Africa

South Africa’s coasts have been battered with storms on both the Indian Ocean and Atlantic sides. Severe flooding has beset the coastal regions of the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Naturally the most vulnerable populations, the poor, those living in informal settlements, have been hit the worst. Cleanup has begun in KwaZulu-Natal, though the process will inevitably be slow. death tolls have surpassed the double digit levels, but many more are missing and it is hard not to fear the worst.

Privation connected to poverty and vulnerability to climate change is wreaking havoc throughout the continent. Lesotho continues to suffer from drought-fueled food shortages. The droughts have also affected Swaziland and South Africa. The economic crisis in Swaziland has led to increased sex trafficking among children as well as women. Informal settlements in Namibia are embody hell on earth. Climate change is leading to an increase in malaria cases in Kenya.

 The news of the increased UN-African Union peacekeeping presence has raised hopes of humanitarian relief for the people of Darfur. Sudan claims that it will support the troop presence. We;ll see how long Khartoum’s conciliatory attitude lasts. Some Sudanese, meanwhile, are looking to South Africa for a blueprint for peace.

At Foreign Policy Stephan Faris worries that the boomlet that parts of Africa appear to be enjoying might be chimerical, with oil fueling another manifestation of the resource curse. The Council for Foreign Relations explores the process of ”hunting for elusive peace.” Despite these real concerns, there also is real progress on parts of the continent, as Kofi Annan argues in the Mail & Guardian.

At The New Republic Eliza Griswold analyzes the Somalia crisis as “the other failed invasion,” which is problematic inasmuch as viewing Africa through the prism of Iraq manages to be both too Western-centric while at the same time allowing Iraq to disproportionately warp our views of other issues.

In order to address the mindboggling inflation rate in Zimbabwe (is it really possible that it could reach 100,000% by the end of the year?) the government has issued  a Z$200,000 note worth $1 US. Meanwhile, add water shortages to the daily sufferings of the people of Zim.  

Drought has exacerbated a food shortage which in turn has been exacerbating an HIV/AIDS-fueled health crisis in the tiny Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. Maseru has declared a state of emergency. And things are probably going to get worse before they get better.

In our zeal to embrace alternative sources of energy, including biofuels, let’s keep in mind that there may be very real human costs. And not surprisingly those human costs will be felt by the most vulnerable. The most vulnerable often live in Africa. IRIN points out a recent report arguing:

The rush to produce biofuels, driven by the threat of global warming and higher oil prices, is exerting price pressure on staple foods in South Africa, according to a report by the Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme (RHVP), a nongovernmental organisation that highlights food security concerns. 

My colleague Bill Hewitt at the FPA Climate Change Blog has a post with lots of great links in which he explores these same complexities. None of this is intended to disavow the importance of alternative fuel sources, but rather simply to explicate the realities that environmental change will not be easy and that the trickle down effect will deleteriously effect the most vulnerable in Africa and elsewhere. 
 

Dr. Mannavar Sivakumar, chief of the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) agricultural meteorology division, argues that Africans need to be more aware and “proactive” on the issue of climate change:

 ”He said it was ‘critical’ for Africa, which forecasters predict will be the region worst affected by changing weather patterns, to get its act together. ‘Africa is projected to have a large area covered with arid or semi-arid regions; as the population increases, there will be an increase in demand [for food] while on the other hand there will be less precipitation on account of climate change [to support agriculture]: this will be a ‘double killer’.'”

But this “double killer” also represents something of a dual-edged sword.  While climate change will have deleterious effects for Africans, many rightfully ask if they will have to stall industrial development until they can afford to go green even while the west has been able to go through industrial growth while utilizing technologies that have always been far more growth-friendly than earth-friendly. The poorest nations on Earth will have to confront this problem most acutely, though so too will giants such as China and India.

My colleague Bill Hewitt is doing yeoman’s work over at the FPA Climate Change Blog. He addresses these issues in far greater depth and with far more acuity than I ever could.

Update: Along the lines of Africans taking the initiative on issues related to the environment, climate change and the like, Cape Town seems poised to become Africa’s first “Green City.”