Sakai (Kenya): No one complained that the rains were late when they watered the parched hills and muddied the roads here in December. Normally, they would have begun weeks earlier.
Villagers were grateful the rain had come at all. "God is great. After these two seasons of the worst drought, now there is something in the fields," proclaimed Daniel Muthembwa, 76, an elder in this small farming community, a three-hour drive on winding roads from Nairobi... Read more...
'Adapting as essential as cutting emissions' - UK MPs
31 March 2010, source: PreventionWeb URL: http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/news/v.php?id=13323
London: Adapting to climate change needs to become as much of a priority as cutting emissions, MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee argue in a report out today. Climate projections show that Britain can expect wetter winters, drier summers and a higher likelihood of flash-floods, heat waves and droughts... Read more...
A race to introduce GM corn before Africa's climate worsens
In Kiboko, Kenya, a barbed wire fence separates a field of hybrid corn from the surrounding lands. Inside the fence, food safety regulators are learning to grow the crop with little water. In recent years, droughts have hit the region between June and September, reducing yields.
But two new varieties of corn, also known as maize, are coming to sub-Saharan Africa... Read more...
UK conservation 'pointless' without tackling African climate change
London: Conservation efforts towards protecting migrating bird habitats in Europe may be doomed to failure unless we tackle climate change and protect Africa's coastlines. According to Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, 'for good or ill, we live in an age of interdependence, and we must manage it collectively'... Read more...
Africa warned on climate change
31 March 2010, source: Kenya Broadcasting Corporation URL: http://www.kbc.co.ke/story.asp?ID=63038
Nairobi: Adaptation of African countries in the face of increasing climate variability has to be maintained in order to reduce suffering that arises from natural disasters.
The International Research Institute for Climate and Society at the Earth Institute of Columbia University is urging for investments in enhancement of capacities for reduction of risk and socio-economic impacts related to climate variability... Read more...
Climate change not SA�s top priority, reveals survey
31 March 2010, source: EWN URL: http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=36019
Cape Town: A recent study shows that most South Africans are unfazed by the prospect of climate change. The study was conducted by the BBC World Service Trust and the British Council.
The South Africa Talks Climate report was released in Cape Town on Tuesday. The study revealed that most South Africans felt there were more pressing issues than fighting climate change... Read more...
Let developing countries have common stand on climate change - Ethiopia
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Thursday that developing countries should have common stand at the climate change negotiations expected to be held in Cancun, Mexico.Meeting here with Xie Zhenhua, the Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, Meles said that developed countries have to pay compensation to developing countries under the common but differentiated responsibilities initiative... Read more...
Genetic engineering not the solution to hunger in Africa
31 March 2010, source: Daily Monitor URL: http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/-/689364/889090/-/view/printVersion/-/42kiagz/-/index.html
Kampala: Genetic engineering is a technology in search of a problem; a product in search of a market. This should be foremost in the minds of civil society leaders, farmers and politicians attending the "Innovation and partnerships to realise Africa's rice potential" conference in Mali this week... Read more...
75 million face increased water stress by 2020
31 March 2010, source: Daily Trust URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/201003300380.html
Lagos: By 2020, climate change is projected to expose an estimated 75 million people in Africa alone to increased water stress. Citizens against Climate Change in Nigerian (CACCIN), in a statement signed its CEO, Olusoji Daomi, said towards the end of the 21st century, a projected sea-level rise will affect low-lying, heavily populated coastal areas like Lagos and other Niger Delta state in Nigeria... Read more...
New programme aims to mitigate climate threats to food security
31 March 2010, source: AlertNet URL: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/iri/126987167776.htm
A new multimillion dollar research program by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research aims to alleviate climate-related threats to the food security, livelihoods and environment of people living in the developing world. One of the key intellectual forces behind this initiative has been the International Research Institute for Climate and Society's Jim Hansen... Read more...
Women and the environment
31 March 2010, source: NJTODAY URL: http://njtoday.net/2010/03/30/women-and-the-environment/
Climate change is a critical issue in the 21st century, and as we observe Women’s History Month we should bear in mind the effect of the environment on women. Women make up the majority of the earth’s population, and are most vulnerable to changes in climate and environment.
“The poor are not living in industrialized countries where the environment is distant—where you have to go out to appreciate it... Read more...
Women dancers can fill granaries
30 March 2010, source: Inter Press Service URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50796
Johannesburg: "Some said, how can women dancers tell us about climate change? Some said, how can dancers talk about planting trees? Others asked, how can women dancers build schools? But now the government says a drum has managed to fill our granaries, a dancer has managed to build schools."With these words, Kamoto Community Arts director Mary Manzole illuminated how a Zambian women's dance group used theatre for development to encourage villagers to plant more than 5,000 trees and erect three classroom blocks in three years in Zambia’s Southern Province... Read more...
Johannesburg: Extensive flooding along the rivers of central and southern Mozambique during March, in tandem with persistent drought in other parts of the same areas, have left 465,000 people in need of food assistance, but aid agencies warn that they do not have the resources to help. "We have a very big problem now," said Lola Castro, Country Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), who told IRIN that her organization could assist only around 175,000 and that by "the end of April the [WFP] pipeline will have dried up"... Read more...
Scientists hold climate talks in Kenya
30 March 2010, source: Capital FM URL: http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/Kenyanews/Scientists-hold-climate-talks-in-Kenya-7943.html
Nairobi: Scientists from 14 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa gathered in Nairobi on Monday at the start of a three-day workshop to address the role of sustainable agriculture, forestry and agro-forestry in the fight against climate change. The workshop is expected to determine research priorities and the next steps for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) and agriculture in the region... Read more...
SACU to speak on EPA in one tone
30 March 2010, source: New Era URL: http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=10212
Windhoek: After months of varying views on the Economic Partnership Agreement, member states of the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) have finally taken a “harmonised” position on the matter when the next round of negotiations with the European Commission (EC) starts.This was agreed recently in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the Special Customs Union council of ministers’ meeting chaired by Namibian Finance Minister, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila... Read more...
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