The effects of climate change such as rising temperature and changes in precipitation are undeniably clear with impacts already affecting ecosystems, biodiversity and people. In both developed and developing countries, climate impacts are reverberating through the economy, from threatening water availability to sea-level rise and extreme weather impacts to coastal regions and tourism.
In some countries, climate impacts affect the ecosystem services that communities are largely dependent upon, threatening development and economic stability. Future impacts are projected to worsen as the temperature continues to rise and as precipitation becomes more unpredictable.
One region of the world where the effects of climate change are being felt particularly hard is Africa. Because of the lack of economic, developmental and institutional capacity, African countries are likely to be among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (IPCC, 2001). Climate change impacts have the potential to undermine and even, undo progress made in improving the socio-economic well-being of East Africans.
The negative impacts associated with climate change are also compounded by many factors, including widespread poverty, human diseases, and high population density, which is estimated to double the demand for food, water, and livestock forage within the next 30 years.
Horn of Africa is a volatile region known for its large diversity of species and ecosystems. Even if the area is strategic for world trade exchange, special attention is not given to the place. The region is now and then suffering due to serious environmental problems, as well as chronic food shortage.
In this semi-arid climate with regular droughts, the degradation of natural resources is endangering sufficient food supplies to the population. Wars and conflicts in the region lead to refugee movements and increased migration to the cities. The war held between armed forces especially now is targeting to destroy agriculture products gained through spending more money and time.
Overgrazing, deforestation, water shortages, loss of biodiversity and urban-industrial pollution are some of the environmental problems the horn countries are facing.
Due to the decline in natural resources in East Africa / Horn of Africa, there is a real danger of increasing conflicts over natural resources such as water and land. As such, resource protection also has a conflict-prevention character. Men and women are affected differently by this, so that taking the gender perspective into account in environmental policy is crucial for the sustainable development of society.
Michael Case, WWF Climate Change Scientist said that both short and long-term adaptation strategies in response to regional climate change are beginning to emerge in a region that is rife with challenges. For every USD 1 spent preparing for disaster, USD 7 is spent to recover from disaster. As organizations test and develop new conservation concepts, it is clear that poverty alleviation must be considered with the conservation of nature and biodiversity.
As some resources become scarce, conflicts between conservation and other land uses are likely to increase under climate change scenarios. However, human communities across Africa are banding together cooperatively to conserve resources and protect their livelihoods.
Along the Tanzanian coast, leading conservation groups are working with natural resource managers and other stakeholders to integrate climate change adaptation strategies into their management philosophies and plans. Initial vulnerability assessments and adaptation planning from Tanzania point the need for mangrove protection, reforestation with “climate-smart species”, integrated land-use and marine planning, as well as activities to improve resource use technology.
Coordinating the testing of adaptation methods in geographically diverse locations within a common habitat type aims to increase the re-applicability so that the project results can be transferred to other conservation efforts around the globe.
Conservation of ecosystems and natural resources requires that adaptive management strategies are developed or that we accept that many natural systems will be lost to climate change. Projects should aim to build the capacity of natural resource managers to assess vulnerability and to adapt management strategies to respond to expected climate change impacts.
Climate change impacts to rural farming communities can be reduced by distributing climate data regarding seasonal climate forecasts (based on short-term and long-term forecasts) to small farmers so that they can make more informed farming decision and adapt to the changing climate conditions. Some farmers have already started to use this information and are preparing themselves for dry conditions by planting drought-tolerant crops.
Food production can be improved dramatically in dry areas when governments and/or organizations use climate forecasts and prepare accordingly by potentially distributing drought-tolerant seeds. Farmers can also take advantage of climate forecasts by planting less drought-tolerant and higher-yield, long season maize when wetter than usual growing seasons are forecast.
While seasonal forecasts can be useful in some situations, it should be noted that they cannot be applied everywhere and that many times they do not consider multiple climate extremes, for example, they may forecast drought but not extreme rainfall. The aforementioned approaches are just a few of the many examples that governments, organizations, and communities need to consider in order to adapt to the challenges of subsistence food production and assure future food security.
BY STAFF REPORTER
WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2022
