Maathai urges Africa to speak with single voice
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As Africa prepares for the crucial UN climate change meeting in Copenhagen in December, it needs a clear and detailed strategy that will assist it in combating the threat, adapting to as well as mitigating the impact of this global environmental challenge, the Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai says.
She said the adaptation and mitigation agreements must help to achieve sustainable development and alleviate poverty, and should put the emphasis on the most vulnerable people, such as women and children.
Interviewed at the 2nd World Agroforestry Conference in Nairobi, Professor Maathai said Africa must agree on a common position before the meeting.
“It will be unfortunate if we go to this meeting as individual countries. We need a strong and clear voice that will be heard by all,” she said.
Professor Maathai said Africa must make sure its stance would keep its forests intact so they would continue providing essential environmental services such as carbon sinks, reservoirs of biodiversity, water catchments and regulation of climate and rainfall.
Many Africans, especially the poor, will be badly affected by climate change. As they feel the impacts they will compete for political power to control diminishing resources, especially agricultural and grazing land, water and food.
This will lead to conflicts, violence, displacements and migrations, said Maathai. “Our leaders should seriously focus on climate change and embrace mitigation strategies like protecting indigenous forests, halting the shamba system [which promotes alien tree species], charcoal burning, grazing and human settlements in forests. While there are no quick fixes, governments must shield citizens from the unavoidable negative impacts. One strategy is to protect, conserve and restore forests.
“This must be done through the use of indigenous trees, not exotic breeds that come with other environmental problems,” she said.
Professor Maathai says the Copenhagen partnership of African states should negotiate for mechanisms that allow Africans to afford low-carbon energy sources such as solar, wind, bio-fuels, biomass, hydro and geothermal.
Recently 10 African leaders who met in Ethiopia resolved to ask rich countries to pay US$67 billion annually to African countries to lessen the impact of global warming on the world’s poorest continent, Reuters reported.
The meeting, held on August 24, was intended to find a common stance ahead of the UN Copenhagen conference. Africa’s ability to negotiate has been limited seriously in the past because of the lack of a coherent stance on global warming among African governments.
“The negotiating team needs to be backed with political weight at the highest level in the continent to ensure that the African voice in climate change negotiations is taken with the seriousness it deserves,” a press statement from the Africa Union says.
Dennis Garrity, the World Agroforestry Centre’s director general, says he is confident the continent’s leaders will reach a common stance. Many scientific projections unequivocally indicate that Africa will be hit hardest by the impacts of climate change as compared with other continents.
Among other impacts, climate change will fundamentally affect agricultural productivity, increase the prevalence of disease and poverty, increase water stress and trigger conflicts and war. Africa’s development aspirations are at stake unless urgent steps are taken to address the problem of climate change.
