MOMBASA –As extreme weather events pile up in
Africa, the continent has started paying keen attention to efforts to
stem the devastating effects of climate change.
On the bright side, Uganda has been selected as
one of East and Horn of Africa countries to benefit from a
multi-billion shillings three-year project tailored largely to
reverse the effects of climate change ravaging many parts of the
region.
The project will strengthen member states’
climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies and priorities
and develop bankable climate change mitigation and adaptation
projects to be funded from other sources.
The project will also build specialised technical
human and institutional capacity; promote awareness and advocacy on
climate change issues by improving dialogue and exchange of
knowledge among stakeholders and enhance the ability of countries to
fully engage in international climate change negotiations.
Uganda got the nod for funding at the
just-concluded 54th Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum
(GHACOF54) held in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa.
Participants who attended from across the world, were informed that
the Intra-ACP Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) Programme
is an initiative of the European Union (EU) aimed at supporting the
African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) member states to effectively
deal with challenges of climate change.
The regional component of the GCCA+ program is
funded by the 11th European Development Fund (EDF 11). The GCCA+
Programme is being rolled out at a time when climate change and food
insecurity have been identified as two interlinked problems
contributing to underdevelopment of the 8 countries of the
Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, the IGAD executive
secretary, told the conference that about 10% of the region’s
over 250 million people are chronically food- insecure while over 80%
of the population derives its livelihood from agriculture. And
therefore, factors that affect land productivity due to climate
change directly impact their welfare.
Fiona Percy, a representative from CARE, said 25
countries worldwide have reported climate change emergences
recently. She said countries need to focus more on climate change
issues and measures that will help communities be resilient in
future.
Through the Intra-ACP Global Climate Change
Alliance Plus (GCCA+) Programme, Uganda, Kenya and 6 other countries
will be supported to implement their national climate mitigation,
adaptation policies and plans.
Impact of climate change
Climate variability and climate change, Dr.
Gebeyeyu said, has a significant impact on the social and economic
development of the IGAD region and other parts of Africa.
“The region is particularly exposed to the
shocks of climate extremes mainly due to the economic significance of
our rain-fed agriculture. Climate-related risks also affect water
resources, health, energy, and tourism. Scarce resources such as
water and pastures due to climate change lead to insecurity and
displacement,” he warned.
He added that recent advances in science and
technology offer significant hope in improving the quality of
climate services. He said his organization through the IGAD Climate
Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) avails and promotes
accessibility to timely climate early warning advisories that help
communities deal with any potential adverse effects precipitated by
climate change.
“The centre supports specific sector
applications to enable the region cope with various risks associated
with climate variability and changes. ICPAC organizes regional
climate outlook forums before the onset of the major rainfall seasons
to release regional consensus climate guidance, assess associated
impacts and develop sector specific mitigation strategies,” Dr.
Gebeyehu said, adding that since February 1998, ICPAC has
organized 54 regional climate outlook forums (RCOFs).
To address food insecurity and environmental
degradation, the IGAD boss said his organization was working
with member states and other development and civil society
partners to improve food access especially in the chronically food
insecure areas by boosting agricultural production and facilitating
the movement of food from surplus producing areas to the deficit
ones.
Climate change is real
The Climate Prediction and Application Center
(ICPAC) director, Dr Guleid Artan said climate- related hazards are
becoming more intense and frequent due to climate change.
Unlike in the past, he said 2019
experienced climate extremes, which included eight cyclones
in the western Indian Ocean, which used to experience one or two
cyclones every couple of years. The October, November to December
rainfall season was one of the wettest on record and rains have
continued into January, which is usually a dry season, he noted. He
said in the first part of the year, most of the equatorial sector of
the region got prolonged droughts.
The delegates were also alarmed to learn that July
2019 was the warmest month globally since 1880. Moreover, a recent
report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) now indicates
that January 2020 is the warmest month on record based on global
average temperature.
“From data published in the last 10 days, 2019
was the second warmest year on record, just 0.04°C behind 2016 that
was the warmest year for global temperature. He also attributed the
desert locust invasion in the region to favorable conditions,
warm temperatures, excessive rains which provided the insects with
ample vegetation to feed on.
Key facts
The GCCA+ Programme/project will run for three
years from June 2019 to June 2022.
Countries: The project is
being implemented in the eight Inter-Governmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) countries namely, Uganda, Djibouti, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.
