The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Mrs Edna Molewa, will give the opening address at the regional outreach meeting on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2012 Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX). The Minister will give her address on Monday, 21 October 2013. The full Regional Outreach Meeting will be taking place from 20 to 22 October 2013 at Leriba Lodge in Centurion, Gauteng.
The main goal of the regional outreach meeting is to discuss the SREX approaches on extreme events, by assessing the scientific literature on issues that range from the relationship between climate change and extreme weather and climate events (‘climate extremes’), to the implications of these events for society and sustainable development. This meeting cum workshop is being hosted by the National Department of Environmental Affairs, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the University of Pretoria in cooperation with IPCC Working Group II and with generous financial support from the government of Norway.
In 2012, the IPCC published the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (IPCC SREX), aimed at improving the knowledge and understanding of climate science to make good decisions about managing the risks of climate-related disasters. Since the release of the SREX in 2012, the IPCC has used a series of workshops to help countries, cities, and international organisations understand the opportunities of improving adaptation to extreme events and disasters Nearly 100 leaders in government, business, and academics from across Southern and Eastern Africa will have the chance to learn about the report from IPCC authors and to discuss the report’s findings in the light of their own experiences.
The SREX report addresses how integrating expertise in climate science, disaster risk management, and adaptation could play a key role in helping countries and communities adapt to climate change. The report also evaluates the role of climate change in altering characteristics of extreme events. It assesses experience with a wide range of options used by institutions, organisations, and communities to reduce exposure and vulnerability, and improve resilience, to climate extremes.
Among these are early-warning systems, innovations in insurance coverage, improvements in infrastructure, and the expansion of social safety nets. This report also incorporates case studies that illustrate specific extreme events and their impacts in different parts of the world, as well as a range of risk management activities.
The aim of the meeting is to focus strongly on dialogue and knowledge exchange of climate extremes and will involve a few plenary presentations, a number of small-group presentations, and significant discussion about the science of extremes, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation, focusing on both practitioner and academic experience. An area of concern is that climate change and its associated impacts increase vulnerability of communities by altering food and water security thresholds, habitats and ecosystem services. In order to cover regions and a wide range of topics, the meeting will also see several sessions hosted to discuss regional matters, focusing on policy and implementation, major science findings and the implications for local communities; and the need for climate information and services.
Media are invited to the opening session. The details are as follows:
Date: Monday, 21 October 2013
Venue: Leriba Lodge, 245 End Street, Centurion, Gauteng
Time: 8h30 to 10h00
To RSVP contact:
Ludwe Matanzima
Tel: 012 395 1770
E-mail: LMatanzima@environment.gov.za
Nwabisa Tsengiwe
Tel: 012 310 3198
E-mail: NTsengiwe@environment.gov.za
For media queries contact
Albi Modise
Cell: 083 490 2871
