Africa's acute vulnerability to climate change underlined in online report

Citation

(2007), "Africa's acute vulnerability to climate change underlined in online report", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 18 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/meq.2007.08318bag.001

Africa's acute vulnerability to climate change underlined in online report

Assisting developing countries to adapt to the impacts of global warming, especially those in Africa was a key focus of the latest round of climate change talks held in Nairobi.

A report on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in Africa, released by the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and based on data from bodies including the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) indicates that the continent’s vulnerability to climate change is even more acute than had previously been supposed.

It is estimated, for example, that 30 per cent of Africa’s coastal infrastructure could be inundated including coastal settlements in the Gulf of Guinea, Senegal, the Gambia and Egypt. In addition, between 25 per cent and over 40 per cent of species’ habitats in Africa could be lost by 2085. Cereal crop yields will decline by up to five per cent by the 2080s with subsistence crops – like sorghum in Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Zambia; maize in Ghana, millet in Sudan and groundnuts in the Gambia – also suffering climate-linked falls.

Meanwhile part of Africa’s current and future adaptation needs must include improvements in climate and weather monitoring capabilities and better links between climate research and policy making.

Other needs include mainstreaming climate change considerations into development and sectoral plans and programmes, education and awareness-raising for governments, institutions and individuals as well as better forecasting and early warning systems, says the report.

There are also problems with the monitoring: latest estimates indicate that about 25 per cent out of the Global Climate Observing System surface stations in east and southern Africa are not working and most of the remaining stations are functioning in a less than desirable manner. Around a fifth of the ten upper air network stations are in a similar state.

The new report has been prepared with the help of a team led by Dr Baglis Osman Elasha, Senior Researcher in the Climate Change Unit of the Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources in the Sudanese Ministry of the Environment. The full report is available at: http://unfccc.int/adaptation/adverse_effects_and_response_measures_art_48/items/3743.php