By Joyce Gyekye | Antalya, Türkiye
Strong institutions, reliable climate data and effective coordination among government agencies are critical to managing climate risks and building resilient communities, experts have said at a high-level policy dialogue at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye.
Contributing to a dialogue on Operationalising Comprehensive Risk Management for Climate-Resilient Development, the Director for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction at NADMO, Charlotte Norman said the increasing frequency of storms, floods and droughts underscored the urgent need for countries to strengthen their approaches to managing climate risks.
She said the experiences of countries such as Ghana, where flooding remained a persistent hazard, particularly for farming communities and urban areas, demonstrated the urgency of investing in climate resilience.
“The storms, floods, and droughts we see across Ghana remind us every season that the cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of innovation,” Ms Norman said.
She observed that flooding remained one of Ghana’s most persistent climate-related hazards, with recurring impacts on communities, livelihoods and economic activities.
She said comprehensive risk management was necessary to help countries anticipate climate-related disasters, strengthen preparedness and reduce the losses associated with extreme weather events.
Ms Norman’s highlighted the importance of treating climate risk management as a central component of development planning rather than responding to disasters only after they had occurred.
Adding an international perspective, Alexandra Mussino of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources said effective climate adaptation depended on strong institutions with the technical expertise and capacity to collect reliable climate data at source.
“Adaptation may not happen without strong institutions that collect data at source,” she said.
She identified Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, hydrometeorological services and Ministry of Emergency Situations as key institutions whose work was essential to identifying climate risks and supporting effective responses.
Ms Mussino said Kazakhstan was developing its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) using an approach that cascaded adaptation priorities from the national level to regional, local and sectoral levels.
She explained that the intention was to ensure the plan did not become another policy document sitting on government shelves but was communicated to the agencies and communities directly affected by climate-related disasters.
Citing the devastating floods in northern Kazakhstan in 2024, which resulted in people losing their homes, she said changing climate patterns were making it increasingly difficult for communities to anticipate extreme weather events.
She emphasised that climate risk management required collaboration beyond the institution responsible for climate policy.
“There should be communication across the institution, but also with our neighbours,” she said.
She cited Kazakhstan’s cooperation with neighbouring Kyrgyzstan through a joint emergency centre focused on disaster prevention as an example of the importance of regional partnerships and information exchange
The contributions highlighted the need for countries to strengthen institutional capacity, improve access to climate information and ensure that adaptation plans were translated into practical action at the levels where climate risks were most directly experienced.
The dialogue formed part of COP31 discussions on strengthening comprehensive risk management as a foundation for climate-resilient development.
