WASHINGTON, DC – The Stimson Center and the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) today announced a new partnership to conduct Climate and Ocean Risk Vulnerability Index (CORVI) assessments in the cities of Mombasa, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
CORVI is an innovative tool that compares a diverse range of economic, social, and environmental risks to produce climate and ocean risk profiles for coastal cities. These detailed profiles help governments, businesses, and financial institutions assess a city’s climate risk and pinpoint areas of action to adapt to the climate emergency.
More Information: Visit our explainer, Measuring and Understanding Climate Risk with CORVI or print the CORVI 101 one-pager.
“As the climate emergency escalates, coastal cities are facing higher sea levels, more frequent weather emergencies, and higher temperatures,” said Sally Yozell, Senior Fellow and Director of the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program (Bio). “Coastal cities are on the front lines of the climate crisis. Our team developed CORVI to help decision makers make smart investments that will protect their communities from the impacts of climate change. We are proud to work with WIOMSA to expand this project to Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, and we hope to expand to additional cities in Africa soon.”
Currently, Stimson and WIOMSA are collecting empirical data on the nature and extent of climate and ocean risks affecting both cities, interviewing experts, and preparing to conduct field research in both cities in 2021.
Earlier this year, CORVI was used to assess the climate and ocean risk of Kingston, Jamaica and Castries, St. Lucia.
“The coastal cities of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region are facing a combination of long-standing problems and emerging problems that have made human well-being and ecosystems vulnerable,” says Arthur Tuda, the Executive Secretary of WIOMSA. “Through our Cities and Coasts Project (link), we aim to provide scientific information, tools and means to enhance the resilience of WIO coastal cities and reduce their vulnerability. Using CORVI, WIOMSA will increase scientific knowledge of the problems and vulnerabilities faced by WIO coastal cities, for better planning and decision-making.”
For more information on Stimson’s Climate Security project and CORVI, visit https://www.stimson.org/project/climate-security/.
THE STIMSON CENTER promotes international security, shared prosperity & justice through applied research and independent analysis, deep engagement, and policy innovation. More at www.stimson.org.
The Stimson Center’s Environmental Security program explores the array of environmental threats, both human and natural, that have the potential to undermine national, regional, or global security.
WIOMSA is dedicated to promoting the educational, scientific and technological development of all aspects of marine sciences in the Western Indian Ocean region and is implementing the project, Cities and Coasts project, whose goal is to build and strengthen human and institutional capacity in coastal and marine planning for sustainable coastal cities in the WIO region. Learn more at www.wiomsa.org.