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Ruth Butaumocho
Africa Agenda
Recent flooding that took place in Malawi, Nigeria, drought in Somalia and the severity of natural disasters that have been hitting Africa in the last few years confirm scientists’ worrying climatic projections across the globe.
The upending weather patterns that have been sweeping across the globe, wreaking havoc through extreme weather conditions such as tornadoes, droughts and high temperatures being experienced in different continents, have become unsettling.
And it appears what is happening is only the beginning, amid reports that the temperatures could soar to all time high in the next few years, if necessary actions are not taken to slow down global warming.
A recent report from the World Metrological Organisation says it is most certain the world is going to witness the hottest year in record between now and 2027.
The report states that the soaring temperatures will largely be driven by human-caused warming and a climate pattern known as El Niño.
According to research done by weather forecasters, El Niño conditions can cause further turmoil by shifting global precipitation patterns.
The meteorological organisation said it was expecting increased summer rainfall over the next five years in sub-Saharan Africa and in some instances reduced rainfall in some parts of the continent.
The last record hot year, 2016, was an El Niño year.
By contrast, La Niña conditions have dominated for much of the past three years: while they have been unusually warm, they were still slightly below 2016 levels.
Now, scientists are expecting El Niño conditions to return later this year.
Should that anticipated change in weather prevail, the consequences will be dire, much worse than what the world has already experienced in previous natural disasters owing to the effects of climate change.
Impact on human health, agriculture, health, food security, water management and environment will be unmeasurably, a development that calls for a litany of mitigation measures and progressive forward planning strategies to reduce the level of catastrophic situations.
It is now imperative to take stock of the recommendations made at the COP 27 meeting held in Egypt last year to see the progress made so far and how best the lagging issues can be expedited for the benefit of everyone.
Some of the key recommendations made included holding business and institutions to account, maintaining a clear intention to keep and limiting global warming to 1,5degrees Celsius and mobilising more financial support for developing nations.
A commitment to implement and establish a dedicated fund to provide loss and damage funding for vulnerable countries hit hard by floods, droughts and other climate disasters was also made.
The financial commitment was widely lauded as a historic decision, receiving a thunderous applause from the delegates.
Such a commitment was regarded as acknowledgement that countries now appreciated the consequential effects of climate change.
Such a move meant that the fund will not be applied selectively, and will also assist developing countries in the rehabilitation of some of the affected areas affected by the adverse weather conditions.
But has that happened yet?
It remains unclear. But if it did, then Malawi is yet to receive it.
When floods hit Malawi, the Malawian government which only had US$1.5 million in its coffers to assist victims had to reach out to its African counterparts for help.
Little trickled from some of the major economies, including nearly US$10 million from the Scotland’s climate fund.
Malawi’s reprieve came from its neighbours and other African member states who saw the need to reach out to a brother in need.
This is despite the fact that major global economies are actually responsible for the carbon emissions resulting in the global warming that is contributing some of the major disasters the world is now battling with.
By contrast, the African continent, which is home to 15 percent of the world’s population is responsible for only four percent of global carbon emissions, and yet they are being affected by the most by global climate disaster.
Even the historic pledge by major economies that they will raise US$100 million by 2025 for Africa’s green revolution, has remained as such- a pledge- with two years to go before the deadline.
Making adjustments to achieve zero global carbon emissions constitutes what political scientists would call a public good, a development that now requires Africa to take a Pan African approach in fighting climate change.
Already the adverse weather patterns happening in the continent clearly show that climate change and climate variability are the biggest obstacles to the continent’s development as African economies are predominantly dependent on climate sensitive sectors like agriculture.
This has resulted in millions facing food shortages, exposing the continent to poverty and under development.
Even on its own Africa’s knowledge on climate change, the level of technical expertise in Africa and in the African Diaspora, riding on the continent’s knowledge systems can be a good basis needed to consolidate its resilience to climate change.
Through various channels and mediums of communication, Africa now needs to give prominence to its indigenous knowledge, recognising and appreciating the expert knowledge that each African community possesses.
For decades, both subsistence’s and commercial farmers in Africa have gone through a series of bad weather situations in the past.
As a result, they have acquired some experiences and developed home grown methods to address these challenges.
Over time, African communities, have accumulated a wealth of traditional knowledge on a wide variety of agro-ecological solutions to prevent food crises, while fostering their resilience to climatic shocks and on capacities to adapt to natural emergencies.
Such knowledge, including that of scientists and researchers, can be useful in planning climate adaptation and resilience strategies.
In addition, they can contribute to the much needed solutions to contemporary challenges, if properly harnessed.
Several indigenous knowledge approaches to environmental conservation include shifting cultivation, mixed cropping, intercropping, and minimum tillage and agroforestry systems, which sustained African communities for years while also preserving the environment.
Some of these practices are still being used in some parts of Southern Africa where they have proved to be effective in improving yields, while conserving the environment.
To this day, most African countries have not totally abandoned their traditional ways of cropping and caring for livestock, but have actually become the way of life.
In Kenya, the Maasai pastoralists effectively use the land they have because they know that it is important to optimise their utilisation of rangeland resources for maximum meat and milk production.
In Zimbabwe, it is common knowledge that locals study the life cycle of certain trees and animals, which they use to predict events in the climate system, ranging from temperature and seasonal changes to drought, wind and floods.
A seasoned local farmer will tell you that seeing an abundance of termite colonies collecting plant biomass into their mounds, or the appearance of migratory birds are usually all associated with a normal or above normal rainfall season.
The knowledge remains relevant in some communities to this day and can contribute towards enhancing societies’ adaptive capacity, especially in light of limitations in official climate assessments.
The fight against climate change will certainly not be an event, but a gradual process which requires concerted efforts from all ends.
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