reflect current risk, integrate early warning systems,
integrate an agricultural drought risk financing portfolio, strengthen Institutional frameworks, and enhance community resilience through the support of Food Agricultural Organisation (FAO).