Earth observation for drought risk financing in pastoral systems of sub-Saharan Africa

Francesco Fava*, A. Vrieling

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)
142 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

As climate-related crises increase globally, climate risk financing is becoming an integral part of financial protection and resilience building strategies of African countries. Drought-induced crises result in devastating human impacts and high costs for vulnerable countries, threatening longer-term investments and development efforts. While earth observation (EO) has been widely used for drought early warning, new opportunities emerge from integrating EO data and methods into index-based drought risk financing (IBDRF) instruments. Such instruments aim at supporting an effective and timely response during drought shocks and improving the resilience of small-holder farmers and livestock keepers. This review documents the current status, and discusses future prospects and potential challenges for EO utilization in IBDRF applications in sub-Saharan Africa. We focus on pastoral systems, which are hotspots in terms of vulnerability to climate and environmental change, food insecurity, poverty, and conflicts. In these systems, EO-based IBDRF interventions are rapidly scaling up as part of national and international risk management strategies.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)44-52
Number of pages9
JournalCurrent opinion in environmental sustainability
Volume48
Early online date18 Oct 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2021

Keywords

  • ITC-ISI-JOURNAL-ARTICLE
  • ITC-HYBRID

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