The second edition of the conference is strategically being held in Mozambique as it is one of the Southern African countries that are most vulnerable to climate change-related disaster incidents, says the conference.

According to the United Nations (UN), in recent years, changing weather patterns have seen extreme weather events such as cyclones, tropical storms and floods and droughts become more frequent and intense.

In March 2019, Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe — followed in April by Cyclone Kenneth — which left more than 250 000 people displaced and 650 killed. In 2022, Tropical Storm Ana, Cyclone Gombe and other tropical storms and cyclones impacted more than 736 000 people.

For these and other reasons, the HSRC, EMU and partners saw it necessary to convene a regional conference in Maputo, Mozambique, to discuss issues around disaster risk management, climate change and early warning systems, adds the conference.

The Climate Change and Futures in Africa Conference Series seeks to harness the broader, interdisciplinary expertise of the delegates to build networks. It also aims to discuss the most pressing issues in disaster risk reduction, climate change and research into early warning systems across the academic and practical disciplines.

The event will be held under the theme 'Towards Local Solutions to Early Warning and Disaster Risk Reduction in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Beyond'.

The conference will assist local stakeholders, academia, researchers, practitioners and other key stakeholders to gain new insights into sustainable disaster risk reduction and shared learning.

It will also offer the opportunity to network and exhibit products, innovations and initiatives to:
  • policymakers
  • disaster specialists
  • researchers
  • academia
  • scholars
  • think tanks
  • civil society organisations
  • businesses, and
  • humanitarian organisations.

The two-day conference addresses part of the HSRC vision: to be a national, regional and global leader in the production and dissemination of transformative social science and humanities research in the interest of a just and equal society.

Papers to be presented at this conference will provide some research philosophy, design, strategies and methods that should be adopted to contribute towards practical solutions. These solutions will inform future practice in disaster risk reduction, climate change and early warning research and practice, according to the conference.

Over 100 delegates will discuss issues such as:
  • the greatest current challenges in local disaster risk reduction
  • the lessons municipalities are learning from the most recent disaster events, and
  • exploring new solutions from the SADC and other regions of the world.

The conference will continue its footprints throughout Africa under the umbrella theme of 'Climate Change and Futures Series'.

For more information, visit www.hsrc.ac.za. You can also follow HSRC on Facebook or on X.