Innovative approaches on flood forecasting and early warning in West and Central Africa

Event Summary

Speakers

• Cheikh Kane, Red Cross - Red Crescent Climate Center
• Rafatou Fofana, VBA Hydrologist at Volta Basin Authority
• Rafael Onguene, Senior Lecturer at the University of Douala, Cameroon
• Abdou Ali, AGRHYMET
• Charlotte Norman, Director climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, National Disaster Management Organisation of Ghana
• Nelson Akibode, Director of Prevention, Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Agence Nationale de la Protection Civile (ANPC) Togo
• Dramane Touré Nablé Earth Rights Institute / Bureau Régional d'ERI en Afrique / Department of Geography, Abidjan University / Cabinet of Studies for AID
• Moderator: Dieudonné Goudou, Principal Climate Risk and Disaster Officer, PECG

Description

Thursday November 21, 16:30 – 17:00, Room 2

West- and Central- Africa have frequently been affected by torrential floods, notably the low-lying coastal areas between Abidjan, Accra and Lagos and cities along the major rivers like Niamey have nearly annually faced floods and related losses of lives. Decision makers at different levels, mayors and city governments, national governments and regional organizations, are therefore increasingly looking for new and innovative approaches to better forecast, warn and communicate floods and early warning information.

The session will highlight good practices, innovations and lessons learnt on flood forecasting and early warning systems. The session will be kicked off by an introduction on the status of flood forecasting in the region, and then highlight innovations on impact-based forecasting and examples from regional and city-wide collaboration in the city of Douala (Cameroon) and the Volta Basin. A panel discussion with the audience will draw lessons learnt from the presented cases and discuss necessary actions to make flood forecasting relevant decision makers and communities

Speaker bios

Cheikh Kane is a researcher with IRD and currently climate resilient policy advisor at the red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center in The Hague, Netherlands. He served previously as a technical assistant for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs seconded to ACMAD.

Rafatou Fofana holds a PhD in Hydrology and Integrated Water Resources Management. She was the Head of the Department of Studies, Planning and Monitoring of Basin Organizations (transboundary basins: Niger, Volta, Mono) where she was collaborating with the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) and the Volta Basin Authority (VBA) and Water Resources Coordination Center (WRCC / ECOWAS) before joining her current position as Hydrologist at VBA.

Rafael Onguene is Senior Lecturer at the University of Douala (UDo) in Cameroon. As associate researcher in the French Research Institute for Sustainable Development, he is the principal investigator for the project Douala Sustainable City which aims to increase the knowledge of the flood generation in Douala by monitoring of the urban meteorological/hydrological accurate data.

Abdou Ali is a lead hydro-meteorologist, Head of the Information and Research Department at AGRHYMET, Niamey, Niger. He is in charge of the coordination of the regional water resource monitoring and forecasting in CILSS member countries. He is also a coordinator of seasonal forecasting forum in West Africa and a number of projects at AGRHYMET.

Charlotte Norman is the director climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction at the National Disaster Management Organisation of Ghana. In addition to her function at NADMO she is a member of the national climate change committee and the national coordinator for liaising with the Africa Risk Capacity.

Nelson Akibode, is an expert in the management of hydrosystems and has for many years led the development of forecasting innovations in Togo. He is the director of Prevention, Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs at the Agence Nationale de la Protection Civile (ANPC) Togo.

Pr.Dramane Touré Nablé, Professeur Émérite à Earth Rights Institute, Directeur Continent du Bureau Régional d’ERI en Afrique : Pr. Toure, president of the Ivory Coast Green Party (Ecologist Parties) has worked for the past few decades to develop sustainability and develop eco-villages in Ivory Coast. From 1990-2010, he served the Director of Operations at the Ministry for Women’s Affairs and was also a Special Counselor for the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Agriculture. Currently, Dr. Toure is the Professor of Planning and Projects in the Department of Geography for the University of Abidjan and serves as the Director of the Cabinet of Studies for AID and Director for the Institute for Strategic Studies in Abidjan. Dr. Toure is the Chief of the great tribe Longo of the North and has been running the ERI West Africa office since 2006.