Djibouti

From 1980 to 2010, 24 natural hazard events have been registered in Djibouti, affecting almost 1.5 million people and causing economic damages for 3 million. The vast majority of Djibouti’s rural population is highly susceptible to climatic uncertainty – they live in deserts or marginal and infertile areas, often with highly erodible soils, poor ground cover, and limited water supplies where food security is a serious concern. Observational data for the 1980-2001 period show that droughts, floods, sea level rise, and epidemics, whose frequency, occurrence, and impacts have increased in recent years, already pose a significant risk to the country’s vulnerable population. The country is home to a large pastoralist population, living on poor quality pasture lands, and the impact of climate-related changes on livestock production could be significant. Many groups that rely on winter grazing grounds are already extremely vulnerable and forced to migrate to Sudan due to pasture degradation made worse through increasing population pressures.

This section provides a summary of key natural hazards and their associated socioeconomic impacts in a given country. And it allows quick evaluation of most vulnerable areas through the spatial comparison of natural hazard data with development data, thereby identifying exposed livelihoods and natural systems.