“When I started school the maize and the sorghum were always high. But nowadays, when my sons go to school they can still see over it.” (Villager from Gaoua, Burkina Faso)
The consequences of global warming are ringing alarm bells worldwide. Extreme weather events, like floods and drought, threaten the lives of millions of people worldwide - especially in Africa, the world’s poorest continent and most dependent on agriculture and forestry.
The latest UN Climate Report, released in November 2007, predicts that between 75 and 250 million people on the continent will face increased water stress by 2020. This at a time when water resources are already spread dangerously thin. The report also states that in some African countries, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 per cent by 2020.
For African people, no longer can “climate change” be viewed as some obscure, political concept. It is here and it is now. With the majority of the African population depending on natural resources, and no apparent quick fix to halt global warming, adaptation to altered circumstances appears to be the only immediate solution.
As a whole, however, African livelihoods are particularly vulnerable to climate change and people’s capacity to adapt and prepare for global warming is currently very low.
“Widespread poverty, weak institutions and inadequate government policies hamper African farmers’ ability to respond effectively to increased climate variability”, says Maria Brockhaus, a CIFOR researcher based in Burkina Faso.
On a continent where public funds are scarce and public need is overwhelming, national governments are increasingly looking for solutions by collaborating with partners.
A case in point is Burkina Faso, in West Africa.
In 2006 the Government of Burkina Faso drew up a National Adaptation Plan. It now works together with NGOs, researchers, farmers and donor agencies to tackle Burkina’s considerable environmental challenges.
According to Yacouba Coulibaly, a CIFOR scientist working on climate change adaptation, much of Burkina Faso’s food comes from areas that are especially sensitive to climate change.
“Burkina Faso is a landlocked country with an economy that depends heavily on agriculture, pastoral activities, fisheries and forestry,” says Coulibaly.
“About 90 per cent of the population in the region depends on forest herbs and tree products for primary healthcare, food, fodder and for domestic energy supply - fuelwood and charcoal. These precious resources will be severely affected if steps to prepare and adapt to climate change aren’t implemented now. Fortunately Burkina Faso is making an effort.”
Adaptation to climate change in the agricultural sector refers to the use of different resources, sites or techniques to sustain the same level of harvest under altered circumstances. This may involve raising new crops or varieties, farming in different areas, altering irrigation systems, or even turning to other livelihood options.
In Burkina Faso, CIFOR’s research into appropriate adaptation responses includes working with the Government of Burkina Faso to help people whose livelihoods are closely linked with the condition of the natural forests.
“CIFOR staff and government colleagues identified a number of priority research areas,” says Brockhaus. “It was essential to narrow these down to the most crucial livelihood areas, those that would cause most human suffering if affected by climate change. These were bio-energy, water and non-timber forest products.”
While this is a good start, much remains to be done. Climate change issues are complex and researching them requires very high levels of expertise. But Burkina Faso is a developing country, and people with the right research skills are few and far between.
CIFOR is helping to address this shortage by offering fellowships to local and international students through its climate change projects.
All these efforts to understand climate change and adapt to its impacts will not make sorghum and maize on the road to school grow taller overnight. But they will ensure that these and other resources continue to nourish the African people for generations to come.
TroFCCA – The Tropical Forests & Climate Change Adaptation project
TroFCCA is a joint initiative between CIFOR and the Tropical Agricultural Center for Research and Higher Education (CATIE). Funded by the European Union, the project seeks to improve the limited understanding of tropical forest ecosystems and forest dependent communities, specifically with regards to their vulnerability to climate change and their need to adapt to its impacts.
|
Climate change, migration and conflict
“In the villages of Djomga and Gnalalaye – in northern Burkina Faso - the local communities told me that several tree species, such as the Baobab, had completely disappeared or were disappearing,” said CIFOR researcher Monica Idinoba. “This can be attributed to the many years of drought in the region, in combination with unsustainable use.”
“People from the north of Burkina Faso and other provinces that suffer from desertification and degradation, often move to more favorable places, like Noumbiel and Poni in the southwest, which traditionally enjoy favorable weather and a vast amount of natural resources,” says Idinoba.
“Since 90 per cent of the people in Burkina depend on fuel wood for heating and cooking, trees in these provinces are getting felled at an alarming rate. Fewer trees also mean less forest-derived foods and medicines, and for a growing population highly dependent on these resources, this can have enormous consequences.”
As well as the influx of people and resulting deforestation, CIFOR researcher Maria Brockhaus says it appears that the favourable weather and abundance of natural resources in the southwest is also in flux. “In several villages people told us that the harvests are lower and they generally say it's due to less rain and increasing temperatures,” said Brockhaus.
“It is a kind of vicious cycle: climate change leads to land degradation and deforestation, which causes large migrations that lead to further deforestation and degradation elsewhere. What's more, climate change can also lead to conflicts over land and access to strategic resources”. JR, TC |