02/02/2005 – The impact
of global warming will be felt by the world’s
poorest people, particularly in Africa,
according to a report commissioned by WWF.
The report — The Economic, Developmental
and Livelihood Implications of Climate Induced
Depletion of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
in Africa — reveals the detrimental effect
global warming will have on human and economic
development by threatening people’s health
and their ability to deal with illness.
“Every record shows that climate change
is happening, both past records and predictive
models,” said Dr Anthony Nyong, the coordinating
lead author of the study. “What is less
well discussed is the potential devastating
impact of climate change on poverty eradication.
The reality is that they go hand in hand
and can not be separated.”
According to some estimates, by 2080 climate
change will place an additional 80–120 million
people at risk of hunger; 70 to 80 per cent
of these will be in Africa. Any impact that
climate change has on natural systems is
expected to threaten the livelihoods, food
intake, and health of many people living
in Africa’s more marginal regions and areas
with low agricultural productivity.
While the majority of the impact studies
have concentrated on extreme events such
as floods and droughts in Africa, few have
focused on the gradual, accumulating impacts
of global warming on livelihoods and economic
development on the continent.
“In Africa, studies have shown that a warming
of up to 2 degrees Celsius would bring with
it a set of impacts to the continent’s rich
but fragile ecosystem,” said Dr Catarina
Cardoso, Head of WWF-UK’s Climate Change
programme.
“If global warming is not tackled the viability
of millions of people’s livelihoods in Africa
will be undermined. Without significant
new resources, millions of others won’t
be able to adapt to changes that are already
happening.”
According to some scientists, global warming
will increase the incidence of floods, warming,
and drought — all of which are factors in
disease transmission. In South Africa, it
is estimated that the area suitable for
malaria will double and that 7.2 million
people will be at risk. This could affect
economies, with resources being redirected
away from economic development to maintain
people’s health.
It is also expected that a future change
in climate will also impact on people’s
ability to tackle illness as more plants
species used for traditional medicines go
extinction. The World Health Organization
estimates that 80 per cent of the world’s
population in developing countries rely
on these plants for primary health care.
“Industrialized countries need to rapidly
speed up their efforts to cut down greenhouse
gas emissions to avoid dangerous climate
change that will have a disproportional
impact on Africa’s people,” Dr Nyong added.
