A framework for policy coherence between food security, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in South Africa

Abstract

Most food security (FS), climate change adaptation (CCA), and disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies and structures have basically evolved in parallel internationally and in governments, and as a result they operate in isolation. The implication is that there has been a lack of coherence in coordination between institutions that address FS, CCA and DRR policy areas. Therefore, debates on reducing such incoherencies have revolved around developing frameworks, such as the Paris Agreement for Climate Change, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) No. 2, themes and models that bring the three policy areas together. However, appropriate tools or mechanisms (e.g. technology and innovation), alignment of content (text/terms), and coordination mechanisms to support the integration process have received less attention, which were explored in this thesis. To effectuate these implementation mechanisms from oratory to practice is contingent upon coherent policies and institutional mechanisms. Thus, more emphasis was put on policy coherence as a mechanism to bring FS, CCA and DRR together in the study. Nilsson et al. (2012:396) define policy coherence as an attribute of policy that systematically reduces conflicts and promotes synergies between and within different policy areas to achieve the outcomes associated with jointly agreed policy objectives. Policy coherence as a policy objective, tool or a methodology has been widely used to foster synergies and maximise efficiency and effectiveness, while minimising conflicts, gaps, and duplications in delivery between related policies. Due to the increase in experiences with droughts, floods, veld fires and food insecurity across the globe, including South Africa, policy coherence would constitute a crucial step in reducing the impacts of climate change and disasters on FS in South Africa.This tripartite linkage could facilitate the collection of information and experience relevant to CCA and DRR issues through a vast platform that comprises government entities, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), experts and other stakeholders. It could also result in a joint output of new methods, approaches, techniques, and strategies that could enhance the adaptation of climate change and the reduction of disaster risk by the food sector. The relationship might once again serve as a foundation for climate negotiations and financial distribution for successful disaster reduction and increased adaption, particularly in South Africa, where both policy areas are embedded in different ministries with different budgets. Finally, policy coherence is critical for collaborating entities to identify and assume precise roles that govern how they interact and collaborate to achieve their objectives. Whereas it might not be sufficient on its own, policy coherence is used as a deliberate, forward-looking strategy to accelerating measures to decrease disaster risk, v assist climate adaption, and develop resilience in the country's food insecure and at-risk groups. This research effort thus sought to develop a framework that brings coherence between FS, CCA, and DRR policy domains in South Africa. Based on the discovered gaps in present knowledge, this research utilised a post-positivism approach because it is concerned with the development and understanding of new knowledge, does not isolate theory from practice, and is committed to social movements that strive to transform the world. Using the post-positivism approach, the study examined how experiences, perceptions and practices impact the way FS, CCA and DRR concepts or policy areas are understood and implemented across the globe, including South Africa. This provided the means to understand the discursive dimensions of why policy coherence between FS, CCA, and DRR is important, how it can be achieved and for whom coherence is being sought. The study employed a qualitative research design approach to better understand the social and environmental phenomena that result from social actors' perceptions and actions, with the goal of determining how addressing FS, CCA, and DRR in concert could help to mitigate the impact of climate change and disaster risks on FS in South Africa. Gathering of the primary data was mainly through key informant interviews (KIIs) and content analysis of policy and legislative documents. Semi-structured KIIs were applied based on role in organisation, knowledge of the subject matter, willingness to cooperate as fully as possible, ability to communicate their knowledge, and impartiality to avoid biasness. All key informants were selected from eight government and research institutions that have a focus on agriculture (food security),environment, and disaster risk reduction. These include the Water Research Commission (WRC), the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), Agri South Africa (Agri SA), Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) (Climate Change Directorate), South African Weather Services (SAWS), Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) (NDMC), Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Agricultural Research Council (ARC).Content analysis was also used as a primary data collection technique on FS, CCA and DRR legislation and policy documents to gain an in-depth understanding of the content and its influence on policy coherence. Content analysis was done on documents such as policy directives, regulations, guidelines, and archival information. Four research articles were written in order to meet the study's objectives, and they are included in the thesis.In the first article, two research questions were addressed, the first of which was formulated to conceptualise the FS-CCA-DRR nexus and policy coherence within the context of FS. vi) Secondly, the article aimed to investigate the usage of content in FS, CCA and DRR policy and legislative documents in order to better comprehend its meaning and context in order to promote coherence. Understanding written material (text) was critical for establishing reproducible and valid insights from data to their context in order to provide information, fresh insights, a depiction of facts, and a pragmatic guidance to policy coherence. Consequently, the findings presented in this research confirmed that bringing coherence between FS, CCA and DRR policy domains is advocated as one of the methods for promoting FS sustainability in South Africa. However, the interlinkages found between these three policy sectors revealed that many policies have not yet picked up the button that brings related policies together. This paper submitted that establishing coherence to the three policy areas necessitates explicit and precise content in policy documents, as well as a review of policy documents and legislative changes, to recognise the interlinkages that exist between the policy domains. Ultimately, this would assist in bridging the gaps that exist between the entities responsible for FS. Therefore, Article 2 sought to explore institutional mechanisms responsible for ensuring coherence between FS, CCA and DRR policy areas and practices. The evidence in this article has established that there are numerous inconsistencies in how institutions carry out the food functions in South Africa. These include a lack of implementation plans that coordinate who should do what, when and where, resulting in conflicting goals and redundancy in interventions. To address the incoherencies, the paper proposed coordination support mechanisms to give insights for policy-makers and practitioners to enable them to coordinate FS, CCA and DRR functions using the six aspects (input, time, preconditions, resources, control, and output) of functional resonance analysis method (FRAM). The proposed coordination mechanism allows for simultaneous participation of relevant stakeholders through a systematic characterisation of FS functions. It also allows policy-makers and practitioners to identify variabilities, challenges, and opportunities that should be considered before an activity is executed through clarifying every component of similar roles and responsibilities across FS, CCA and DRR sectors.It is through Article 3 that the use of technologies that incorporate CCA and DRR measures when addressing FS are explored. The investigation started with the realisation that disasters and climate change risks, such as floods and droughts, have and continue to affect FS in South Africa, therefore using technology that incorporates CCA and DRR measures would be viable to solve FS issues in the country. This paper used the Western Cape FS project using Sentinel-2 Earth Observation technology and the Urban Agricultural Initiative (UAI) FS project using hydroponics technology as case studies. The main evidence from the study established that both projects incorporate CCA and DRR measures (vii) in most of their food value chains. Although the projects are different in nature, they still face similar challenges, such as the lack of expertise, resources, funding, and an inadequate regulatory environment to improve their farming practices. Again, although KIIs argued that more success of the projects could be achieved at small-scale farming, the majority key informants applauded the successes of the innovation so far and its ability to bring coherence to FS, CCA and DRR issues. On this basis, the study proposed the use of technology as a mechanism that could be incorporated into main FS, CCA and DRR frameworks. Subsequently, Article 4 focused on how policy coherence between FS, CCA and DRR may be achieved. This article drew on the previous three articles as well as empirical evidence. A novel policy coherence framework was developed in this article. The proposed novel framework for policy coherence in this article followed a six-step process, including (1) Alignment of objectives between global frameworks and national policies and legislation; (2) Alignment of FS, CCA, and DRR objectives at national level; (3) The use of content (text) when setting and prioritising objectives; (4) Coordinating implementation of policies between FS, CCA, and DRR; (5) The use of research and technology for policy coherence;and (6) Flexible processes and systems for regular monitoring, reporting and analysis to guide the development of the framework. The framework helps in understanding that well coordinated mechanisms or tools, such as technological, resources and institutional, bring collective use of resources, which in turn could increase efficiency, enhance sustainable approaches, and create one-stop-shop systems for knowledge-sharing needed for coherence. The framework is a significant step in translating the theoretical FS-CCA-DRR nexus into a set of practical arrangements that practitioners may use to manoeuvre the nexus's dynamic and changing landscape.