Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) by the request from the Government of the Republic of Namibia has availed funds to support the implementation of the Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) into key sectors of development.  A National Strategy for Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation was developed to focus on the nexus between climate, disaster risk, development and poverty reduction in a context of global climate change.

On the 17^th May 2017 The Office of the Prime Minister and stakeholders held a meeting in Windhoek on Disaster Risk Management Information Management.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the establishment of DRM information management system.  The stakeholders targeted generate DRM related information that will be integrated into the DRM database.

The meeting was officially opened by Mr. Japhet Iitenge, the Director of Disaster Risk Management who welcomed participants to the meeting.  He informed the meeting that the Capacity Disaster Risk Initiative (CADRI) capacity assessment and the scoping mission on DRM information management system conducted in 2016 indicated gaps in DRM database and information management system. This prompted the DDRM to request for technical assistance to establish a DRM database and information management system. The planning meeting for the DRM database and information management is part of the support for the establishment of the DRM database and information management system.  He hoped the meeting will answer the questions “When data is collected, by whom and where is it stored?” The Director wished the participants fruitful deliberation.

Presentation by Stakeholders

The DRR Technical Advisor presented the meeting objectives and the prosed framework for DRM database and information management system.  The presentation emphasized the importance of sectoral collaboration, sharing of data on socio-economic and environmental variables that are critical to DRM. DRM was cross cutting thus depended on the individual sector contributions in building a database and information management system for planning and decision making.  The presentation also touched on the legal and policy frameworks that regulate database and information management that the DRM database and information management is aligned.

The Namibia National Statistics Agency (NSA) which was present at the meeting also presented the meeting on National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NDSI).  The NDSI is the data or information that identifies the geographic location of features and boundaries on earth, such as natural or constructed features, oceans and more.  The NSDI aims at developing of a government infrastructure that depicts the condition and location of all government and socio-economic infrastructures, man-made and natural landscape of the country and captures information from various OMAs. The NSDI is and is a useful tool that OMAs can use to extract data for planning and development.

Way forward

1. The participants to the meeting to give feed back to their principles on the need for compiling sectoral disaster risk management related data and information to feed into the National Statistic Agency Database.
2. Sectors to conduct risk assessment and integrate risk assessment data to guide development planning and risk management.
3. Sectors to review their disaster risk management information needs to facilitate the development of a comprehensive database and information management system.
4. OPM to write to NSA to be included as ex-officio member of the technical and governance committees for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. Governance member appointed to be Director or Deputy Director.
5. OPM to liaise with NSA to further discuss the data requirements and the establishment of a database that will support DRM programmes
6.  OPM to write to NSA for inclusion of OPM staff to undergo the planned training and workshops on data and information management.
7. OPM to request NSA to make a presentation on NSDI to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Permanent Secretary.