Wisdom Mdzungairi
9 December 2011
International development institutions should assist Africa to embark on climate change initiatives aimed at restoring and preventing the desertification of sub-Saharan Africa, and protect the vast Congo Basin rain forest.
The Congo Basin, home to the world’s second largest tropical rain forest, covers an area the size of India.
These forests contain the largest repository of biodiversity on the continent, extending across five countries – Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Central African Republic.
This was revealed at a panel discussion of African leaders and international development organisations on the combined efforts to protect and enhance the key natural resources of sub-Saharan Africa hosted by the Global Environment Facility chief executive officer and chairperson Monique Barbut.
Other panelists included African development Bank president Donald Kaberuka, World Bank vice president Rachel Kyte, African Union Commission president Jean Ping and representatives of South Africa, Ethiopia, Chad, Congo, Gabon and Senegal.
The event came a year after Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, representing Africa, presented the three initiatives as priorities of the African Union at the Cancun COP 16.
The GEF, which is the world’s largest public funder of international environmental projects, is funding the projects and coordinating the co-financing to the tune of $2, 36 billion for the three initiatives together.
Barbut said: “The nations involved, and their allies in the international community, (should) seek ways to pursue sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa through careful management and protection of natural resources, including land, water and forests.
“These nations, spanning a vast region from the Sahel to the Congo basin, fully understand what is at stake for their own people and their national economies. The lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of Africans depend on sustaining the health of these fragile ecosystems.”
Kaberuka said these initiatives reflected the importance of merging economic and environmental priorities.
The Great Green Wall project focuses on sustainability and resistance to climate change in the Sahel.
Drought, land degradation and water scarcity, perennial problems in this region, are now exacerbated by climate variability, Kaberuka said, adding, careful management of scarce natural resources is critical not only to the livelihoods of millions in this region covering five percent of the continent, but also to survival.
The Great Green Wall Initiative of the Sahel and Sahara integrates management of dry land forests, agroforestry parklands, agricultural landscapes, and pastoral systems.
Ping said the situation in Africa is dire and strongly supported the three initiatives aimed at restoring Central Africa’s key water resource, preventing the desertification of sub-Saharan Africa, and protecting the vast Congo Basin rain forest.
The means to that end, Ping said, is climate-resilient development, so that economies could grow and livelihoods improve while the natural resources on which lives depend are protected and enhanced.
Climate change projections indicate that nearly one-third of the land base in Africa is under threat of desertification, and the whole continent is on a path to be hit hard by deforestation and drought, along with the reduction of available fresh water and consequent food insecurity. The wellbeing and livelihood of 70% of the continent’s population is at stake.
The Congo Basin Partnership involves local, national and international entities in implementing a collective vision to safeguard these forests as assets for climate-resilient development. At the same time, preservation of this forest system would represent a major contribution by Africa to protecting the global climate.
Lake Chad is the second largest wetland in Africa and a lifeline for nearly 20 million people in central Africa.
The freshwater and rich biodiversity in the lake and surrounding wetlands is shared by Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. But, the surface area of the lake has shrunk dramatically, declining from 25 000 square miles 45 years ago to the current 2 500 square miles.
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