Africa can't ignore climate change

According to a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) report, around 220 million people experience droughts annually, and one third of Africa lives in drought-prone areas. Drought combined with overuse of land can result in desertification, posing a real threat to the future of Africa's land.

Richard Muyungi, the chairman of scientific and technological advice of UNFCC said that Africa's tropical location as well as its widespread poverty and reliance on subsistence agriculture makes it the most susceptible to climate change. He stressed that countries need to mainstream climate change in planning processes and government agendas, as it affects all areas of life.

Dr. Jan Verhagen, agriculture and climate change expert and researcher from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, explained that climate change adaptation includes disaster preparedness, as climate change is sure to bring about more extreme and violent weather.

However, according to Verhagen, climate change does not result in constant bad weather. "There are ups and downs for climate change," he mentioned, noting that people must take advantage of favorable times to plan for their future. "If it becomes a better climate for you, for your job, you might be able to access the benefits of it."

Climate change needs to be considered in all aspects of life to insure effective adaptation for the many ways it will impact life. Ben Yassin, Malawi's Chief Environmental Officer, believes that African countries need to take both short-and long-term actions against climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He stressed that industrialisation projects require intensive assessment to make sure that they will not impact negatively on the environment.

"When you are planning, you have to include issues of climate change, adaptation, mitigation, in a manner that prevents what we are using from disappearing for the future generation," he noted.

But environmentalism does not have to be anti-industrialization. Muyungi argued that Africans need to industrialise sustainably. "No country has developed itself without industrialization. We need to use industry in a much more efficient way and for efficiency in technology," he added.

Countries' engagement

According to Minister of Natural Resources Stanislas Kamanzi, adaptation to climate change is imperative, as climate change is a hindrance to the economic development of countries in the region. The least developed countries still lack the capacity to find solutions, but with their agriculturally driven economies and often tropical climates, they will also be the hardest hit by climate change.

Generally, a lack of commitment among leaders has made Africa one the slowest regions to address climate change. "There is still poor participation from the states," Kamanzi lamented.

Rwanda stands as the African exception in climate change preparedness. Faustin Munyazikwiye, the head of climate change in the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), said that Rwanda has established a National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) in 2006, which identifies Rwanda's vulnerabilities and identifies options.

One option proposed in NAPA is an early warning system to notify people of natural disasters before they happen, giving the, time to prepare or evacuate the region. In order to forecast weather patterns, Munyazikwiye said that over twenty meteorology stations will be installed countrywide.

Also proposed in NAPA is restoration of wetlands, forests and savanna ecosystems. There is also a National Climate and Environment Fund (Fonerwa), used as a way of enhancing projects that support national sustainable development goals.