Climate change adaptation can help promote sub-Saharan African livelihoods

UN News Centre: Investing in ways to adapt to climate change will promote the livelihood of 65 per cent of Africans, the United Nations environmental agency reported, warning also that failing to address the phenomenon could reverse decades of development progress on the continent.

Africa’s population is set to double to 2 billion by 2050, the majority of whom will continue to depend on agriculture to make a living, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). “With 94 per cent of agriculture dependent on rainfall, the future impacts of climate change – including increased droughts, flooding, and seal-level rise – may reduce crop yields in some parts of Africa by 15 - 20 per cent,” UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said. “Such a scenario, if unaddressed, could have grave implications for Africa’s most vulnerable states,” he added.

In a new graphical report, Keeping Track of Adaptation Actions in Africa (KTAA) - Targeted Fiscal Stimulus Actions Making a Difference, UNEP details the implications of climate change, and provides examples of adaptation projects that range from forest ecosystem management to aquatics and agriculture.

The report describes sustainable examples of how countries in sub-Saharan Africa enhanced environmental and ecosystem resilience through the use of native plants and natural infrastructure, land plans and rainwater harvesting, among other examples.

The projects are integrated into national development policies which can strengthen and enhance the resilience communities against the impacts of climate change, while also contributing to the realization of the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to the report authors....

Haiti witnesses declining cholera rates, significant gains in development

UN News Centre: Haiti, often cited as one of the least developed countries in the Western Hemisphere, has reached – or nearly reached – several of the Millennium Development Goals ahead of the 2015 deadline, according to a report launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) a month ago.

Among other achievements, the country has seen a steady boost in enrollment rates in primary education from 47 per cent in 1993 to nearly 90 per cent, achieving equal participation of boys and girls in education. Haiti has also halved the number of underweight children under the age of five some three years ahead of the 2015 deadline.

As Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrapped up a visit to the Caribbean nation earlier this week, poverty reduction was a central theme in his discussions with UN officials and Haitian authorities. It is also a priority for the Government. Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe recently remarked, “Our initiatives will be increasingly strengthened and we invite civil society to join us in the fight against poverty and to improve Haitians’ living conditions.”

Since the quake, which killed at least 200,000 people, UNDP reports that 97 per cent of the debris has been removed from the streets; 11,000 displaced families have been relocated and 50 camps housing the displaced have been closed; and more than 4,000 metres of river bank protection structures have been constructed to guard against flooding.

Haitian and international efforts have succeeded in significantly reducing the toll from the cholera epidemic, reflected in a 74 per cent decrease in the number of new cases so far this year, while Haitian communities are rebuilding, recovering and becoming more resilient to future catastrophes four years after the devastating 2010 earthquake....

At the clinic in Haiti, shot by Alex Proimos, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons 2.0 license

Focus on poverty: Take the gender factor seriously

Roger Williamson in SciDev.net: As climate change takes effect, the time taken to collect food and water will increase, and women and girls will bear the brunt of this, argues Janna Tenzing in a recent article on gender equality through a climate change lens.

All aspects of poverty eradication have a gender dimension — climate change is no exception.

To account for this, there have to be specific gender-related development goals at international level. Gender analysis must be part of all the post-2015 targets that follow the Millennium Development Goals — but there also need to be stand alone targets on gender, as there are in the latest draft. This is because gender-based violence will not be as clearly targeted under a general human rights or violence-reduction goal. One new research report on Sudan — launched just before this week’s global summit to end sexual violence in conflict — shows how terrifying and prevalent gender-based violence is, comparing it with a “bush fire” which can suddenly engulf you.

There are two convincing types of reason why everyone — therefore also men — has to take gender equality and inclusion seriously. One is economic: not recognising the work of women (including caring for children and family members) and preventing women from reaching their full potential damages productivity and well-being, and so undermines poverty-reduction efforts. The other set of arguments is about justice and human rights: gender-based violence is wrong and would be wrong even if there were no economic arguments against it....

A 1913 image of Waziri women carrying water

World Heath Day: UN urges countries to prioritize combat against vector-borne diseases

UN News Centre: Warning that a “small bite can carry a big threat,” the United Nations family is marking World Health Day by urging the international community to back a global health agenda that gives higher priority to controlling the spread of vector-borne diseases, a step towards ensuring that no one in the 21st century would die from the bite of a mosquito or a tick.

“Every year, more than 1 million people die from diseases carried by mosquitoes, flies and other insects, such as triatomine bugs. These vector-borne diseases – which include malaria, dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis – cause chronic illness and immense suffering for hundreds of millions more,” says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his message for the Day, which is observed every year on 7 April to mark the founding in 1948 of the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

Mr. Ban says that climate change, altered habitats and increased international trade and travel are exposing more people to the vectors that transmit these diseases. They present a risk in all regions, including countries where the threat had formerly been eradicated, but the most affected are the world’s poorest people,
especially those who live in remote rural communities far from health services or in urban shanty towns.

“By profoundly affecting people’s health, vector-borne diseases are a serious impediment to poverty reduction and sustainable development,” he said, stressing that work to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and define a post-2015 development agenda must recognize that investing in vector control and disease prevention is both wise and necessary....

Skeeter shot by Alvesgaspar, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

UN focuses on faltering goals: water, sanitation, energy

Thalif Dean in IPS: When the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reach their deadline in 2015, there will still be a critical setback: millions of people in the developing world without full access to safe drinking water, proper sanitation and electricity in their homes.

Conscious of this shortcoming, the 193-member General Assembly hosted a two-day high-level meeting, which concluded Wednesday, to address three thematic issues: water, sanitation and sustainable energy, specifically in the context of the U.N.’s post-2015 development agenda

But water experts are sceptical whether the targets will be fully met by 2015 unless there is a dramatic acceleration of the current pace, particularly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. A 2012 U.N. report claimed the goal to halve the proportion of people living without access to safe drinking water has been reached – with more than two billion people being the beneficiaries.

Still, there are 327 million sub-Saharan Africans without this crucial service today than in 1990, Girish Menon, director of international programmes at the London-based WaterAid, told IPS. At current rates, he predicted, it will take until at least 2030 for sub-Saharan Africa to meet the MDG water target.

Addressing delegates Tuesday, General Assembly President John Ashe described the magnitude of the problem as great: 783 million people live without clean water, 2.5 billion have no adequate sanitation and 1.4 billion people are without access to electricity, he said….

A toilet in a Munich theater, shot by Usien, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license

Arab water crisis to affect human development: UNDP report

Asharq Al-Awsat: The Arab world is facing an escalating water crisis that demands quick answers in order to avoid major humanitarian consequences, a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report warned this week.

The report, entitled Water Governance in the Arab Region: Managing Scarcity and Securing the Future, revealed that out of a total of 22 countries, 15 regional states fall into the “water poor” category, while the situation in seven other states is described as “deteriorating.”

The Middle East and North Africa accounts for 10 percent of the world’s landmass and is home to 5 percent of the world’s population, but has less than one percent of global water resources. An average Arab citizen has eight times less access to renewable water than citizens of other parts of the world, the report said.

“Urbanization and population growth are straining already scarce resources. The population of Arab countries, estimated at 360 million, is expected to reach around 634 million by 2050,” the report warned. “The gap between water supply and demand, estimated at more than 43 cubic kilometers a year in 2009, is expected to reach 127 cubic kilometers a year by 2020–2050,” the report added.

“Water challenges can and must be addressed if the Arab region is to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, attain shared prosperity, and reach a future of sustainable human development. Addressing water challenges now can also help strengthen resilience by managing the risk of potential crises that could result from inaction: such as unplanned migration, economic collapse or regional conflict,” Sima Bahous, the assistant administrator of the UNDP, said in the report’s foreward.

“Resolving the crisis will require enduring progress towards political, social, economic and administrative systems that shape the use, development and management of water resources and water delivery in a more effective, strategic, sustainable and equitable direction,” she added....

A water tank in Yemen, shot by Rod Waddington, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

Focus cash on research infrastructure

David Dickson in SciDev.net: Few would name Ireland as one of the world's largest computer software exporters. Yet it has been this since the late 1990s, partly as a result of investing a significant slice of the development assistance it receives from the EC (European Commission) in the infrastructure required to become a knowledge economy.

This assistance has come through the 'structural funds' provided to the poorer parts of the EU (European Union). Countries such as Greece have invested most of the money received this way in more conventional construction projects, for example roads and airports. In contrast, Ireland has used much of it to build such things as research facilities and high-speed data networks.

There is no reason why developing nations, particularly in Africa, should not replicate Ireland's experience. Appropriate investment in research and innovation infrastructure can help them jump from a pre-industrial to a post-industrial society.

But to achieve this, two things must happen. National governments must genuinely prioritise innovation support. And development agencies must accept that investment in research and innovation infrastructure is as important as funding more traditional infrastructure projects, such as energy and transport systems….

Rock climbing in Cologne, shot by Elke Wetzig (Elya), Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Dar es Salaam spends USD 91 million in water development

Kenan Kalagho in AllAfrica.com via East African Business Week (Kampala): The government has disbursed a substantial amount of funds for water development in order to reach the millennium development goals by the year 2025.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam at the opening of the seventh joint water sector meeting the Minister of Water Prof Jumanne Maghembe said since 2008 the government in collaboration with Development partners (DPs) committed funds to finance the five year WSDP phase1 from 2007/2008 to 2011/12 financial years at a cost of $951m.

Prof. Maghembe said the government committed $251m which is equivalent to 26% of the total amount while $700m which was going to be contributed by development partners was equivalent to 74% of the total costs of the project. The minister however noted there are some delays in the implementation of the projects which has led to a hike in the implementation funds leading to delays in the execution....

Bangladesh set to take the reins at Rio+20

Naimul Haq in IPS: Experts believe that the upcoming United Nations Earth Summit, Rio+ 20, scheduled to take place in Brazil from Jun.20-22, could be a real opportunity for Bangladesh to negotiate a road to sustainable development.

The conference on sustainable development, which depends largely on states coming to a consensus on an effective transition to a green economy, requires significant investment in renewable energy, the efficient use of natural resources, research and innovative technologies.

As a nation Bangladesh is one of the worst victims of climate change. The country’s move towards sustainability requires huge financial support to overcome the damages it continues to suffer from global warming.  Bangladesh has both the will and leadership to initiate dialogue for action but its biggest challenge at the conference will be to force leaders of the wealthy nations to recognise its potential.

In conversations with IPS, politicians, policy makers, economists and environmental activists said that Bangladesh has a strong hand to show at the Rio+20 negotiating table. ...Bangladesh State Minister for Environment & Forests, Hasan Mahmud, told IPS, "(Despite) being an LDC, Bangladesh is still in a good position in terms of achieving some of the MDGs."...

Clean drinking water is about people, not pipes

Jamie Skinner in a blog at the International Institute of Environment and Development: Water and water crises will dominate the news this week from Marseille, where the sector convenes for its triennial global meeting, the World Water Forum. Some 33,000 participants attended the last one, in Istanbul in 2009, and similar numbers are expected this year.

There will be plenty of jaw-jaw, from public relations spin to formal negotiations. But the words adopted will be important for whatever replaces the millennium development goals (MDGs)....Progress is being made. Asia and Latin America are on track to meet the target, and the World Health Organisation and Unicef last week announced that – globally – the target for drinking water has been met. This news sparked a predictable media fanfare, but it also obscured some important facts. Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are lagging behind and unlikely to meet the target. Moreover, the number of people in rural areas using an unimproved water source in 2010 was five times greater than in urban areas.

The question few people ask is whether the target is even the right one. Does it measure what really matters New infrastructure is being built in rural villages across Africa to ensure supplies of clean water to communities that, for years, have depended on rivers, marshes or shallow surface wells for an irregular supply of often low quality, not to say dangerous, water. But many NGOs will argue that progress is insufficient and too many people continue to suffer.

...The scale of this long-term maintenance challenge is hidden in the wording of the international commitments. They talk about "increasing access" to drinking water but, in Burkina Faso, for instance, this is interpreted as one borehole for every 300 people. It is sufficient to record that a village has a borehole for the criterion to be ticked. What really matters, though, is whether that borehole actually provides water – or whether, like 30-40% of hand pumps in Africa, it is broken...

A well pump filled with gunk, Matt's Camera, public domain

Political motivation in sub-Saharan Africa essential for reaching sanitation goals

Maroussia Klep in Official Wire: Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest coverage for access to sanitation services worldwide, with more than 70 percent of the population still lacking access to toilets and hand-washing facilities. In 2000, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set the target of reducing by half the number of people without access to adequate sanitation by 2015. If current rates of progress do not increase in the region, it is not expected to meet its sanitation target for another 200 years, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“The UN system is trying to push, but if national government leaders are not interested it means that funding will not come forward and that the women, men, and children in those countries will not get safe water and decent sanitation,” Dick de Jong, Advocacy and Communication Officer at the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, told MediaGlobal.

However, some countries in the region demonstrated good results in recent years, spreading optimism about progress toward the MDGs. Rwanda stands as a frontrunner, being the sole sub-Saharan country to achieve its goals so far with 58 percent of the population now possessing access to basic sanitation services.

One essential lesson: strong political motivation more than economic development, is the key for fostering improvements in the delivery of sanitation services. Countries in the region that witness improving political stability, like Rwanda, have seen significant improvement in recent years, compared to countries in which the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was increasing but unaccompanied by political reforms....

Bridge over the Kagera River in Rwanda, shot by Abdallah Majid Nassor, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

'Need to scale up interventions' - UN Secretary-General on World day to combat desertification

Ban Ki-Moon quoted in Prevention Web: The people who live in the arid lands, which occupy more than 40 per cent of our planet’s land area, are among the world’s poorest and most vulnerable to hunger. Frequently, they depend on land that is degraded and where productivity has shrunk to below subsistence levels. In the world’s efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals, the challenges facing these “forgotten billion” men, women and children deserve special attention.

This year’s observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification falls during the 2011 International Year of Forests, declared by the United Nations General Assembly to educate the global community about the value of forests and the extreme social, economic and environmental costs of losing them. This effort is particularly relevant for drylands, where dry forests and scrubland provide the backbone of arid ecosystems.

Forty-two per cent of the Earth's tropical and subtropical forests are dry forests. Unsustainable land management and agriculture are a significant cause of their depletion – and of the land degradation and desertification that inevitably follow. Sadly, it is only after these ecosystems are compromised that many communities or authorities become fully awakened to the importance of dry forests to society’s well-being and prosperity.

The management, conservation and sustainable development of dry forests are central to combating desertification. The ongoing greening of the Sahel and other success stories around the world show that degraded lands can be reclaimed by agroforestry and other sustainable practices. We need to scale up these interventions and disseminate their results widely.

We also need to reward those who make drylands productive, so they will prosper and others will seek to emulate their example. Resources currently under development under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change -- such as REDD Plus and the Green Climate Fund – can go a long way towards improving the resilience of dryland populations, who stand to be affected first and worst by climate change. Too often, investing in drylands has been seen as unproductive or risky, instead of a necessary avenue for improving the well-being of local communities and national economies. Our challenge is to change market perceptions so drylands cease to be investment deserts….

Bareina, a small desert village in the south of Mauritania, West Africa. A view of the sky just minutes before rain started. Shot by Ferdinand Reus, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

A call for Millennium Consumption Goals

Feizal Samath in IPS: A Sri Lankan scientist is calling for the drafting of "Millennium Consumption Goals" to force rich countries to curb their climate-damaging consumption habits, in the same way the poor have Millennium Development Goals to get them out of poverty.

Prof. Mohan Munasinghe, expert on sustainable development and climate change, says, "We now have Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for the poor. We should extend that to the rich and make sure they consume more sustainably." He said this is needed because 85 percent of all consumption in world is done by the top 20 percent of the world’s rich.

"If they can be more sustainable in consumption, it can reduce the environmental burden by a tremendous amount," said Munasinghe in an interview with IPS in Colombo, where he is based. Munasinghe is vice-chair of the Geneva-based Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore.

He noted the severe changes in the weather pattern due to El Niño and La Niña happening one after the other in December. El Niño is a regional phenomenon that heats up parts of the Pacific region, affects South America and the rest of world, while La Niña, which also starts in the Pacific, sets off a cold spell…

At the Louvre: Side B (reverse) of a two-sided Mithraic relief. Found at Fiano Romano, near Rome "couché dans un petit réduit de briques" in 1926. White marble (H. 62cm, W. 67 cm, D. 16 cm) on a travertine base (H. 10cm, W. 76cm, D. 50cm). 2nd-3rd century.In the middle, a bull's hide, of which the head and one hindleg are visible. Sol and Mithras recline on it side by side. Mithras holds a torch in his left hand and extends his right hand behind Sol. Sol is dressed only in a cape, fastened on his right shoulder with a fibula. Around Sol's head is a crown of eleven rays. He holds a whip in his left hand and extends the right towards a torchbearer who offers him a rhyton. In the lower right is another torchbearer, with raised torch in his left hand. In his right hand, a caduceus held into the water emerging from the ground. In the middle, an altar in the coils of a crested snake. In the upper left corner, Luna in a cloud, looking away. Traces of red paint on the attire of Sol, Mithras and the torchbearers.

New atlas on Africa's water

Maxim’s News Network: The major challenges facing Africa's water resources have been laid out in striking clarity in a new atlas compiled by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Africa Water Atlas uses hundreds of 'before and after' shots, detailed new maps and satellite images from 53 countries to show the problems facing Africa's water supplies, such as the drying of Lake Chad and the erosion of the Nile Delta, as well as new, successful methods of conserving water.
Some of the most arresting images in the Atlas, which was launched during Africa Water Week in Addis Ababa, include green clouds of eroded soil and agricultural run-off in Uganda, pollution from oil spills in Nigeria and a 3km segment of the Nile Delta that has been lost to erosion.

Research carried out for the Atlas shows that the amount of water available per person in Africa is declining. At present, only 26 of the continent's 53 countries are on track to attain the water-provision target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce by half the proportion of the population without sustainable access to drinking water by 2015.

Furthermore, only nine African countries (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Rwanda, Botswana, Angola, South Africa and Egypt) are expected to attain the MDG target of reducing by half the proportion of the population without sustainable access to basic sanitation by 2015.

But in addition to these water challenges, the Atlas maps out new solutions and success stories from across the continent. It contains the first detailed mapping of how rainwater conservation is improving food security in drought-prone regions. Images also reveal how irrigation projects in Kenya, Senegal and Sudan are helping to improve food security.

The Atlas, compiled by UNEP at the request of the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) shows how the challenges of water scarcity in Africa are compounded by high population growth, socioeconomic and climate change impacts and, in some cases, policy choices....

Environment as the foundation

AllAfrica.com via the African Development Bank: "Climate Change permeates all discussions on development and how we address the challenges of finance is an important issue," AfDB Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Nkosana Moyo, said while opening a two-day Roundtable on African Perspectives on the Issues before the UN High Level Advisory Group on Climate change financing in Tunis on Tuesday 21 September 2010. Mr. Moyo was speaking on behalf of President Donald Kaberuka who is a member of the UN High Level Advisory Group, but is currently attending the Heads of States Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in New York.

Noting that the environment was a global public good, Mr. Moyo said finance to support investments, technology development and transfer as well as capacity building for both mitigation and adaptation was crucial if Africa was to adequately adapt to climate change impacts and take actions to grow a low carbon intensive economy in line with its sustainable development imperatives in a cost-effective manner. "For most of the countries in Africa, the overwhelming aspect of the challenges posed by climate change will be how to deal with its adverse impacts through adaptation. These impacts, which are already becoming visible are affecting major parts of the economy in these counties...already pushing back efforts at development and meeting the MDGs," he explained.

"While the emissions in Africa are only a small fraction of global emissions, the continent can further contribute to lowering the negative global effects of climate change by charting a low carbon intensive development pathway," he said. He however observed that low carbon intensive options were more expensive, noting, however, that "they offer opportunities for Africa to sustainably develop its abundant hydro, solar, wind and forest resources to promote access to cleaner energy"…

Saving rainforests may help reduce poverty

Georgia State University News: A new study shows that saving rainforests and protecting land in national parks and reserves reduced poverty in two developing countries, according to research by a Georgia State University professor. Paul J. Ferraro, associate professor of economics in GSU’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, with four co-authors, looked at the long term impacts of the poor living near parks and reserves established in 1985 or earlier in Costa Rica and Thailand.

The logic goes against the conventional wisdom that says taking away resources, such as farm land and forests, exacerbates poverty. “The results are surprising,” Ferraro said. “Most people might expect that if you restrict resources, people on average will be worse off.”

The research, entitled “Protected areas reduced poverty in Costa Rica and Thailand,” was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America journal.

The authors speculate that the conservation of biodiverse areas may have helped the poor because of tourism and infrastructure, such as new roadways, which may have provided new economic opportunities.

While Costa Rica and Thailand are not representative of all developing nations, Ferraro said the results are promising. He said the study can be replicated elsewhere in the world to look at the impacts of efforts to protect the environment and reduce poverty, two of the United Nations Millennium Development goals….

This picture was taken on August 14, 2005. Tapanti National Park, sometimes called Orosí National Park, is a National Park in the Pacific La Amistad Conservation Area of Costa Rica located on the edge of the Talamanca Range, near Cartago. It protects forests to the north of Chirripó National Park, and also contains part of the Orosí River. Great shot by Mardochaios

$4.3m for Jordan's adaptation to climate change

Jordan Times: The Ministry of Environment has launched a $4.3 million programme to develop the Kingdom's adaptation to climate change and sustain its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) achievements. The programme, financed by the UNDP-Spain MDG Achievement Fund, seeks to identify loopholes in the country's climate change adaptation process and assess the phenomenon's direct and indirect effects on health, nutrition and human security, according to ministry officials.

In 2000, the UN adopted eight goals to be met by all the world's countries by 2015. They include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating diseases such as HIV/AIDS, ensuring environmental sustainability and creating global partnerships for development.

…The Kingdom has progressed in achieving the MDGs, but some of these achievements are being jeopardised in light of the country's water shortage, which could threaten public health, food security, productivity and human security, the programme's coordinator, Munjed Sharif, said recently.

…The programme will assist Jordan in addressing strategic issues, including health and water, by ensuring a sustainable and improved water supply in light of a water shortage blamed on climate change. So far, climate change has caused a 30 per cent reduction in the Kingdom's surface water resources, as well as a decrease in the volume of rainfall and agricultural production, both of which the country and the Arab world rely on heavily….

Dated to the Roman period at the end of the 2nd century AD, the South Tetrapylon in Jordan is the intersection of Jerash's Cardo with the first cross street. Shot by David Bjorgen, Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2