Africa is an innocent victim caught up by circumstances, as far as it relates to global warming and the frightening inevitability of climate change. Ethiopia is one of the most at risk nations even by the dire general predictions for Africa. In fact, it can be fair to say that our country has been suffering from climate change for the last four decades with drought cycles shortening and several famines having destroyed millions of lives.
The developed West and increasingly, emerging nations such as Mexico, Brazil and future superpowers India and China, are mainly to blame for having caused already, or are contributing massively to greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere. It is the view of many authoritative figures around the world, including of Strike Mkandla (Phd), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Representative to the A.U., UN/ECA and Ethiopia, to whom Capital’s Addis Mulugeta posed highly topical questions. Excerpts:

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

Capital: What are the key roles of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in creating awareness among African societies towards environment protection?
Dr. Mkandla: UNEP works with the ministries of Environment across Africa on environmental protection and other related issues. The African Ministerial Conference of Environment which has been conducted by UNEP since 1995, is the largest conclave of relevant ministers. The Conference draws environmental policies and helps countries to prepare the African Outlook Report. Last month, UNEP produced the Atlas of Africa which documented dates, facility images and summaries of environmental conditions in the 53 nations on the continent. The African Environmental Information Network also collects data on the continent’s environmental conditions and makes this available for the respective ministers of environment. UNEP also works with these ministries on the implementation of the New Partnership of African Development (NEPAD). NEPAD’s Environmental Action Plan is an on going program on Africa’s environment and has been adopted by African Union Heads of State. Currently, based on the NEPAD environmental initiative, we now have a sub- regional Environmental Action Plan. Some countries including Ethiopia have developed a National Environmental Action Plan. In fact, two years ago Ethiopia extended action on the protection of the environment down to the Woreda (county) level. Cooperation on environmental concerns is the broader sense of our role but we also disseminate related information to the general public as well.
Capital: What are the main challenges of the environment and climate change in Africa?
Dr. Mkandla: It depends on several factors. For instance, some countries experience sustained rainfall in areas that are usually of dry climactic condition. Since vegetation and animals had adapted to the dry climate, the unusual change in the climate affects them to a certain extent. However, this problem intensifies when it is the other way round. When shortage of rain occurs in normally wet areas it affects the agricultural potential of the area and leads to drought and perhaps famine. Extreme climate change causes floods,drought and increasingly unpredictable weather conditions which are affecting all the countries on the continent.
All nations in Africa should be prepared for adaptation strategies from the impact of changes that will affect them as a result of the global climactic situation. Climate change will highly affect poorer countries such as Ethiopia, which are not at all responsible for causing the change. Global warming is the result of the concentration of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, that are released into the atmosphere by industrialized and newly industrializing nations.
Capital: How can Africa mitigate the increasing impacts of climate change?
Dr.Mkandla: Even though the problem is more pronounced in industrialized countries, African nations can contribute to alleviating the impacts. Historically, more than 85% of greenhouse gases that have contributed to the climate change have been from the industrialized countries. To allow the planet to reverse the level of the concentration of greenhouse gases, all nations must cooperate. However, the major part of the mitigation exercise has to be conducted by those countries held to be more responsible for producing greenhouse gases. As for Africa, more is expected on issues of adaptation; to be ready for the changes that are inevitable. What Africa must do is increase tree cover and avoid the continued degradation of the environment. For example, river catchments should not be widened since when a flood occurs the water moves faster and thereby causes more damage. This is a form of preventive action rather than adapting to conditions as such.
Capital: How can UNEP help Africa in terms of obtaining financial and technical support from the developed world which after all, is chiefly responsible for causing climate change?
Dr.Mkandla: There are many financial mechanisms, such as provided by the Bali climate change negotiations. The agreement is that the developed countries should fund the adaptation based on the Global Environment Facilitation that would be based in Washington, DC, USA. This can help support adaptation programs. Also an instrument called the Clean Development Mechanism is a project that intends to bring resources from the developed countries to countries like Ethiopia. Basically, the mechanism is set up to assist countries to use more renewable energy technologies by facilitating loans for new technology.
Capital: To what extent are climate change and environmental degradation affecting food production in Africa?
Dr.Mkandla: In different ways. The first is the effort exerted to produce bio-fuels, with the intention of reducing the reliance on traditional fossil fuels. In that process some countries are starting to use food crops to produce bio-fuel, increasing prices of those food crops. So there is a connection between efforts to shift to bio fuel from fossil fuel, which then drives up food prices. But also there is the issue of reduced capacity to produce in those countries that have been affected by climate change.
Capital: What is Ethiopia’s record in terms of environmental protection?
Dr.Mkandla: I think it is a slow process, like it has been in many countries because environmental protection is competing with other priorities in the country. There is always a lack of funds for environmental activities. However, I think more environmental activities are required for food production, for the assured survival of the country’s biodiversity, more money is needed on agriculture and for possibilities of ecotourism.
Capital: What plans does UNEP have to conserve and protect the environment?
Dr.Mkandla: UNEP continues to assist countries to develop their own environmental protection plan. UNEP can not produce plants for individual governments. What happens is that the governments have their own priorities and then we support them by providing technical information that they need to make the decisions necessary. In the Atlas that was launched, one of the most important examples is the state of Lake Alemaya which has declined rapidly since 1986 and has almost dried up. Agricultural activities around the lake diminished the lake’s water and this was further reduced to supply drinking water to Harar city.