Africa is already the continent hardest hit by the worldwide food crisis, but according to a new report it’s also the one most threatened by global warming.
“The Atlas for Changing Environment in Africa,” published last week by the United Nations Environment Program, is a 400-page publication detailing how climate change is expected to affect the continent — and the outlook is chilling.
According to the Atlas, food production is expected to drop by half by 2020, and a quarter of the continent’s people will have no access to drinking water.
Much of the Atlas is made up of satellite photos of 100 locations in Africa, showing how climate change has already affected the landscape.
In the photos, the famous snow cover of Mount Kilimanjaro appears to be shrinking, and two vital water sources, Lake Chad and Lake Victoria, appear to be drying up.
“Pictures speak volumes of the impact of pollution, environmental deforestation and biodiversity threat among others,” Andre Okombi Salissa, president of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment, told Al Jazeera.
In a U.N. report, Ogunlade Davidson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change noted, “Africa only emits 3.8 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions, but will suffer the most from the climate threat, so it needs to ensure that its voice is heard.”
“Africa is one of the continents least responsible for climate change and is also least able to afford the costs of adaptation,” South African Environment Minister Marthinus Van Schalkwyk told the Los Angeles Times. “Africa will remain vulnerable even if, globally, emissions peak and decline in the next 10 to 15 years.”
–Will Crain/Newsdesk.org
Sources:
“One Voice On Climate Change”
U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, June 12, 2008
“Atlas charts Africa climate change”
Al Jazeera, June 11, 2008
“African landmarks at threat from global warming: UN”
Agence France-Presse, June 10, 2008
“Africa most vulnerable to global warming effects, U.N. says”
Los Angeles Times, June 11, 2008
BLACK AFRICA IS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE HUMAN RACE IN EVERY POSITIVE SCALE OF PROGRESS . TRIBAL INFIGHTING ,CORRUPTION. GREED, MEGALOMANIAC LEADERS,DYSFUNCTIONAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS AND UNREGULATED SOCIAL STRUCTURE ALL CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONTINENTS SUFFERING.WHAT THEY NEED IS THE EUROPEAN STYLE UNION, A MARSHALL PLAN FOR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS LIKE IRRIGATION, DAMS,AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES WITH GOVERNMENT FUNDING,OR KIBBUTZ FORM OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND
GOVERNANCE.AFRICA SHOULD HAVE A VISION AND A MISSION OF BECOMING LIKE THE NEW CHINA. THEY SHOULD BE WEANED FROM THE FOREIGN AID MENTALITY AND BE PROUD AND INDEPENDENT AS ANY OTHER PROGRESSIVE PLACE IN THE GLOBE.
if all of us humans still living do not do anything about this global warming, we could be living a horrible life in the future, so i suggest that we all work together and we could make a difference.
well wilmer you seem uninformed come to kenya thet is a very good example of the new africa…well governed and trying to step out of foreign aid.harsh comments will not solve anything..make a difference by doing something constructive for africa.
WANJIRO,
THANKS FOR THE RESPONSE. I’M GLAD TO KNOW THAT KENYA IS IN TH FOREFRONT IN CREATING A NEW AFRICA. PLEASE LET US KNOW HOW YOUR COUNTRY IS DEALING WITH THE CRISIS IN DARFUR, ZIMBABWE, SOMALIA, ETHIOPIA,AND THE REST OF THE CONTINENT.