Namibia PDNA 2009 - GFDRR

Figure 36: Long-term reconstruction needs (Phase 2) (N$) billion)
Agriculture
Water and Sanitation
Roads
Access to Social Services
Housing
In the water and sanitation sector, it is
proposed to rehabilitate and cover the
160 km canal to avoid water contamination
during floods and to double the number of
boreholes from 750 to 1500 in the rural
areas and to replace submersible water
pumps and relocate waste dumping to
higher ground.
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
In the agriculture sector, proposed activities
include the development of small-scale
reservoirs at village or homestead level
for irrigation and downstream flood protection purposes on 10,000 hectares of highly vulnerable farmlands. These multi-use flood
protection and irrigation schemes will help small farmers be more resilient to both floods and droughts.
The estimated cost of Phase 3 is N$3.7 billion (US$455 million). Roads constitute the bulk of the cost with 33 percent followed
by water and sanitation and access to social services for 21 percent each. However, these cost estimates should be considered as
benchmarks only as they could vary depending on the physical objectives that are given to this phase, i.e. the number of km of roads
that are upgraded or the number of hectares of vulnerable farmlands that are protected from floods and droughts by small-scale
reservoirs.
This phase is also expected to take longer, since investment projects with infrastructure components typically take around 5 to 7 years.
As such, Phase 3 is a not a typical recovery and reconstruction phase after a disaster, but rather an investment programme designed
to improve resilience to the climate of the economy. As such, the Government could consider the possibility to develop a programme
for the six Regions that could have four components: (i) housing; (ii) agriculture; (iii) roads (including access to social services); and
(iv) water and sanitation.
An important precursor to investments made under Phase 3 would first require analytical work in advance of investments in the
different sectors, for example in the agriculture sector to understand if there will be markets for a commercial agriculture and
also more complete information on the potential severity and frequency of floods. Thus, a comprehensive, regional hydrology and
climate change study should be undertaken, together with consultations with local population on possible relocation. These costs are
accounted for in the proposed DRM activities (see next section).
Finally, the activities that are contemplated in Phase 3, however, are not direct costs to the economy, but rather investments that
generate two types of economic benefits: (i) damages and losses avoided from future floods and droughts (the magnitude of benefits
will depend on the severity and frequency of future floods and droughts); and (ii) benefits from development, such as increased
productivity in agriculture, faster growth in the trade and manufacturing sectors, and reduced water borne diseases. For example,
upgrading the roads in addition to make them more resilient to floods will facilitate improvement of agriculture productivity.
In other words, investments proposed under Phase 3 would not only prepare Namibia from future climate shocks (droughts and
floods), but would also assist in broader strategies of sustainable economic growth and development.
Summary of Recovery
6.4
and Reconstruction
Needs
The needs for medium and long term recovery and reconstruction
after the 2009 flood are estimated to be N$4.8 billion (US$591 million
equivalent). These needs are further broken down into two phases of
recovery and reconstruction: medium -term (Phase 2) and long-term
(Phase 3).
Figure 37: Reducing risks can
prevent future relocations
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Namibia POST-DISASTER NEEDS ASSESSMENT