The current and expected effects of climate change differ locally, nationally and regionally. According to Climate Change Profile: Greater Horn of Africa, the impacts of climate change effects on livelihoods, food and water security, ecosystems, infrastructure etc. differ per country and region as well as community and individual, with gender a particularly important vulnerability factor.
When it comes to tackling climate change to prevent the impacts it causes in the different systems of the planet, the human being applies two types of measures: Mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation measures are those actions that are taken to reduce and curb greenhouse gas emissions, while adaptation measures are based on reducing vulnerability to the effects of climate change. Mitigation, therefore, attends to the causes of climate change, while adaptation addresses its impacts.
The Economic Commission for Africa is applying the well- known dynamic modeling technique in its climate adaptation work. The focus of the approach is on disaster risk reduction, climate information services and green economy policy. This modeling work is designed to support development planning aimed at leveraging investments to accelerate progress. It builds on existing work, and practically integrates economic assessments with social and environmental impacts, so that planning exercises at the sectoral level become more effective.
The fifty second Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum (GHACOF 52) for June to September 2019 rainfall season has held here in Addis Ababa, recently under the theme of “Mitigation of Climate Risks for Resilience Building.” Dr. Seleshi Bekele, Minister, Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy attended the forum as the guest of honor. Speaking at the opening session he said that the forum is convened at a time when concerns for impacts of climate variability and climate change have reached high levels at national and international levels. Impacts of climate variability have strong implications on seasonal forecasts.
Adding he said, “We are observing an increasing trend in frequency, intensity and severity of droughts and floods causing loss of lives and property in the Greater Horn of Africa.”
The sectors affected by the climate variability, as of the minister, include agriculture and food security, water resources, disaster management, energy, tourism and health. Impacts of climate variability and climate change are not limited to these but in the form of extreme events might also aggravate ethnic conflicts linked to competition over natural resources that are increasingly becoming scarce as a result of and compounded by many other contributing causes.
In particular, the minister further explained that, as June to September is the main rainy season for the northern sector of IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Center (ICPAC) region of responsibility, getting a prior knowledge of the seasonal climate would be a pre-requisite step for the policy makers, planners and disaster risk managers in order to design short and medium term social and economic strategies.
“This forum is therefore, an excellent opportunity for the regional scientists and users to address the governments’ concern regarding the impacts of climate variability, particularly for those who come from the region where June-July-August-September is the main rainy season,” he added.
Expressing the pledge of his nation, he said that the Federal Government of Ethiopia is seriously considering how to strengthening the National Meteorological Agency (NMA) for adaptation and mitigation of impacts caused by climate change, variability and extreme weather event in the country. In particular, the government has put a lot of challenges on NMA to contribute for the realization of the country’s Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) and Climate Resilience Green Economy (CRGE). “On the regional level, I am assuring that the government is continuing to its support to ICPAC so that it can fulfill its regional commitment in fostering the science of climate and its application in the IGAD region.”
Fetene Teshome, Director General, National Agency (NMA, co-organizer of the forum), and prominent representative of Ethiopia with World Meteorological Organization (WMO), on his part said that weather and climate are some of the major risk factors impacting our globe. Extreme weather and climate events such as severe droughts, floods, or temperature extremes often strongly impede sustainable development, particularly in the tropics and sub-tropics.
“The Greater Horn of Africa, like other regions, is highly vulnerable to climate variability and change as well as natural disaster of weather and climate cause such as droughts and floods, which affect significantly the different socio-economic sectors of the region,” he noted.
Extending his speech, the director said that agriculture and water resource sectors continued to face major challenges. Rural livelihoods remain extremely vulnerable to weather and climate variability and change, as food production is mainly rain –fed in the developing world. Despite extensive use of meteorological data in the weather and climate sensitive sectors, multidisciplinary integrated approaches in addressing the applicability and the socio-economic benefit of weather and climate information and services have been limited.
Effective and efficient utilization of weather and climate information, as of the director, may go a long way in alleviating and mitigate natural hazards. The services renders by NMA include, not only limited to weather and climate monitoring and forecasting, agro and hydro-meteorological advisories, but also availing real-time and historical climate data for researchers, policy strategists, construction engineers, energy analysts and other social scientists.
In this regard, most of the research works on Ethiopia published in any form are definitely based on the climate data that NMA has archived since the beginning of twentieth century in the National Data Bank.
The director further explained that through its more than half century journey, NMA has witnessed that the Government of Ethiopia on its parts has realized the value of climate information in combating impacts of recurrent droughts and to tackle strategically the effect of climate variability and change. NMA is continued to provide all technical supports as well as services for the public in general and government policy makers in particular, he assured.
Dr. Guleid Artan, Director of ICPAC for his part said that climate related hazards are becoming more intense and frequent due climate change. “Our region in the past few years has several extreme climate induced disasters. The just concluding raining season in the equatorial sector of the region, the March to May (MAM) 2019 seasonal rainfalls has been delayed over eastern sector of the region.”
ICPAC supports member states Disaster Risk Management (DRM) programs. One of the most important tools in that regard is the Regional Climate Outlook Forum. Products developed and issued at the GHACOFs help in the early warning for early action systems both at national and regional levels and to encourage Climate Smart Development in all sectors to facilitate DRM, climate change adaptation and enhance resilience, he noted.
The core concept of the GHACOF, as of the director, is to deliver consensus based, user-relevant climate outlook products in real time through regional cooperation and partnership. “By bringing together countries that have common climatological characteristics, the forum ensures consistency in the access to and interpretation of climate information.”
Representative of World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Dr. Maxx Dily, has also made his remarks on the occasion. He said that it is a credit to meteorological services of the region, ICPAC and others those continued in action to realize the forum.
“This period from the first Horn of Africa Forum to today has seen enormous changes. At the time when the first forum was being organized it was to respond to the major El Niño event of 19197 and 1998 to raise awareness about climate and El Niño and impacts it could have in different regions of the world. At that time you can read a sector strategy for agriculture, for Africa along for the world climate.
If you found it, it is all about to treat climate of uncertainty. Now, climate change dominates the international policy agenda there has been a tsunami of climate financing that is come on line. There is a huge and growing demand for climate services that I think all of us are now struggling to try to meet the needs and to supply the information.”
The Ethiopian Herald, June 11/2019
BY BACHA ZEWDIE
