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Togo

Results in Resilience: Enhancing Disaster Preparedness in Togo - Scaling up systems to improve disaster preparedness

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AT A GLANCE

Country Togo

Risks Development gains lost from flooding and land degradation

Area of Engagement Building resilience at community level, strengthening hydromet services and early warning systems

A combination of drainage system and hydromet system improvements, coupled with an extensive awareness campaign, has improved disaster preparedness in Togo and increased regional access to disaster response resources.

AN INTENSIFIED FLOOD RISK

Recurrent floods and drought in Togo have hindered development gains and caused hardship for the population in recent years. The country experiences flooding almost every year, leaving infrastructure destroyed and land devastated. In 2008, approximately 11,688 hectares of cultivated land were washed away by the floods, four schools and eleven key bridges were destroyed, and over 300 km of rural roads were seriously damaged. Two years later, more than 82,000 people were affected by a flood following heavy rainfall, leading to extensive damages to property and livelihoods, with thousands rendered homeless and sheltered temporarily in camps and with friends and relatives. The 2010 flood resulted in over $38 million in damages and losses, as was estimated by a GFDRR-supported post-disaster needs assessment.

Unsustainable land and forest management has exacerbated land erosion and intensified the negative impacts of climate change, in particular flooding. Land degradation affects at least 85 percent of arable land in Togo, and nearly one-third of protected land areas have been irreversibly lost in recent years or are too costly to rehabilitate. Deforestation, land degradation, and flooding constitute an intertwined problem that requires an integrated approach.

BECOMING A REGIONAL HUB FOR DISASTER RESPONSE

To manage risk of flooding and land degradation efforts in targeted rural and urban areas, in 2013, the Togolese Ministry of Environment and Forestry launched the Integrated Disaster and Land Management (IDLM) project to work with multiple levels of stakeholders— from national platforms to community-level bodies—to improve disaster preparedness. This $16.94 million project was funded by GFDRR ($7.3m, including a $3 million grant from the GFDRR-managed and EU-funded ACP-EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program), the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund ($5.4m), the Least Developed Countries Fund ($3.7m), and Terrafrica ($500k).