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Workshop on assessment of vulnerability,impact of floods, exposure to drought in UR ends

A capacity building workshop on Integrating Flood, Drought Management and Early Warning for Climate Change Adaptation in the Volta Basin (VFDM)   has ended in Accra. 

The VFDM project is aimed at the developing of flood and drought risk maps in the Volta Basin using new information and the existing one available from global (Satellites Imagery and Geospatial Data Sources), national and local agencies as well as other projects in the region. 

The project is under the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, the Volta Basin Authority (VBA) and the Global Water.

Mr Ramesh Tripathi, Project Manager of the Volta Basin Flood and Drought Management Project said the objective of the workshop was to develop the knowledge necessary for the assessment of vulnerability and impact to floods and exposure to drought. 

He said technicians were selected from six countries, Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali and Togo.

Mr Tripathi said the project would enable the technicians to improve on their understanding of important concepts of risk assessment such as exposure, vulnerability and impact for floods and droughts.

 “We have brought the technicians to take ownership of the methodological approach for the evaluation of drought exposure, as well as flood impact, with a scenario-based approach, produce flood impact maps, according to the scenario-based approach, and drought exposure maps,” he said

Mr Tripathi said the technicians were expected toupdate risk map regularly with new information which would be available at local and national levels.

“This activity is to ensure that after the project they have the knowledge and skills to update this risk map because risk map is something which keeps changing in every five or 10years,” he said.

He said they would also develop drought exposure and flood impact maps for each national portion of the basin from their respective country.

The Executive Secretary, Water Resources Commission, Mr Ben Ampomah,   commended the organisers of the project and said it would go a long way in helping solve flood related issues. 

“Technicians would have to follow flood and drought maps and basically, these maps help us at the district level to plan,” he said.

Madam AnnaMapelli, a Hydrologist from CIMA Research Foundation said her outfit would continue to provide technical support to the technicians either through face to face or online platform approach.

   Ms Charlotte Acheampong, Director for climate Change Adaptation and Disaster risk reduction at National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) said early warning system was necessary in tackling flood issues. 

“it is going to support us in our work at the end of the day if you are able to get any information then it means early response which would lead to less or no loss of life,” she said.

She said there was the need to co-ordinate and bring on board other projects that were ongoing or done already and synchronize everything in order to have a one stop shop for the needed information. 

“Once you have the information you begin to get historical data and then plan policy wise in building a resilient country,” she added. 

BY AGNES OPOKU SARPONG

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