Within the context of the new chair in Religion and Sustainable development, launched in January 2019 in collaboration with ACT Alliance and ICCO and led by Prof Azza Karam, Vrije Universiteit organized a Roundtable on Gender and Development to discuss how religious actors can contribute to the achievement of SDG 5 (gender equality) and agenda 2030.

Prof. Karam, the chairperson of the UN interagency taskforce for cooperation with faith-based organisations,  is widely known for her expertise in religion and development.

Religion plays a major role in all developmental issues, including around gender equality, education, peacebuilding, poverty and climate change. As 80% of the world’s population identifies with a religious belief, it is critical to understand its role in shaping international politics and policies.

The road to gender justice remains a long one and walking the talk is a challenge for many religious institutions. Religious actors are among the strongest social and cultural gatekeepers in many parts of the world, and often, mainstream religious discourse still upholds patriarchal messages, making religious institutions “the strongest bastions of patriarchy in modern times”.

As co-organiser of the new chair of Religion and Sustainable Development, ACT Alliance’s General Secretary, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria alongside Corrie Van der Ven, ACT’s Program Manager for Religion and Development participated in the proceedings.

“Faith actors, specifically those dealing with the interpretation of sacred texts, have the task to identify what kind of religious understanding is giving ground to traditional and unequal gender roles,“ said Bueno de Faria.

“If gender roles are defined to limit and restrict full humanity for women and non-conforming identities to the normative patriarchal norms and values – then, this system is not fair, not based on justice. Churches and faith-based organizations that are grounding their practices in the Bible and a theology that is based on love and dignity, cannot but be prophetical and critical to this kind of system,” continued Bueno de Faria

The active engagement of ACT Alliance with the new chair of Religion and Development is part of ACT’s wider strategy of implementing the Created Equal Campaign, a groundbreaking gender justice campaign which aims to change minds and hearts on issues of gender equality amongst religious actors operating in humanitarian, developmental and environmental contexts.

The day before, the new chair of Religion and Sustainable Development, Professor Karam also delivered an inaugural lecture:

“It is not whether religions matter to development or not – for they do. Nor is it a question of how religions matter. For clearly, religious actors matter in multiple ways – so much so that there is even a religious inspired technocracy at play. Rather, I maintain that the questions should be: which religious actors are prepared to uphold all human rights at all times? And which government and/or intergovernmental entity is prepared to work with those actors to secure the indivisibility, interrelatedness, as well as the inherent and inviolable character of human rights for all human beings with no exceptions – thereby strengthening civic spaces which can uphold and defend democratic values, in an age of unreason?”

The roundtable is part of a series of events that VU Universiteit is developing to encourage dialogue between religious and secular organizations on some of the most pressing challenges of our time and to explore how faith-based beliefs and practices can contribute to achieving the ambitious agenda that governments need to implement by 2030.

Read the inaugural lecture of Prof Karam

We are witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record. UNHCR’s new Global Trends report, released yesterday, confirmed the worrying trend of an increase in global displacement, now affecting 70.8 million people. Once again, roughly two thirds of those affected (41.3 million) are internally displaced, further complicating their protection situation. Every day, another 37,000 people are forced to flee their homes. On this World Refugee Day, ACT Alliance together with other FBOs issued a statement calling for a greater global solidarity with displaced people worldwide.

Despite an increase in displacement, available protection continues to decline – especially in the Global North, which is statistically least affected. Almost four out of five refugees in 2018 were living in neighbouring countries.  According to the report, asylum applications have decreased significantly in many industrialised countries, including the US, Germany, and Italy, the latter seeing a dramatic decline of about 60%. Among those who did manage to apply for asylum, fewer were being granted a protection status. From 60% globally in 2016, the percentage of people receiving protection went down to 44% in 2018. Australia and Sweden are recognising barely a quarter of asylum applications. In addition, resettlement numbers are also going down, which puts enormous pressure on those developing countries that are hosting the largest portion of displaced people.

“In this situation, faith communities and civil society organizations are often forced to go beyond their role of just complementing the services of states in refugee protection due to the mounting obstacles faced by people on the move when trying to reach safe havens in developed countries,” said Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, General Secretary of ACT Alliance.  “The deplorable humanitarian situation in the Mediterranean, where European member states are actively refusing search and rescue efforts by civil society, and in Central America, where the US is wielding political influence to categorically prevent the arrival of people in need on American soil, are emblematic of this trend,“ de Faria said.

Therefore, global solidarity and responsibility sharing need to be promoted among all actors, while recognising the legal and moral responsibility of states as duty bearers, especially those who have the means to receive and integrate refugees.  “Additional and very important services should be provided by local communities, including faith actors, to ensure the successful social inclusion of newcomers. ACT Alliance and its members will continue to support these efforts,” concluded de Faria.

See the statement here

In the last few years, we have experienced an increase in extreme climatic events across the globe. Increased droughts, severe storms and unprecedented flooding, from the Americas through to the Pacific have brought loss and damage (climate impacts that cannot be adapted to) to the forefront of developed and developing country agendas.

Climate change is severely impacting the livelihoods of local communities. Biodiversity loss and increased economic instability within and amongst regions has forced citizens to migrate from rural to urban areas, and this, in turn, is placing pressure on available urban resources.

Countries need to take action to temper these successive impacts. This is particularly the case as climate impacts are not localised. For example, a flood in Sub-Saharan Africa that wipes out crops and washes away layers of topsoil could impact the global food trade and food flows. This could result in price spikes for staple foods such as grain, milk, rice, etc., which could lead to food insecurity.

Similarly, a drought in Western Asia could have significant repercussions for the populations there. Severe droughts could prevent new grains from flourishing which could reverse the gains made in combatting malnutrition.

Despite the understanding of such threats, climate finance for loss and damage remains undervalued and under-discussed.

During this UNFCCC inter-sessional (SB50), countries will discuss the new terms of reference for the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage. Such a discussion must be broader than a reflection on the current state of play and must look at what must happen for the needs of those impacted by loss and damage to be adequately addressed. This discussion must explore how to operationalise the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage, and parties must agree on options for creating a specific finance stream for loss and damage as existing climate finance options tend to be geared towards mitigation.

Countries must use SB50 as an opportunity to acknowledge loss and damage finance as a necessary and separate category of climate finance. Doing so will create the foundation for a new stream of finance that is necessary to address the effects of climate change and to enable forecast based finance (finance that is issued to developing countries before a climatic event occurs, based on forewarning) and support for slow on-set disasters.

Climate finance for loss and damage should be new and additional to the existing commitments for development and humanitarian aid. It should prioritise the needs of vulnerable members of society and those in most need of support.

Possible sources of finance for loss and damage that could be explored include a tax on aviation or on shipping- two industries whose existing ‘measures’ do not live up to the urgency to tackle climate change. Another potential flow could come in the form of a climate damages tax. The reality is that various options exist and their potential must be explored before the climate emergency escalates further.

Blog by Leia Achampong, Climate Justice Policy Officer at ACT Alliance EU

The ACT South Sudan Forum organized a one-day validation workshop for the development of Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (EPRP) for South Sudan. The workshop was held on May 31, 2019 and brought together over 20 officials and invitees. Participants included delegates from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (MHADM), the South Sudan Commission for Refugee Affairs (CRA) of Government of South Sudan and representatives from the United Nations. Civil society partners included OXFAM, CARE, CARITAS including ACT Forum members present in South Sudan.

The Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (EPRP) has been an integral part of the ACT forum activity in South Sudan where all the 15 forum members work together to address the issues of Fragility, Conflict, and Vulnerability (FCV) through an integrated, coordinated and holistic resilience planning for effective disaster preparedness and conflict. The one-day validation workshop brought in a wide range of stakeholders and partners under one roof to discuss various components, its relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and the future sustainability of such initiative.

The workshop started with welcoming the participants and invitees by Mr. Alex Gupirii, Act South Sudan Forum Coordinator.

Mr. Magne Svendsen, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and Co-Convener of the ACT South Sudan Forum gave the keynote address reiterating the paramount importance of such plan taking into consideration various challenges and needs of the country. He also mentioned the value of such plan that would ensure the effective use of resources including both financial and manpower resources. Mr James Wani, Country Director of Christian Aid and Co-Convener of ACT South Sudan Forum thanked all the delegates for participating in the workshop. Mr Wani particularly focused on the importance of such joint initiatives and cited successful examples where common efforts saved a high number of lives and livelihoods in multi-hazard prone countries in the Asia Pacific. Ms Betty Scopas, Head of the Early Warning Systems of Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (MHADM) congratulated the ACT Forum for such  initiative and mentioned the complementarity of the ACT plans with the Government of South Sudan’s broader resilience and DRR Strategy. She also emphasised the potential linkages of the ACT plans with the activities, policies and programmes of the ministry. 

The one day workshop was facilitated by Mr. Dillip Kumar, International Consultant, EPRP for ACT South Sudan Forum. Mr Kumar presented on the linkage of EPRP with the global, regional and national resilience agendas of South Sudan. He also mentioned the importance of EPRP and its contribution towards the achievement of the Sendai Framework for DRR (SFDRR) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). He also pointed out at the importance of a coordinated, integrated and holistic EPR plan that contributes towards the Strategic Plan of the MHADM and the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) along with the Refugee and Response Plan (RRP). Mr. Kumar also presented the detailed EPRP components and the process that led to  the development of the plan through an intensive consultations and review of literature. The forum members were involved and engaged in this process from the early stages and this contributed to a feeling of ownership and clarity.  

The plan of action was shared with the invitees as a final step before formal approval and finalization. It has also been agreed that a roll out and operationalization plan of the EPRP will also be developed.

Impoverished communities everywhere suffer the worst effects of climate change and women and men, boys and girls experience those effects differently.  Structural obstacles and cultural factors make women especially vulnerable. We know, for example, that sexual violence is positively correlated with natural disasters, that more women drown in floods than men and that women’s income-earning ability can take far longer to recover than men’s after a disaster.   As families adapt to or recover from extreme weather events, women’s domestic burdens increase, and their needs are overlooked.

Less visible, but potentially as damaging as floods or droughts, is the absence of women from the meetings where authorities plan how they will respond to climate change. These are the conversations where national plans to tackle and respond to climate change are developed which, in turn, are communicated to the UNFCCC. These conversations must actively include the needs and solutions of those who are most at risk.  Rarely, though, do we see enough women represented. We have all heard that women are too shy, too busy at home, or too ashamed that they cannot read to take part in meetings. This has ramifications as much at the community level as it does at the national, and international level.

Present normally at such discussions are governmental negotiators and civil society representatives, groups in which – all over the world –   women continue to be significantly underrepresented, or if present, are often lacking in power to influence outcomes to their benefit.   A paradox thus emerges: women and girls’ disproportionate vulnerability to climate change is inversely correlated to their ability to address it. Not only is this situation unfair, but it is also irreparable unless specific, targeted attention is given to it.

To its credit, the UNFCCC has taken action to try to tackle the issue.  The Lima work program, established in 2014 and being revised at COP 25 in 2019, acknowledges that gender inequality is a challenge for the operationalization of the convention.  It requires that country parties consider the gender composition of their national delegations, develop gender-sensitive climate policies and build women’s capacity to participate in climate negotiations.  It encourages parties to incorporate gender-sensitive approaches in their national plans, use gender-disaggregated data, and identify measures to address the specific needs of women in adaptation, mitigation, resilience building and loss and damage.

The Lima program extends its commitment beyond the formal, national level, governmental forums to informal community-level groups.  These are the places where women most often struggle against local customs and traditional patterns governing their roles or are relegated to traditional productive and reproductive roles.  When they are organized in women-only or in indigenous, environmental, LGBTQI or other special interest groups, other socio-political obstacles can prevent their full participation in national consultation processes.

Yet we know that broad, consultative participation is needed for successful plans. Women’s involvement is thus a necessary precondition for the realization of national climate change plans and the convention itself.  As we all now try to scale up our climate action during the next decade, let’s use the Lima work program to make women more visible and more vocal in all aspects of our climate solutions.

Blog by Jasmine Huggins, Senior Policy and Advocacy Advisor at Church World Service in Washington, D.C. Huggins works on Gender Equality and Climate Change.

When diplomats from all over the world meet in Bonn this week to discuss climate change, they have great momentum to build on. From a surge of youth from all parts of the world mobilizing for climate justice and #Fridaysforfuture, to a strong push from Civil Society for ambitious climate policies at the EU Elections, to growing conversations for a Green New Deal making headlines in the USA and Canada. The global momentum for climate justice is growing.

However, this momentum is also built on tragic climate impacts which have inflicted pain and loss on communities. Since the last formal UN Session on climate change, communities have faced an arctic blast in North America, devastating Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in Southern Africa, a looming drought on the horn of Africa, and most recently a deadly heat wave in India. As the number of climate-related disasters increase, so has the call for climate action.

Over the next two weeks of the UN climate talks, momentum has to be turned into progress. A number of important topics will be addressed, including loss and damage, carbon markets and the rules for climate finance. Although the meeting itself is not the platform for large decisions to be taken, it is an important space for parties to negotiate together and try to move towards consensus before the next climate conference in December (COP25) taking place in Chile.

One of the topics that we hope to see progress on is loss and damage. ACT Alliance engages with vulnerable communities and people around the world, and in doing so, ACT members witness the harsh realities posed by climate change on the most vulnerable. The people that are facing loss and damage due to climate related disasters need urgent support- not only in immediate/ humanitarian relief, but also support to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

Within the UNFCCC, loss and damage is handled by the so called, “Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage”. It is now time to review the Mechanism, and one of the issues that ACT Alliance is advocating for is to review the possibilities for support for those affected by loss and damage, recognizing that there is a specific need for finance to respond to climate-induced losses, on top of already existing humanitarian flows.

The Bonn Session is not only the space for formal talks about rules and reviews. It is also the last major meeting before the Climate Action Summit taking place in New York in September. The UN Secretary General António Guterres has invited world leaders to come, “not with beautiful speeches but with concrete plans for the required climate action”.  

There is a clear momentum for action to be taken immediately, and with this Bonn session, and the upcoming Climate Action Summit, there is great potential for this. I hope that governments can feel this, and that they take the opportunity to push for increased ambition as they begin their negotiations today. We can end global warming and we can fight climate change!

Blog by Mattias Söderberg, Senior advocacy advisor at DanChurchAid, Co-Chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Change Working Group (CCG)

Civic space as a pre-condition for SDG progress and ‘leaving no one behind’

Without a fully engaged civil society, the SDGs are bound to fail. This is the main conclusion of the research and case studies done by Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and published in conjunction with ACT Alliance in the report Development Needs Civil Society– The Implications of Civic Space for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Shrinking civic space is likely to halt or reverse progress towards reducing inequality, insuring inclusion, and improving sustainability, because it is often precisely those who are marginalized who are at the greatest risk of being ‘left behind by development’. Examples in the report show how restrictions on civic space have already affected and are likely to further impact adversely on the number of SDGs, as outlined below. The study concludes that for development to be sustainable over time and for the benefit of all, civic space is needed.

Key findings
I.      The shrinking space of civil society hinders social and -economic development and hinders achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs.
II.     Restrictions on civic space prevent Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from engaging in policy formulation, monitoring rights, raising awareness, championing the voices of vulnerable populations, and from building partnerships.
III.    When civic space is limited, development risks excluding voices and increasing social distrust. Ultimately, this increases inequalities and makes development less sustainable. 
IV.     Civic space is essential to provide transparent and verifiable information. If objective data is absent due to shrinking civic space, trust in official data and political performance is likely to decrease. 
V.      Weakening of civil society may increase a permissive culture of corruption among elite groups without sufficient checks and balances. Not only could this erode trust in governance, but it could also trigger significant economic, food and political crises. 
VI.     Overemphasis on huge infrastructure projects and economic growth increasingly competes with the discourse of inclusion and thereby puts the key SDG principle of “leaving no one behind” at risk.  

Civic space is changing

The study was carried out in 2017 and 2018 by IDS for ACT Alliance. It examines civil society in its role and function of enhancing service delivery, collecting information and evidence, analyzing data, holding governments to account, advocacy, shaping public policy, ensuring the voices of vulnerable are considered, defending human rights and contributing to global governance. 

Drawing on four country case studies carried out in Brazil, Cambodia, Nepal, and Zimbabwe, and on 12 desk-based country studies, the report analyzes the pivotal role civil society has played in achieving the SDGs.

Civic space is changing in terms of who participates and how. Dwindling civic space limits liberal human rights actors while widening the influence of right-wing, extremist and conservative groups. The growth of digital space has reshaped civic space for all actors and helped unruly protest movements to take up more space. 

Political elites close civic space as part of national struggles over political and economic power. Conflicts over the use of natural resources and land have been found to be key reasons why civic space is restricted.

Reasons to promote civic space

Most governments have strong incentives to demonstrate that they are making substantial progress in their development goals. Their legitimacy depends on that performance. For this reason, governments have numerous instrumental or pragmatic reasons for promoting civic space:

1)      External scrutiny by social actors and independent analysis is essential for highlighting the impacts of economic and social trends and for identifying groups at risk of being left behind or adversely affected by policies. Civil society participation in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of public policy is thus of vital importance. Without civil society activism, policies may go unchecked, with no available avenues for potential alternatives to be raised. Policies developed in open and transparent spaces are potentially better policies.

2)      Citizens – in particular marginalised groups – must be able to hold the providers of basic public services accountable for equitable delivery of services such as education, health, water and sanitation, housing, safety and justice. Governments routinely struggle to improve the quality of public services, but shrinking and closing civic space and violating fundamental freedoms excludes citizens from addressing challenges in the delivery of basic public services. The ‘leave no one behind’ principle commits governments to reaching the most marginalised populations. Their voices must be heard, and their active participation as agents of change needs to be promoted.

3)      Clamping down on information-sharing and scrutiny of public affairs has counter-productive effects, as public trust is undermined when governments control the flow of information. In the absence of independent scrutiny and analysis of official statistics, methodologies and sources, public experts and development partners are often suspicious of official data. 

Authors: Christine Meissler, Mads Loftager Mundt, Una Hombrecher 

Please find here the Policy Paper“Development needs civil society”

Jeroen Jurriens is a DRR/Resilience expert working at the Disaster Management Unit of ICCO & Kerk in Actie, the ACT Alliance member from the Netherlands. In his position he is responsible for coordination of disaster response work in the regio of Central & Eastern Africa, as well as being Thematic Advisor for the organisation on Resilience, DRR and Emergency Preparedness (EPRP). He has been the chair of the ACT Alliance Community of Practice on DRR/CCA since the past 4 years; and as part of the CoP DRR-CCA been involved in the Sendai Framework discussions and its predecessor HFA since 2013. Furthermore Jeroen is co-chair of the ACT Alliance Working Group on EPRP.

What is the GPDRR & why is it important for CSOs to participate?

The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, is a biennial multi-stakeholder forum established by the UN General Assembly to review progress, share knowledge and discuss the latest developments and trends in reducing disaster risks. As such, the Global Platform is a critical component of the monitoring and implementation process of the international leading framework: the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030). This year’s Global Platform theme was the ‘Resilience Dividend – Toward Sustainable and Inclusive Societies’.

CSOs’ participation in these platforms is crucial as our main aim is to give people at risk of being affected by disasters a voice in the discussions. We share their concerns and demands with those governments and decision-makers who shape policies at the international level. For CSOs, it is important to promote locally-led DRR strategies, where communities & local actors actively participate as decision-makers. As CSOs we want SFDRR’s aim to enhance resilience to bebased on rights, empowered communities, accountability, and the principle of leaving no one behind.

CSOs’ participation helps promote inclusive DRR strategies where the most vulnerable and at risk, can actively participate. And, of course as civil society we demand accountability. Before each GPDRR all governments need to report on their progress on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reductionand during the GPDRR governments  normally make statements on what they have achieved so far. Both can be used by CSOs to hold States accountable. 

What did ACT call for at this year’s GPDRR?

ACT put forward a very strong call for local-level engagement in all phases of DRR policy-making. Together with other faith-based groups we also called for meaningful and substantive inclusion of FBOs and faith communities in the SFDRR processes.

We have presented a statement that I invite you to read.

What were the main conclusions from GPDRR?

The chair’s summary concluded that the current pace and scale of action will not achieve the targets of the Sendai Framework, which in turn will jeopardize the achievement of the SDGs by 2030. The Global Platform recognized the challenges ahead and called for greater ambition, commitment, and leadership by all governments and stakeholders.

Although we welcomed the strong reference in conclusion of GPDRR to accelerate coherence between agendas and the explicit reference to climate change, we had hoped for more clear implementation plans and more concrete commitments. However, we hope that the deliberations at this year’s GPDRR at least provide a way forward for the implementation of the Sendai Framework to adequately respond to the multiplicity of hazards and risks, especially those posed by climate change. We believe that the efforts to protect the most vulnerable must be scaled up.

On a positive note, progress towards gender equalty and accessibility was evident throughout the platform’s proceedings, although further work is needed on both fronts in practice on the ground.

Finally  the platform stressed the need for risk-informed development. In practice, however, the application of risk-informed investment and development decisions are still the exception rather than the rule. This must change!

You can read the full summary by the chair here: https://www.preventionweb.net/files/58809_chairsummary.pdf

How will we follow-up and how can members be involved?

As ACTAlliance, we will continue to stay involved in the Sendai Framework by monitoring the implementation of the commitments. We have already formulated a draftof our work plan for the coming two years, including the thematic areas of focus in the DRR. These include locally-led DRR, DRR in conflict/fragility, survivor and community-led response (SCLR), ecosystems-DRR, DRR and social safety nets, etc.

The first concrete next step we will take is organizing a consultation in June/July, 2019 for all ACT members. We will specifically ask which thematic DRR topics ACT Alliance should focus on, on which topics our members would welcome additional learning, and where members will be able to contribute with expertise and practical experiences from the ground. We strongly recommend and invite all ACT members to participate in this consultation! It is their chance to steer future actions of CoP DRR-CCA and a stepping stone to become more involved in the CoP DRR-CCA work.

Regional consultations will be then organized to prepare for the next proceedings. As ACT CoP DRR-CCA we plan to support all interested ACT members by strengthening their capacity on the chosen thematic areas  and develop lobbying strategies at the national and regional levels. We hope to be even better prepared for GPDRR 2021.

What can ACT members do? How can ACT members become involved in the CoP DRR-CCA work?

I have a few milestones that our member should mark in their calendars:

• May 2019: Look up your government’s statement made at GPDRR through this link: https://www.unisdr.org/conference/2019/globalplatform/programme/official-statements. Analyze it and share your feedback with the CoP DRR-CCA.
• June 2019: Participate in the consultation on thematic focus developed by the CoP DRR-CCA
• Be active at the local and national level by monitoring DRR commitments of your government, and share those experiences with the CoP DRR-CCA and fellow ACT-members;
• Become part of the CoP DRR-CCA network in your region. Contact details: Latin/South America – Carlos Rauda (carlos.rauda@actalliance.org), Africa – Patricia Roy Akullo (prak@dca.dk), Asia – James Munpa ( james.munpa@actalliance.org), Global – Jeroen Jurriens (jurriens@icco.nl)
• Share your case studies and best practices on DRR / CCA / Resilience with CoP DRR-CCA and across the ACT Alliance.
• Start thinking about your submission for the ACT Alliance Resilience Award 2021!

Written by: Arnice Ajawaila

Arnice is an Emergency Response Coordinator of YEU— one of YAKKUM’s (Christian Foundation for Public Health) units which was established in 2001. Its core mandate is the delivery of inclusive emergency response. YEU works to articulate initiatives to build community resilience through community-led disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. After the Sunda Strait Tsunami, YEU deployed a team to respond to the emergency in South Lampung district  from 23^rdDecember 2018 until 28^thFebruary 2019.

Amid the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, we were surprised by the tsunami that hit Banten and Lampung, Indonesia, on the night of 22^ndDecember 2018 without any early warning. Instantly, the joyous feeling of Christmas turned into sorrow. Hundreds of people lost their lives, and thousands more got injured. The National Agency for Disaster Management has reported 437 deaths, 9,061 injuries, and 10 people missing. A total of 16,198 people were displaced, and as many as 1,071 houses were severely and moderately damaged.

That first night, the phone didn’t stop ringing. I am the Emergency Response Coordinator at ACT member YEU, and people kept asking me for information on the situation and YEU’s response plans. I had difficulties to immediately connect with YEU’s local network that was in the area hit by the tsunami. Fortunately, quick responses from the government, colleagues and friends, as well as people from disaster online forums across the country provided information.

The next day, as information trickled in, conditions in the field were becoming clearer. Based on the explanation from the Head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the tsunami was generated by a 64-hectare section of the Anak Krakatau Volcano, (which had seen small regular eruptions since June) collapsed underwater, causing a landslide that triggered a tsunami. Districts such as Pandeglang and Serang in Banten and South Lampung were the worst-hit areas. However, the South Lampung District got less attention compared to Banten, which is geographically located in the Java island where access to assistance is easier.

The silent tsunami struck the coastline of the South Lampung District and damaged key infrastructure- the roads between villages were disconnected, and public facilities were heavily damaged. The local community relocated away from the coastline towards the hills in attempt to save their lives, afraid that there could be another tsunami.  Access to other survivors who decided to stay in emergency tents was difficult for those who attempted to provide humanitarian aid.

Based on these circumstances, YEU prioritized the response in the South Lampung District. After a few days we were finally able to connect with the GKSBS (Christian Church in Southern Sumatra) and Mardi Waluyo Hospital—one of YAKKUM’s hospitals located in Metro Lampung. The Mardi Waluyo Hospital ran a rural clinic in Rajabasa—one of the villages that was most affected by the tsunami. The clinic was slightly damaged but could still provide assistance to the affected people.

YEU helped the Mardi Waluyo Hospital to establish mobile health service and worked with a village midwife to create an Emergency Health Post in Rajabasa which remained open 24 hours a day. The GKSBS team helped to conduct assessments in the emergency shelters and reported back to YEU.

YAKKUM’s networks of faith-based organizations kept exchanging information on the latest news and immediate needs they found at field level.

When the period of emergency response ended, YEU supported the communities by providing shelter management, medical and psychosocial support and non-food items distribution. The local church played a role in coordinating faith communities across Indonesia willing to help those affected.

Collaboration between faith-based organizations is crucial during emergencies. As was evident in the case of the Sunda Strait response, FBOs are trusted by the communities and can access the most vulnerable. Moreover, the principle of accountability and the complaint mechanism explained by YEU to the assisted community played an important role in the entire process, building trust between first responders and the communities.

Climate change impacts our life in various ways, but our generation will not accept that we deal with the effects of climate change as isolated problems.

March 15, 2019, was in many ways a memorable day. 

Around the world, young people replaced their books and pencils with banners and messages urging world leaders to take climate action. For youth around the globe who participated in this day, the effects of climate change pose a variety of negative consequences upon their future.

In Denmark, where I live, we are experiencing some changes in the climate, but we are also one of the countries that are best prepared for these changes. In other countries, climate change is affecting people on a completely different scale. For example, in Uganda, living conditions are being turned upside down as changing rainfall patterns are making farming conditions unpredictable and unstable. In Bangladesh, rising sea levels are leading to a loss of land and livelihoods and displacing homes. In Ecuador, higher ocean temperatures are affecting fish populations and this is leading to a loss of livelihood for many.

These are some of the consequences of climate change. Our generation will not accept, that our leaders continue to deal with the effects of climate change as isolated problems. We know that climate change knows nothing about borders or fairness, and we know that we must all work together if we want to tackle the worst effects of climate change.

Therefore, we, youth from around the world left our schools and took to the streets on March 15^th, relating to the message of the Swedish Climate activist Greta Thunberg, “why go to school when the world is burning…” Greta’s message is relatable, as there was youth who could not go to school nor participate in the strikes due to the extreme weather phenomenon, Cyclone Idai which affected more than 3 million people across Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi. 

The impact of this natural disaster is unfair for multiple reasons. First, as the average CO₂ emissions of the people in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe are among the world’s lowest, they have contributed the least to the changing climate and to extreme weather phenomena. Second, it was an unfair coincidence that many youth were unable to participate in the strikes as they were coping with the aftermath of the Cyclone – the youth most affected by climate change did not have the chance to raise their voices.

According to the world bank, climate change will put an additional 100 million people in extreme poverty if we do not change the path of our global CO₂ emissions. Those affected in the future will primarily be those who have contributed the least in CO₂ emissions. 

This is unjust! My wishes are that world leaders listen to our voices which we will rise again today and that they understand that we want them to panic. I also hope that our cries for climate justice bring hope to young and old people who are affected by extreme weather events.

As youth, we are being born into a world which is facing the biggest problem in the history of mankind. We want to make a change, and we know that we can do what is necessary!

Hope is what we need, and it is what we can give to each other. By striking and demonstrating as one on March 15^th and again today on May 24^th we are paving the way. We are showing that we can work together and make things happen across borders. We are showing that we care about what happens to one another and that a problem occurring in Malawi is also a problem for those living in Denmark, Ecuador, Uganda or any other country.  We will not leave anyone behind.

Climate change has been created by mankind, and the good news is, that it is us who can hit the brakes on our CO₂ emissions to tackle our climate crisis.

“What we do now, cannot be undone,” said Greta Thunberg in her speech to the European Parliament – and she is right. If we want to fix the climate crisis, the world leaders need to be our heroes right now, not starting in the year 2050, not even starting tomorrow but starting today! If we want to succeed, they must know that we believe in them. It is, therefore, our job to give them the courage to make the hard decisions and the strength to Act Now For Climate Justice!

From Change Maker Denmark, we hope that you all have a good day of strikes and demonstrations.

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Blog by: Mads Kruse, Change Maker Denmark

Mads is a volunteer project coordinator at Change Maker Denmark’s Climate Initiatives. Mads is also a student at the University of Copenhagen, studying social anthropology.