BuaNews (Tshwane)
Michael Appel
16 August 2007
Pretoria — The United Nations (UN) has made emergency appeals to governments to address the food disaster situation caused by climate change in Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad, speaking at a media briefing on current international issues at the Union buildings, Wednesday, said issues such as climate change and food security on the continent are high on the agenda of the South African Development Community (SADC) Summit currently underway in Zambia.
"[Climate change] is an issue that is gaining relevance with the region, the continent and indeed globally. I refer to the fact that all reports are indicating that Africa will suffer the worst effects of this phenomenon," said the deputy minister.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in Geneva on 7 August 2007 said weather and climate have been marked by record extremes in many regions across the world since January 2007.
Between January and April of this year, "global land surface temperatures ranked warmest since records began in 1880.
"Several regions have experienced extremely heavy precipitation, leading to severe floods," and forecasts indicate that more bad weather is destined for Europe, said Mr Pahad.
Neighbouring Lesotho has been one of the countries hardest hit by climate change, and is currently experiencing its worst drought in 30 years.
The production of maize, Lesotho's staple food, has dropped by more than half compared to 2006, resulting in a deficit that likely to be worsened by decreased cereal production in South Africa.
Lesotho relies on South Africa for about 70 percent of its food requirements.
The UN has appealed for $18.9 million to feed more than 500 000 people in Lesotho struggling to cope with food shortages and below-average rainfall.
The financial assistance will go towards rebuilding sources of income, such as providing subsidised agricultural inputs for farmers and promoting home gardens.
About 82 percent of Lesotho's 1.8 million people live in rural areas and agriculture is the main source of income for 60 percent of the population.
Mr Pahad, speaking at a previous briefing this month said aid workers fear that the drought will aggravate the underlying causes of acute malnutrition and vulnerability in Lesotho.
Lesotho has been plagued, he said, by issues such as persistent food insecurity, poor access to sanitation, poor household childcare and hygiene practices.
The Fourth Assessment Report of the WMO and the UN Environmental Program (UNEP) Intergovernmental Group on Climate Change (IPCC), highlighted weather extremes have been on the increase over the last 50 years.
"The World has to respond to this situation otherwise thecatastrophes that will impact on all countries, but especially Africa, will be more severe than we are beginning to anticipate," said Mr Pahad.
He added, he hoped the whole issue of climate change will receive higher priority in our foreign relations and via the relevant ministries, and that the media will play a role in projecting the dangers of climate change that is now becoming so severe throughout the world.
UN agencies, he said, are warning that India stands to lose 125 million tons of its rain-fed cereal production, which is close to 20 percent of its total production because of increasing floods and droughts.
While bearing in mind the example of India, "the effects of climate change will be worse in parts of sub-Saharan Africa," said Mr Pahad.
The UN Security Council highlighted recently that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average.
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