Atheists you drove Whites out of Africa, Now you feed the starving
millions ...
Deforestation, not Climate Change Magnify East African Drought
NAIROBI, Kenya, January 16, 2006 (ENS) - The relentless drought across
East Africa is deepening because of global climate change as well as the
continuing destruction of forests, grasslands, wetlands and other
critical ecosystems, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is warning.
Loggers have stripped the Mau hills of Kenya. (Photo courtesy The
Rainforest Foundation)
Toepfer says deforestation of the region is in part responsible for the
arid conditions. "What has dramatically changed in recent decades is the
ability of nature to supply essential services like water and moisture
during hard times. This is because so much of nature's water and rain
supplying services have been damaged, destroyed or cleared," he said.
"These facts are especially poignant when you factor in the impact of
climate change which is triggering more extreme weather events like
droughts," Toepfer said.
Schoolchildren are taught that clouds and rain are generated by
eva****ation from the oceans and the seas.
The clouds, rising over hilly areas, then release this moisture as rain
which falls onto the land and is returned to the sea via rivers and
streams.
But Christian Lambrechts, an expert in UNEP's Division of Early Warning
and *****sment, said this belief tells only part of the story, and does
not mention the vital role of vegetation such as forests in generating
showers and rain.
"Globally, something like 62 percent of precipitation occurs over land
as a result of evapo-transpiration from lakes and wetlands and dense
vegetation, in particular forests pumping water held in the soils, into
the air. In comparison only around 38 percent of precipitation is
generated over oceans and seas," he explained.
Rainfall over the past year has been poor and the recent rainy season of
October to December 2005 has been dismal, according to the Kenyan
Meteorological Services. Kenya is one of four drought-striken countries
that are the focus of concern.
The Kenyan government says the lack of rains for three straight years
has left 2.5 million people close to starvation. President Mwai Kibaki
has declared the drought a national disaster and appealed for $150
million to feed the hungry.
In Somalia, 1.4 million people are at risk of starving to death, while
1.5 million are suffering in Ethiopia and 60,000 in Djibouti, the UN
estimates.
"Drought is no stranger to the peoples of East Africa," said Klaus
Toepfer, the executive director of UNEP, which has compiled a number of
re****ts on the state of Kenya's forests. "It is a natural climatic
phenomenon.
Women in a drought affected area collect wild greens and feed their
children as best they can. (Photo courtesy WFP)
With many children in the parched Horn of Africa eating only one meal
each day and livestock dying in large numbers, the UN World Food
Programme (WFP) urged donors to provide immediate food aid for 5.4
million people to head off a humanitarian catastrophe.
Last week, the UN aid agency estimated that more than 11 million people
are in need of assistance, with food shortages "particularly grave" in
Somalia where about two million people need help.
"In all four countries, it is clear that WFP will have to expand its
existing operations to drought-affected populations in order to address
the increasing needs," said Holdbrook Arthur, WFP regional director for
Eastern and Central Africa, speaking in the Ugandan capital of Kampala.
"While final figures on the number of people in need of urgent
assistance are still being established, donors must respond now if we
are going to avert a humanitarian catastrophe," Holdbrook emphasized.
Food shortages are grave in Somalia where about two million people need
humanitarian aid. The food situation is also very serious in pastoral
areas of northern and eastern Kenya, southeastern Ethiopia and Djibouti.
In Somalia, most of the affected people are in the south. The secondary
rainy season or Deyr, which usually lasts from October to December,
failed in most of the eight agricultural regions in the south, resulting
in widespread crop failure. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) warns that the forthcoming Deyr crop, about to be harvested, could
be the lowest in a decade.
Somalia is headed for the worst cereal harvest in a decade and
pastoralists in the south are forced to keep close to rivers and the few
remaining green pastures.
WFP plans to feed one million people in Somalia through June 2006, while
the non-governmental organization CARE will assist the remaining
400,000.
Somali women and children search for water and food for themselves and
their livestock. (Photo courtesy WFP)
The WFP says about 64,000 metric tons of food aid are needed until June
2006 to feed the population, but so far, only 16,700 tons are available.
Immediate response to the WFP appeal is required to avert possible
hunger-related deaths in southern Somalia, the FAO said.
In Kenya, crop failure and depletion of livestock herds due to the
lengthy drought have led to famine conditions with some deaths re****ted
in the arid areas. The government has called for about $150 million to
provide food for about 2.5 million people, almost 10 percent of the
population, over the next six months.
More aid is also needed, the FAO said, to provide water for both people
and animals, to buy livestock and provide seeds to farmers in
preparation for the next crop season.
In Djibouti, severe drought conditions have worsened the food security
conditions of large numbers of pastoralists. Nearly 150,000 people,
almost one-fifth of the population, are estimated to be facing food
shortages.
In Ethiopia, despite favorable harvest prospects for the main season
crop, currently being harvested, severe food shortages are being
re****ted in the pastoral areas of eastern and southern Ethiopia. Initial
estimates indicate more than one million people in the Somali Region to
be short of food.
Over $40 million are urgently required to stave off starvation, the FAO
says. The onset of the dry season, from January to March, is expected to
worsen the situation. Overall, more than eight million people in
Ethiopia rely on food assistance in both relief and safety net programs.
In view of the good domestic grain production in Ethiopia, local
purchases for food aid by both the government and donors are highly
recommended to sup****t domestic markets, FAO said.
Toepfer urged countries in the region to invest in and rehabilitate
their "natural or nature capital" to buffer vulnerable communities
against future droughts.
He asked donor countries to back such plans as vital lynch pins for
overcoming poverty and delivering sustainable and long-lasting economic
development, while taking every possible measure to reduce the emissions
of fossil fuels that are forcing up global temperatures.
"Without these combined actions,"
Toepfer warned, "countries currently again facing water shortages and
power rationing will continue to do so into the future with all the
misery and economic damage this entails."
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