As part of the project ‘Catalysing cohesive action on climate and security: bridging silos for enhanced humanitarian action’ for USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, ODI and the Center for Climate and Security (CCS) hosted a workshop 3–4 October 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya to discuss challenges and opportunities across climate adaptation, security, development and humanitarian aid to deliver climate-resilient development.

The project aims to develop policy recommendations to make humanitarian assistance more sensitive to long-term climate risk and security dynamics. A group of select and highly experienced stakeholders with interests in Somalia were brought together to explore how actors can take more coordinated, coherent approaches that meet immediate needs while also contributing to longer-term climate resilience and stability, and strengthen the use of conflict and climate risk assessment to make investments and actions more effective.

Key Messages

• Parallel action on political stability and climate adaptation is crucial for long-term resilience in Somalia. Without first addressing drivers of fragility (for example, clan-based power imbalances and a weak political settlement) it is not possible for any policy, plan or action to deliver the stability or peace needed to create effective and sustainable climate resilience.
  
• Humanitarian, development, peace and climate actors must align their incentives to accomplish shared goals for Somalia. This requires greater collaboration, coordination and a review of incentives across humanitarian, development, peace and climate actors, as well as engagement between international and local actors.
  
• A coordinated approach by international donors, federal and local government, and implementing organisations would ensure better long-term outcomes for local communities in Somalia. Without a collective understanding of ‘resilience’ among these actors, in terms of for whom, to what, and over what time frames and scales it is needed, it will be difficult to measure how interventions can contribute to a pathway that moves the country toward the vision of a climate-resilient future and, ultimately, climate-resilient development. Achieving the above outcomes would constitute radical change to the resources, incentive structures and standard operating procedures of these actors.