5.2 Towards a Supranational Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS

4. The Peace and Security Department (PSD) supports the Peace and Security Council (PSC) in the exercise of its responsibilities under the PSC Protocol. It leads the main activities of the AU Commission related to peace, security, conflict resolution and the promotion of stability. PSD is also responsible for conflict prevention and early warning, as well as crisis management and post-conflict reconstruction. As such, PSD has a strong capacity of intervention in the field during disastrous events, including for Search and Rescue (SAR) activities. 5. The Human Resources, Science & Technology Department (HRST) coordinates the AU programmes on human resource development, education, science, technology and promoting the youth development agenda. This department provides different key contributions to the coordination function: through the provision of technical capacity in the fields of GIS and data analysis, or by creating the link with the capacity development network in cooperation with universities and research centres to support, in the long term, the coordination function itself. Currently coordination among the five departments above exists on a practical level, based on voluntary cooperation. There is a need to revise and formalize the coordination among the departments. Coordination among the five departments is critical in the planning phase. The platform can facilitate understanding what happens if the facilities managed by the departments are affected by a disasters, and accordingly design contingency plans. A possibility being currently discussed in AUC is the establishment of an inter-departmental task force. The added value of a strengthened AUC coordination function includes • Provide a strong financial mechanism to support Member States in case of disasters (e.g. revision of the Drought Response Fund into a Disaster Response Fund). • Provide coordination of training and education in support of DRR with focus on prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response • Provide response resources to countries in case of a disaster • Create a favourable environment for the creation of a Civil Protection and DRR culture • Create an enabling environment (Legal & Technological) for an efficient data and information sharing among MS

Experiences in other parts of the world, especially in Europe, demonstrate that an effective Early Warning mechanism can enable preparedness and resilience of systems to withstand extreme weather phenomena. There are ongoing efforts across the African continent with regards to natural hazard Early Warning and Early Action, utilizing available climate and geological information. Climate centres have been established in regions and countries across Africa, but a gap still exists as these are not yet operational in all regions. An ongoing programme on Global Climate Framework Services (GFCS) which intends to address this challenge is being implemented by

the African Union Commission and the RECs.The weakness of the climate centres is the first challenge facing Africa. A second gap can be observed in terms of the use of risk information: while progress has been made in terms of setting up climate centres and the generation of weather climate information, such information is not being used to formulate appropriate action to prevent or mitigate the effects of the hazards. Hydro-meteorological hazards continue to occur and result in recurrent disasters of the same, if not higher, magnitudes. A third gap is caused by ineffective coordination of ongoing early warning activities. There are multiple Early Warning Systems across the continent, but such systems are not adequately coordinated or linked to decision making mechanisms that are required to translate early warning information into action. While the responsibility of national EWS is mandated to national authorities, its effectiveness relies on data and information that can be exchanged according to a common format and SoPs among neighboring countries, RECs, ACMAD, and AUC. The establishment of a MHEWS requires a combination of cross-cutting enabling factors: • Legal Framework: the legal framework should clearly support the institutions in their operations before, during and after the event takes place by defining clear roles and responsibilities, as well as defining human and economic resources for the sustainability of the overall system. The legal framework should also appropriately address the data sharing policies among institutions and identify clear mandates for the different actors. • Institutional setup: on the basis of the roles defined in the legal framework, the institutions should organize internally and in relation to all the actors of the system so as to comply with those roles by selecting appropriate human resources and defining clear SoPs for the different activities to be performed. This is done with in mind that the responsibility of transboundary risk management and prioritization of external assistance is one that is co-shared with supranational organizations. • Capacity Development: at different levels: an effective continental MHEWS requires that individuals possess the appropriate knowledge and skills to perform the tasks defined by the

SoPs. As such, staff in the key institutions should be trained to quickly develop the requested analytical and decisional capabilities. Teams should continuously benefit from South-South and North-South cooperation especially in connection with cutting-edge operation services such as the Copernicus services, EUMETSAT, etc. However, a MHEWS at continental level cannot be sustained without a structural capacity which allows for knowledge to be permanently generated and seamlessly transferred to the system itself. It is therefore considered a critical asset to develop, through long-term collaboration between specialised organisations and

African universities/research centres, specific academic curricula that can permanently feed into the system by providing both people and knowledge. Practical implementation should also be supported, by offering opportunities for traineeships, study exchanges, etc. • Technological support: technological means are required when it comes to forecasting, communicating and monitoring hazardous events. They facilitate the exchange of information at all levels. This is a precondition for the effective management of the preparedness, and