My New Year Resolution for Africa’s Future

“...If there are to be problems, may they come during my life-time so that I can resolve them and give my children the chance of a good life...” - Kenyan proverb

There is an overwhelming outcry worldwide when there is abuse against children. Why? Because we recognize their vulnerability, we acknowledge that they will keep our legacy going when we are no more and we know that they are helpless when it comes to protecting themselves in our ‘rough’ world.

When it comes to making a commitment to making the future better for posterity such as adopting sustainable lifestyles however, the response is usually far less pronounced. People freely express their views on what should be done during disasters; people know what should be done in times of trouble as long as they are not the ones responsible or making sacrifices. It seems that everyone knows what should be done, but no one is ready to pay the price.

I am not sure of what happened to Africa’s rich cultural heritage and the patriotism that was drummed into our heads in nursery and primary school. I grew up to witness the teachers who taught us about the toil of our fathers behaving in manners which I can only describe as “senseless” when they reached different heights. Behaviours that were simply opposite what they taught. I often ask myself if the rules that govern us are different for persons of varying social and economic classes. The once nationalistic preachers who taught passionately about patriotism and sacrificing for the greater good of the nation and future generations seem now to say, “do as I say not as I do”.

We make the daring sacrifices of the leaders who strived for independence and a better future look unnecessary; for if our ancestors only went through all the trouble for us to create even more gruesome situations what then was the use?
As a native of a developing African country, I am gradually growing indifferent to news of policy launches, projects and what has now become known as “the workshop culture”. These used to excite me – they were to me an indication that there is hope. In recent times, I have come to understand that most of them are publicity stunts that rarely get off the drawing board. As Shakespeare would have put it, it is really usually a case of much ado about nothing!

The ministries, departments and agencies are littered with projects and studies addressing issues ranging from health, trade, energy to environmental management. What happens to all the outcomes? I am afraid we have very little to show for all the investments/funds that have been pumped into projects aimed at addressing our problems. It seems to me, we spend a bulk of the funds meeting to draw up plans that have already been drawn and putting up structures as evidence for the money disbursed. . Will our beloved continent always depend on handouts from “development partners”? It is heartbreaking that countries rich in natural resources such as crude oil, gold, diamonds and forest products in Africa have to depend on “development partners” to develop policies on managing all sectors of our economy; depend on “development partners” to launch them and then go further to seek for additional alms to implement the policies. When will our continent stand on its own and stop its Oliver Twist attitude? How do our leaders feel about the future they are leaving for the continent? When will the plans we draw-up come out of the “pipe lines”.

It is about time that we start demanding that our leaders deliver on their promises. It is time to let our leaders know that a bag of wheat once every four years is not enough. The onus does not fall on only them though, we need as individuals to look inside ourselves and contribute to our continent’s development.

As we start a new year, let us resolve to help make the African Continent better than it is now! It is my earnest prayer that the opening Kenyan Proverb guides us in our activities.

Happy New Year!

NB:
The author, Afua S. Prempeh, is a guest writer on GEOTHINKING. She is an environmentalist and writer. A product of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana, and the University of Gloucestershire, UK, has a strong background in Natural Resources Management and Environmental Policy and Management. She currently works at the Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana. Afia's previous articles on GEOTHINKING are the two series on "The Untapped Helper in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Ghana – Waste Management"

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FACTS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE - 1

1.Multiple temperature records from all over the world have all shown a warming trend, and these records have been deemed reliable by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), among others (EPA, 2011). Other observations that point to higher global temperature includes: warmer oceans, melting arctic sea ice and glaciers, sea level rise, increasing precipitation, and changing wind patterns (EPA, 2010)

2.There were times in the distant past when Earth was warmer than it is now. However, human societies have developed and thrived during the relatively stable climate that has existed since the last ice age. Due to excess carbon dioxide pollution, the climate is no longer stable and is instead projected to change faster than at any other time in human history. This rapid climate change will expose people to serious risks. Sea level rise, increasing droughts and wildfires in some regions and increasing flooding in others, more heat waves, and other effects of climate change all pose risks to human health, infrastructure critical to our homes, roads, and cities, and the ecosystems that support us (USGCRP (2009).

3.Plants, oceans, and soils release and absorb large quantities of carbon dioxide as a part of the Earth's natural carbon cycle. These natural emissions and absorptions of carbon dioxide on average balance out over time. However, the carbon dioxide from human activities is not part of this natural balance. Ice core measurements reveal that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are higher than they have been for at least 800,000 years (USGCRP, 2009). The global warming that has been observed in recent decades was caused by elevated levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, due primarily to human activities (NRC, 2011)

4.A few extra cold or snowy winters in your hometown doesn't mean that global warming isn't happening. We know that global average temperatures are rising. However, even with this global warming, at the local or regional level, we can expect to have some colder-than-average seasons or even colder-than-average years. For example, in the Eastern United States, the winters of 2010 and 2011 were colder than the average winters from the previous decades. In fact, extra snowy winters can be expected. In a warmer climate, more water vapor is held in the atmosphere causing more intense rain and snow storms. As the climate warms, we do expect the duration of the snow season to decrease — however, as long as it is still cold enough to snow, a warming climate can lead to bigger snowstorms (USGCRP (2009).

5.Changing the average global temperature by even a degree or two can lead to serious consequences around the globe. For about every 2°F of warming, we can expect to see
5—15% reductions in the yields of crops as currently grown
3—10% increases in the amount of rain falling during the heaviest precipitation events, which can increase flooding risks
5—10% decreases in stream flow in some river basins,
200%—400% increases in the area burned by wildfire (NRC, 2011).
Global average temperatures have increased more than 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 100 years (NRC, 2010). Many of the extreme precipitation and heat events that we have seen in recent years are consistent with what we would expect given this amount of warming (USGCRP (2009). Scientists project that Earth's average temperatures will rise between 2 and 12 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 (NRC, 2011)


References
1.NRC (2011). America's Climate Choices: Final Report . National Research Council. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA.
2.NRC (2010). Advancing the Science of Climate Change . National Research Council. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA.
3.NOAA (2011). 2010 Tied For Warmest Year on Record . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Accessed 3/16/2012.
4.EPA (2010). Climate Change Indicators in the United States . U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA.
5.USGCRP (2009). Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States . Thomas R. Karl, Jerry M. Melillo, and Thomas C. Peterson (eds.). United States Global Change Research Program. Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, USA.
6.NRC (2011). Climate Stabilization Targets: Emissions, Concentrations, and Impacts over Decades to Millennia . National Research Council. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA.
7.IPCC (2007). Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report .Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Pachauri, R.K. and A. Reisinger (eds.)]. Geneva, Switzerland.
8.EPA (2011). Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act, EPA Response to Public Comments. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed 3/16/2012.

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CLIMATE-DRIVEN MIGRATION IN GHANA

Climate change impacts continue to draw thousands of households below the poverty line, especially areas where rain-fed agriculture is the mainstay of households because their livelihood is heavily affected by reduced and erratic rainfall.

The three regions in the north of Ghana (Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions) have persistently been among the poorest in the country. While other regions such as the Central Region and parts of other regions are also poor, the north comprises the poorest large geographical area. Generally, most parts of Ghana have two rainy seasons; major season from April to July and minor season from September to November . But in the north of Ghana, there is only one rainy season which begins somewhere in late April and lasts until about late August or sometimes September. Annual rainfall in the north is about 1000 mm on the average. As in many African countries, poverty is concentrated among farmers and the major livelihood of the people in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions are farmers, rain-fed farmers.

Last year, when I had the opportunity to be part of a team that undertook a study in four districts in Ghana’s northern savannah zone, I came close once again to the reality of how climate change is impacting livelihoods. There, I encountered young men who narrated how they are so pushed to their limits in trying to stay in their communities and work; mainly farming. They revealed to me what used to be a previous cycle of young men moving southwards to find work during the long dry seasons in the north, by which time the rainy season would have started in the south, and returning to make their own farms when the rainy season in the north begins. But now, they say, this cycle has changed. Young men now make a one-off trip to find work and stay in the south. This is the result of reduced and erratic rainfall and prolonged dry periods in the northern savannah which makes the annual return trip to their own farms less profitable compared with staying down south to work and remit families back home.

Households with a son or two living and working in the south in places like Kumasi (the second biggest city) and Accra (Ghana’s capital) have a better coping capacity to the impacts of climate change because they receive remittances from relations in Accra or Kumasi. This has then become a great force attracting young men and women to also migrate. Parents who are old and fragile are advising their children, and even sometimes push them, to migrate to the city to find work and remit them. Such is the gravity of the situation that young men who are not yet migrating and struggling to still make a living from their farms are helpless and feel the pressure everyday to migrate. They cannot stay and see their families starve and wallow in poverty.

I am aware of many interventions aimed at addressing the north-south migration in Ghana. But I am convinced and would like to draw our attention to the fact that any of such programmes to address north-south migration in Ghana that does not include adaptation to extreme climate variability is likely to be unsustainable.

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