ReliefWeb

Moving from crisis response to risk management

Climate change affects the most food insecure people around the world, most of whom live in countries prone to extreme weather conditions and face high levels of environmental degradation. It is estimated that by 2050 the risks of hunger and child malnutrition could increase by 20 percent and climate disasters such as droughts, storms and floods will act as key driving forces behind these increases.

Donors and governments spend billions of dollars each year to help people to respond to and recover from climate-related disasters. Growing evidence suggests that investing in anticipatory action and early response at government and community level significantly reduces the need for humanitarian assistance when a crisis hits. The problem, however, has often been that although forecasts are available, it has not been possible to use them effectively to prepare and avail resources to take action prior to a climaterelated shock being labelled a disaster.

WHAT IS FORECAST-BASED FINANCING?

Forecast-based Financing is an innovative mechanism whereby early preparedness and community level actions are pre-planned based on credible forecasts, and are funded and implemented before the disaster strikes. These actions minimize losses and damages caused by climate hazards, and reduce the need for humanitarian assistance in their aftermath. Activities are closely aligned with national priorities, leverage local field expertise and build on existing coordination mechanisms.