Day: April 23, 2022

The Horn of Africa is suffering a historic drought that the U.N. says could result in starvation for as many as 20 million people. In Ethiopia, more than seven million people are already short of something to eat, suffering compounded by the war in the north.

A fourth consecutive year of failed rains is causing the worst drought in the Horn of Africa since 1981. Meanwhile, the U.N.’s World Food Program told VOA a combination of conflict in the north of Ethiopia and drought in the south, are set to be “catastrophic” for the country.

WFP spokesperson Clair Nevill said the worst effects could be averted if action is taken quickly, but that doesn’t look likely.

“In the 2016 to 2017 drought, this catastrophe was avoided through early action… In 2022, due to a severe lack of resourcing, there are growing fears that it won’t be possible to prevent the looming disaster,” he said.

A policy adviser for a major humanitarian donor to Ethiopia, who declined to be named, told VOA that the government’s focus was on the war and mobilization for it, so there was significant lag time in doing the assessments and putting in place the response mechanisms for the drought in the south. The adviser said the cost of that inattention was a huge loss of livelihoods, assets and livestock.

The adviser noted, however, that the regional and central governments have recently tried to pull together resources and are trying to address the needs in regions of the country like Somali and Oromia, particularly by rallying donors like the WFP.

Aid agencies in Africa have also complained the crisis in Ukraine is drawing attention and money away from countries on the Arican continent.

The policy adviser added the damage caused by the delayed response is irreversible and it could take years, if it happens at all, for those affected to recover.

Aside from drawing attention from the drought, Ethiopia’s civil war has itself been a major cause of humanitarian crisis. In March, the government said it had called a humanitarian cease-fire and would allow aid into the northern region of Tigray, where it is fighting separatist forces.

William Davison, a senior analyst covering Ethiopia for the International Crisis Group, a Belgium-based research group, says “despite the humanitarian truce, there still seems to be around one convoy of aid reaching Tigray per week, so that is nothing like the unrestricted access for humanitarian agencies that’s needed.” “We should also note that there has been no move by the federal government yet to restore vital public services to Tigray including banking, telecoms and electricity,” he added.

The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in the north, combined with those likely to be affected by the drought in the south, brings the total to almost 12.5 million Ethiopians in need of help, according to U.N. figures.

The National Disaster Risk Management Commission of Ethiopia, a branch of the Ethiopian government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Source: Voice of America

Devastating floods in South Africa this week, as well as other extreme weather events across the continent linked to human-caused climate change, are putting marine and terrestrial wildlife species at risk, according to biodiversity experts.

Africa has already faced several climate-related woes in the past year: the ongoing fatal floods follow unrelenting cyclones in the south, extreme temperatures in western and northern regions, and a debilitating drought which is currently afflicting eastern, central and the Horn of Africa.

Conservation and wildlife groups say it’s critical to protect species from these climate change-related weather events.

“Climate change is disrupting ecosystems and affecting the survival and suitability of species to live in their usual habitats,” said Shyla Raghav, who heads the climate change division at Conservation International. “Massive disruption to ecological stability will occur if adequate adaptation and mitigation measures are not implemented. There is need to incorporate climate proofing of our protected areas. That way we boost nature’s ability for resilience.”

Multiple species, including Africa’s famed “big-five” land animals and other terrestrial and marine life, are vulnerable to significant population loss. Ornithologist Paul Matiku, who heads the biodiversity watch group Nature Kenya, says shifting rainfall patterns and increased temperatures are having serious consequences for bird populations.

“Climate change causes seasonal variability in rainfall, temperature and food for birds. As such breeding aborts and bird populations automatically reduce over time,” Matiku said. “Wetland birds are affected by reducing water levels due to droughts. The Sahara Desert gets hotter, and some migratory birds die along their migratory routes due to high temperatures and dehydration.” He added that some birds are so weak from taxing migratory journeys that they are no longer breeding.

Ecosystems that thrive along Africa’s popular white sandy beaches are also particularly vulnerable, according to Ibidun Adelekan, a geography professor at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Africa’s coasts are at risk of coral reef ecosystem collapse due to bleaching, potential saltwater intrusion on freshwater aquifers, and more intense tropical cyclones.

Adelekan warned that greater damage to Africa’s coastal biodiversity will also have considerable consequences for populations in towns and cities along its shores. “Persistent deprivation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems by human actions is leading to increased vulnerability of coastal and island communities to climate impacts,” she told the Associated Press.

Her concerns are echoed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who earlier this year cautioned that African coasts with “high proportion of informal settlements and small island states are exposed and highly vulnerable to climate change.”

But scientists are hopeful that improved coastal management of marine protected areas and better restrictions on the fishing industry will curb impacts on marine biodiversity.

“Our research indicates that the future of coral reefs will be much better if fisheries restrictions and protected areas are applied effectively throughout the region,” said Tim McClanahan, a senior conservation zoologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society, who studied over 100 locations in the western Indian Ocean.

“While climate change may be outside of local control, the bad outcomes will be reduced if fisheries manage to reduce detrimental impacts on the coral reefs.”

Source: Voice of America