Climate change threatens Africa’s growth

Opinion and Analysis

 

West Karachuonyo resident Mary Atieno crosses a dry water pan during a drought. The devastating effects of climate change are already being felt across the planet, including in Africa. FILE PHOTO | JACOB OWITI |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By RICHARD MUNANG and JESICA ANDREWS

In Summary

• Resilient ecosystems are required to promote the wise use of biodiversity and natural inputs. Such wise use will preserve the natural environment from degradation and ensure that it remains productive and continues to contribute to economic development.

The devastating effects of climate change are already being felt across the planet, including in Africa.

The 2011 drought-induced famine in the Horn of Africa affected more than 10 million people, claimed 257,000 lives and cost more than $1 billion (Sh89.3 billion) in damages.

The recent Africa Adaptation Gap Report by the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) warns that climate change could reduce total crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa by as much as 20 per cent by 2070. Worse still, it could begin to affect Africa’s trade potential.

For example, a projected sea-level rise in Tanzania of 70 centimetres by 2070 could devastate the port city of Dar es Salaam, its largest and richest city and a major player in East Africa trade, and cost the country about $10 billion (Sh892.8 billion) in property damages and related losses. Environmentalists warn that rising sea levels could cause severe flooding, submerge land and destroy coastal ecosystems.

Is Africa under a climate change siege? Can the region expand its trade under current conditions? Experts say yes to both questions, but, in addition to reducing barriers to new and existing trade, countries will have to use their ecosystems to protect the continent’s productive sectors from the negative impact of climate change.

Resilient ecosystems are required to promote the wise use of biodiversity and natural inputs. Such wise use will preserve the natural environment from degradation and ensure that it remains productive and continues to contribute to economic development.

With the World Bank stressing that food production for rapidly growing urban and rural populations will be the largest growth opportunity for African farmers, the agricultural sector must come up with climate-proof strategies.

While Africa currently produces staple food worth $50 billion (Sh4.5 trillion) per year, the bank has found that the region could add an extra $20 billion (Sh1.8 trillion) annually if it dismantles trade barriers in agriculture. For example, West Africa could cut its transport costs by half in less than a decade if its agricultural trade policies were designed to serve as building blocks rather than as roadblocks to economic growth, says the bank.

Additionally, as climate change worsens, industries and agriculture will need to respond. Experts recommend increased production of environmental goods and services (EGS) as a viable option. The EGS are benefits that can be derived from healthy ecosystems and include clean air, fresh water, purification of air and water from forests, pollination of crops and groundwater recharge through wetlands.

Valued at $690 billion (Sh61.6 trillion) in 2006, increasing global demand for EGS could be worth $1.9 trillion (Sh169.6 trillion) by 2020, according to Unep.

To boost trade, therefore, experts stress the need to diversify exports beyond commodities and for governments to initiate policies that allow more people to participate in trade. But does sustainable use of ecosystems accomplish this goal?

“Rethinking possibilities” is the phrase development experts use to reinforce the point that it is possible to use natural resources as productive assets. By using ecosystem services properly, Africa could protect its natural resources and increase its trade volume within the continent and with the rest of the world. And such protection comes with minimal or no additional costs.

A few ecosystem approaches, such as the use of “native pollinators,” are already gaining popularity. Also referred to as “the farmer befriending the bee,” this approach presumes bees’ habitats are protected when farmers minimise tillage, allow crops to flower, plant hedgerows or windbreaks with flowering shrubs, reduce or eliminate pesticide use and work with surrounding land owners to protect natural areas.

By investing in the protection of bees’ natural habitats, farmers are investing in their crops. Bees and the sustainable use of other management techniques can increase crop yields by as much as five per cent, according to the Proceedings B journal, published by the Royal Society of Biological Sciences.

Moreover, these techniques reward farmers with better-quality produce to sell. For example, in Burkina Faso, where shea nuts are the second-most-exported cash crop (after cotton), ecosystem-based techniques could improve the quality of shea nuts and ensure sustainable production methods.