Climate & Sustainable development in Africa - Knowledge Sharing Network

Background

The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects the climate to warm some 1.4-5.4°C during the twenty first century depending on how society will respond and adjust energy choices, as well as uncertainties regarding feedbacks. One of the earliest and most noticeable changes detected as a result of recent warming has been an increase in extreme weather events: prolonged droughts/famines, intense heat waves, violent windstorms, more wildfires and more frequent 100-year floods. Examples abound in Africa of the costs of weather anomalies, including the Mozambique flood disaster in 2000 with a measurable cost of US $ 550 million or 12% of GDP, the 1997-1998 La Nina adverse health impact amounting to 6% of GDP, and the 20 years of below average rainfall contributing to migration and conflict over land and other scarce resources in Sudan’s Northern Darfur State, For developing nations, such exceptional events leave scars that retard development for years.

Vulnerability to damages also increase as the return times of disasters become shorter. From 1980 to 2004, the global economic costs of all weather-related natural disasters totaled US $ 1.4 trillion (in 2004 US dollars), apportioned approximately 40:60 between wealthy and poor countries, respectively. This figure reflects property losses, as do damages to human infrastructures, but excludes the loss of life, health costs, business interruptions, restrictions on trade, travel and tourism, and potential market instability resulting from the health and ecological consequences of warming temperatures and severe weather.

Climate change brings new stresses on the world food supply system. FAO reports that for the past 20 years there has been a continual per capita decline in the production of cereal grains worldwide. As grains make up 80% of the world’s food, world food supply could change dramatically with warming, altered weather patterns and changes in the abundance and distribution of pests. A warmer climate is projected to increase evaporation, and crop yields are most likely to suffer if dry periods occur during critical development stages, such as reproduction. Moisture stress during the flowering, pollination and grain-filling stages is especially harmful to maize, soybean, wheat and sorghum. Water is the most serious limiting factor for all vegetation; it takes approximately 1,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of biomass.

Extreme meteorological events, such as brief hot or dry spells or storms, can be very detrimental to crop yields. Excess rain can cause leaching and water logging, and increased pest infestations. Excess soil moisture in humid areas can also inhibit field operations and exacerbate soil erosion. High precipitation may prohibit the growth of certain crops, such as wheat that is particularly prone to lodging and susceptible to insects and diseases (especially fungal diseases) under rainy conditions. Inter-annual variability of precipitation is already a major cause of variation in crop yields, and this is projected to increase. Meteorological conditions also affect crop pests, pathogens and weeds. The range of plant pathogens and insect pests are constrained by temperature, and the frequency and severity of weather events affects the timing, intensity and nature of outbreaks of most organisms.

The economic impacts of climate variability are borne by governments (domestically and via international aid), business, and individuals. Sustainable development is a guideline that can contribute to managing climate-related risks to reduce the need for individuals and domestic governments to absorb the costs. In this regard, there is a clear need for fostering a greater role for African regional and sub-regional climate institutions, river basin institutions, national meteorological and hydrological services, and development actors, in climate risk management, as loss prevention is integral to their functions.

A range of adaptation activities is available for response to climate change, spanning “pure” development activities to very explicit adaptation activities. These include:

• Addressing the drivers of vulnerability with such activities as reducing poverty and addressing other fundamental shortages of capability that make people vulnerable to harm, to help buffer households and communities against climate trends or shocks;
• Building response capacity or robust systems for problem solving, including the development of robust communications and planning processes, and the improvement of mapping, weather monitoring, and natural resource management practices;
• Managing climate risk through incorporation of climate information into decisions to reduce negative effects on resources and livelihoods, accommodating the fact that often the effects of climate change are not easily distinguished from the effects of hazards within the historic range of climate variability; including disaster-response planning activities, drought-resistant crops, and efforts to “climate proof” physical infrastructure; and
• Confronting climate change by addressing associated impacts, typically targeting climate risks that stem from anything other than anthropogenic climate change; including communities that relocate in response to sea level rise.

Objective

The global nature of climate change is quite overwhelming, requiring multiple measures at various (regional, sub-regional, national and community) levels. The political will to undertake them is, however, difficult to initiate and sustain. Coordinating actions by various stakeholders, involving all sectors of society, carefully steering the process and organizing an expansive dialogue to reduce climate risks and benefit from the opportunities, are very daunting challenges.

Understanding the risks and opportunities posed by climate change and sensitizing the ECA member countries is the first step towards taking corrective measures. A good programme is needed to better inform African governments and the public as to the science and impacts of climate change.

By pooling and integrating products and services and disseminating good practices in climate-sensitive sectors, initiatives such as ClimDev-Africa programme initiated at a workshop jointly organized by ECA and Global Climate Observing System Secretariat (GCOS) in April 2006, and the AC3PS, promise to provide considerable adaptive capacity to the African region.

ClimDev-Africa programme is designed to help African countries and the sub-regions to develop and implement short-term Climate Risk Management (CRM) Action Plans according to the priority needs expressed in the PRSPs and NAPAs, based on strengthening and extending skills and structures, and sharing best practices. It involves working at all decision making levels in all climate-sensitive sectors, integrating CRM into policies and management practices, and improving services, data and observation network, raising awareness, for the benefit of all stakeholders.

In tandem with ClimDev-Africa Programme, ECA is also establishing an African Center for Climate Change Policy Studies (AC3PS) in order to create a capacity hub to generate and share knowledge and information to strengthen efforts of African countries to address the challenge that climate change poses for sustainable development on the continent; and to provide guidance and facilitate consultations and effective coordination of Africa’s preparation for the international negotiation of a post-Kyoto/2012 global climate regime. The Centre will aim at providing African countries and their Regional Economic Communities with (1) analytical work and capacity to mainstream climate related concerns in their development policies, strategies and plans  (2) capacity to benefit from the emerging carbon trading system and adaptation/mitigation financing, and 3) capacity to participate more effectively in international policy discussions on climate change that will influence their economic and social development, particularly the development of a broad, ambitious and equitable post-2012 climate agreement.

Partners/Clients

The core partners involved in ClimDev-Africa Programme include the UNECA, African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) providing overall policy guidance and oversight to the programme within their Joint Secretariat (JS) framework. Other partners include Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Secretariat, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Regional Climate Centres [African Centre for Meteorological Applications to Development (ACMAD), IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), SADC Drought Monitoring Center (DMC-SADC), Observatory of the Sahel and Sahara (OSS)], UNDP, IDRC-DFID Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) Secretariat, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), National Ministries of Health, Water, Agriculture, and other ministries, UNDP, UNEP, FAO, WFP, ICRISAT, IRI, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Rivers and Lake Basin Organizations, universities and other research institutions, societal groups (e.g., NGOs and consumer groups), consumer markets, distribution networks, media (TV, newspapers, magazines), etc.

Clients of ClimDev-Africa Programme include rural communities with climate-sensitive livelihoods (such as rain-fed farmers, food insecure communities, communities vulnerable to malaria, meningitis and other climate-sensitive diseases, communities dependent on uncertain water and other natural resources, communities at risk of disasters, communities with poor energy access), urban communities with climate-sensitive livelihoods (health, weather-related disasters, and seasonal employment related to tourism).

ECA partners in the AC3PS initiative include The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) based in New Delhi (India), AUC, AfDB, UNEP, UNFCCC, UNCCD and UNCBD.

Clients of the AC3PS include governments of all the fifty-four (54) African countries and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs).


Type of Information

Climate Information for Development Needs: An Action Plan for Africa. Report and Implementation Strategy, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [18-21 April 2006].

• Draft ClimDev-Africa Programme Logframe, Document and Financial Strategy [2007]
• Climate for Development in Africa: draft Programme Document [03 March 2008].
• African Center for Climate Change Policy Studies (AC3PS): Concept Note and Proposal.

Tools for the online community platform

•  ClimDev-Africa Programme Logical Framework.
• Best practices.
•  Links to partners and other sources of knowledge.
•  Database of experts.

Source of knowledge

•  UNECA Department of Food Security and Sustainable Development (FSSD).
•  AU-ECA-AfDB Joint Secretariat on ClimDev-Africa Programme.
•  Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Secretariat.
•  The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

Timeframe

• ClimDev-Africa Programme: 6 Years.
• AC3PS: 5 Years.