Hunger: the new phase of climate change in Africa 

Climate change is transforming the planet’s ecosystems and threatening the well-being of current and future generations, increasing the rate of food shortage as a result of droughts, water shortage, and high temperatures globally.

 

Ever since the first climate talks in Geneva in 1979, there have been a series of climate talks, yet no profound solutions has been attained. This has driven world leaders and scientist into postulating false solutions to climate change which is rapidly driving the world into hunger and food shortages. The issue of food shortages and hunger has gradually given rise to a rapid bio-technological advancement which in turn has resulted to mass environment degradation, more loss of land, and has affected the livelihood of local farmers.

 
It was reported on the 9th of October 2012, in Rome –that about 870 million people, or one in eight persons, were suffering from chronic undernourishment and hunger in 2010-2012 (according to the new UN hunger report released). The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012 (SOFI), jointly published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP), presents better estimates of chronic undernourishment and hunger based on an improved methodology and data for the last two decades.

Among the vast majority of the undernourished and hungry people, 852 million people live in developing countries which is about 15 percent of their population, while 16 million people are undernourished in developed countries. With such figures, it shows that climate induced hunger is much stronger now than what it used to be. A few decades ago this was as a result of an increase in the emissions from fossil fuels, gas flares, and greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.
 
Among these undernourished and hungry people, Africa has been the only region where the number of hungry people has increased over the period- from 175 million to 239 million, with nearly 20 million added in the past four years. The prevalence of hunger which has reduced over the entire period, has risen slightly over the past three years from 22.6 percent to 22.9 percent - with nearly one in four hungry. In sub-Saharan Africa, the modest progress achieved in recent years up to 2007 was reversed, with hunger rising 2 percent per year since then. Developed regions also saw the number of the hungry rise from 13 million in 2004-2006 to 16 million in 2010-2012. This reversed a steady decrease in previous years from 20 million in 1990-1992.
 
All this has been a result of increase droughts, increase in temperature, monoculture and land grabbing resulting from false solutions postulated by scientistist from developed nations where pollution is on the increase due to their quest for technological advancement. This has caused more harm to the global environment than good. Food availability and access to adequate food constitute one of the most basic and essential requirements for maintaining a healthy and productive life. Presently, hunger and malnutrition comprise the major threats to human health (World Food Programme, 2009), and climate change will continue to affect all aspects of food security, especially in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, where more than 1 billion young men and women live.
 
Food insecurity and shortage is likely to pose a major challenge for developing countries that are vulnerable to extreme weather events and countries that have low incomes and a high incidence of hunger and poverty (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007b; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2009b). Inhabitants of these regions are already at risk and will find it very difficult to overcome food production and income losses resulting from extreme weather events. This situation could mean short-term and long-term losses in food availability and access. Short-term infrastructural damage from extreme weather events of growing intensity can also make food distribution difficult.
 
The most affected region hit by compromised food security will be the rural areas of Africa, where more than half of the region’s young people live. The greatest challenge faced within this context will arise from the impact of climate change on water resources available for agricultural utilization and domestic uses. In rural Africa, groundwater and rainfall are essential inputs for food production and are the main sources of potable water.
 
One area currently experiencing a serious water deficit is the Sahel region where longer and more intense droughts constitute one of the most dramatic climatic changes recorded in any region. This situation is expected to worsen in the coming years, affecting more than 60 million young women and men. Outside the Sahel, groundwater supplies are expected to decrease by as much as 10 per cent, even with a 1oC increase in temperature.
 
Although less developed nations are likely to face a greater threat to food security, developed countries may be affected as well. In northern Australia and the southern United States, for example, food production could decline as a result of drier surface conditions too. Climate change mitigation processes has posed an additional challenge to food availability globally. Ironically, some climate change mitigation efforts have undermined food security, especially in less developed regions of the world.
 
The production of biofuels and other forms of bioenergy presents one of the greatest challenges in this regard. Bioenergy is the largest new source of agricultural demand in recent years, and this has important implications for food production and availability in areas where agricultural capacity is diminishing. It takes a lot more grain to power the world than to feed it. The corn equivalent of the energy used for a few minutes of driving would feed a person for an entire day, and that same person could be fed for a year with the equivalent energy burned from a full tank of ethanol in a four-wheel-drive sports utility vehicle.
 
REDD+ A carbon offset mechanisms is also another major challenge in this regard a process whereby indusralized Northern countries use forest, agriculture, soils, and even water as sponges for their pollution instead of reducing greenhouse gas emissons at source, which results to land grabbing in developing nations thereby reducing land space for agriculture and food production which inturn leads to food shortage and hunger. These processes are no longer just false solutions to climate change but a new way of colonialism in order to false feed Africans in developing countries with Genetically Modified Organisms in this regard food crops manufactured in the laboratory.
 
These climate change false solutions such as Biofuels production, bioenergy generation,  REDD+ projects and GMOs should be rejected and resisted by developing nations.
 
Developed nations of the world should heed to the reduction of carbon emissions so as to reduced the impact of climate change glabally to “below 2 degrees Celsius” and avoid “climate change, deep cuts in global emissions which is urgently required.

What Is Water and Do We Have Enough?

Cadmus Atake-E

Natural Water Source

 

 

Water, H2O, is one natural resource that is abundant in our environment, yet it is gradually running scarce.
So, What Is Water?
It is a natural occurring resource made up of 2 Atoms of Hydrogen ions and One atom of Oxygen connected by a covalent bond. It is a universal solvent whose uses cut across all aspects of our daily lives - such as washing, cooking, bathing, recreational, and agricultural use to name a few. Water is one resource which over the years has been a source of territorial and communal clashes. It is a major factor in human development and is vital for all known forms of life. It exists in various forms: solid (ice),liquid (water) and gas (vapour). It has its sources from rain water, melting ice, rivers, streams, oceans, wells, water vapors, and bore holes. Water is a renewable natural resource which occupies about 71% of the earth's surface, yet it a scarce resource because its normal bio circle is currently being altered by human activities and climate change.
Why is water a scarce resource?
Though water exists in a large volume on the earth's surface, approximately 1 billion people still lack access to it because more than half of the water on the earth's surface has been polluted. In a recent report: 500 scientists said that the "majority of the 9 billion people on Earth will live with severe pressure on fresh water within the space of two generations as climate change, pollution and over-use of resources take their toll, they warned." The world's water systems would soon reach a tipping point that "could trigger irreversible change with potentially catastrophic consequences", hence they called on governments to start conserving the vital resource. They said it was wrong to see fresh water as an endlessly renewable resource because, in many cases, people are pumping out water from underground sources at such a rate that it will not be restored within several lifetimes. "These are self-inflicted wounds," said Charles Vörösmarty, a professor at the Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Centre. "We have discovered tipping points in the system. Already, there are 1 billion people relying on ground water supplies that are simply not there as renewable water supplies."
Let's Talk Population and Water Supply!
A majority of the population – about 4.5 billion people globally – already live within 50km of an "impaired" water resource – one that is running dry, or polluted. If these trends continue, millions more will see their water running out or polluted that it will no longer support life.
Relating this to Nigeria: Currently you will realise that an average Nigerian home is a local government of its own, where families provide their own electricity, provide their own revenue and their own water from either dug wells or bore holes. People drink directly without proper treatment or laboratory testing to know if the water is safe for utilisation or not. A typical example of this is the Ogoni area in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria in an area. The UNEP report in 2010 revealed that the Ogoni area underground water is polluted with Benzene a cancerous chemical to about 300 times above the recommended standard, but yet they till utilise it because they have no other source of safe drinking water. The Nigerian Niger Delta region is a region filled with water yet they are experiencing water scarcity already.
Where Is Government Help?
It beats my imagination to see that our government can no longer take water issues seriously. This is gradually resulting to an excessive wastage coupled with water pollution from oil spills, underground leakages, buried pipelines and leaching of chemicals and fertilizers into water bodies by individuals and cooperate organisation, yet the governments are not doing anything to remediate this situation.
It has been reported also that in recent time the run-off from agricultural fertilisers containing nitrogenous chemicals has created over 200 large "dead zones" in seas, and rivers where fish and other aquatic organisms can no longer live. Cheap technology to pump water from underground and rivers, has also led to the over-use of scarce resources for irrigation or industrial purposes, with much of the water wasted because of poor techniques.
A rapidly rising population has increased demand beyond the capability of some water resources. This report came at the right time, when the governments of the world are busy transacting CDM and Carbon credit businesses and neglecting the basic issues of finding a sustainable solution to climate change. These threats are numerous. Climate change is likely to cause an increase in the frequency and severity of droughts, floods, heat-waves and storms.
These scientists warned that the developed world would also suffer. For instance, there are now 210 million citizens of the US living within 10 miles of an "impaired" water source, and that number is likely to rise as the effects of global warming take hold.
In Europe, some water sources are running dry because due to over-extraction for irrigation, much of which is carried on in an unsustainable fashion. In a similar vain the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, added his voice to concerns about water security: "We live in an increasingly water insecure world where demand often outstrips supply and where water quality often fails to meet minimum standards. Under current trends, future demands for water will not be met."
These scientist at the end of their research came up with a resolution that: Politicians should include tough new targets on improving water in the sustainable development goals that will be introduced when the current millennium development goals expire in 2015. They want governments to introduce water management systems that will address the problems of pollution, over-use, wastage and climate change.
What Should Be Done, But What Do YOU Think?
The water issue is a global affair and thus a well strategic management and monitoring system should be adopted by the government.
Highly polluted regions like Niger Delta region in Nigeria should be supplied with safe drinking water from well treated, purified and distributed water source so as to curb the high rate of water borne disease victims in that region.
Integrating nature-based solutions into urban planning can also help us build better water futures for cities, where water stresses may be especially acute given the rapid pace of urbanisation."(Ban Ki-moon)
In order to solve this menace of water scarcity globally we must adapt a sustainable water management plan to mitigate the impact of water scarcity in Africa, Nigeria and the rest of the world.


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