EAST AFRICAN CLIMATE CHANGE MAY CAUSE UPHEAVELS-EXPERT

East African climate change may cause 'social upheavals'

Degradation such as Mau Forest Crisis indicate a conflict between environment and development with catastrophic human survival and economic consequences

NAIROBI (Xinhua) PETER MUTAI -- The East African Community (EAC) common market protocol has finally come into force after the five member countries held tumultuous parties that were hosted by their presidents. Despite throwing parties where the invited guests ranging from top business executives to the "who is who" in the governments’ wined and dined, all is not well for the new found alliance.

It is now evidenced that the countries’ economies are threatened by climate change effects and, as a result, the protocol may not offer the anticipated benefits.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are also unlikely to be achieved by any of the five countries that form EAC when its deadline for commitments expires in the year 2015.

Given that the five countries heavily rely on rain fed agriculture and livestock keeping, which accounts for 20 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) with a workforce of 70 percent, the countries are currently vulnerable to climate change.

"The fact that climate change phenomenon is a scientific reality and it directly affects the livelihoods of the majority of the people living in this region, it is obvious that it will have political, social and economic implications," Chairman of Barclays Bank Kenya Francis Okello warns.

He observes that it is unfortunate that the reality of the matter is yet to be given public attention it deserves so that majority of the population and government officials could understand what climate change is all about.
He says the region is already witnessing changes in weather patterns such as less reliable rainfall, unpredictable storms, recurrent droughts and frequent floods that occurs with alarming frequency.

"The truth of the matter is that if agriculture and livestock production continues to reduce at an alarming rate, livelihood too is at risk," he adds.
With the declining biodiversity and its impact on livelihoods and tourism, a leading foreign exchange earner for East Africa, the region is doomed to make terrible looses.

The dwindling wildlife in Maasai Mara due to human settlements and death of wildlife at the game parks a result of hostile climatic effects is further complicating matters for the common market protocol.

He warns that the impacts of climate change are likely to cause enormous social upheavals in the whole of East Africa given the evidence given by scientists.

Addressing environment journalists drawn from Tanzania and Kenya in Arusha, Okello observes that the solution to the problem lies with media editors and environment journalists in the region.

He challenged the media houses to retrain their journalists and editors on the science of climate change so as to be able to educate the public and policy makers on the dangers that climate change poses to the region.

Okello notes that media houses structured editorial policy that preoccupies itself with politics, economic and celebrity news forget that there is need for commitment in recognizing climate change and environment within media organizations.

"Besides the science of climate change and global warming, lies the greater story of its impact on humanity and the environment in this region that has not been told satisfactorily," he says.

He told journalists to tell their stories on climate change in an imaginative way by putting a human face to the readers, listeners and viewers while still making a business case for editors to be convinced to use the stories.

Okello notes that since climate change effects are already affecting the main economy of the region, it is the role of the media to tell their stories in a clear and simplified language so that the general population could understand it and act.

"Disseminate regular and accurate climate information to sensitize, create awareness and effectively guide public debate and understanding about weather, climate change and their relations to the environment," says Prof. Jim Detjen the director of the Knight Center at Michigan State University.
Detjen told journalists to tell climate stories with the passion to earn the consumers trust while passing the information.

He observes that it was regrettable that the media currently do not seem to cater for the needs of women, the elderly and the youth who are most vulnerable groups to climate change.

The don observes that it is unfortunate that the scientists are busy talking to each other in technical jargons, which is a turn off for the public, while the journalists and editors, under constant pressure from deadlines and business agenda, are unable to internalize the complex scientific terms that surrounds climate change.

Okello cautions that it is high time the media in the region stop treating serious environmental degradation stories like the Mau forest as a mere mock fight between politicians as opposed to a story of conflict between environment and development with catastrophic human survival and economic consequences.

By relying on western wire agencies as its source of news stories on climate change, East Africa’s media often mirrors their approach, which is heavily influenced by vested business and political interests keen to preserve the status quo and protect their comfort zones.

According to Prof. Pius Yanda of the Institute of Resource Assessment at the University of Dar es Salaam, the language used by scientists is far much technical to be absorbed easily by social scientists such as journalists.

He warns that by conducting climate change talks in high levels of discussion, local communities continue to be unaware of their role as they are not involved from the beginning.

"In the meantime, the news consumers are left in the dark, hence creating assumptions in the region that climate change and other science related phenomenon are in the preserve of the Western World," the don says.

He notes that the inability of East Africa’s journalists to be authoritative voices in the debate has not helped in the proper messaging of the news around climate change.

Such an authoritative voice can only be achieved through sound knowledge and deeper understanding of the science of climate change.

"Science illiteracy in newsrooms and failure to appreciate human angle to climate change stories is to blame," he says.

The media alone is not to be blamed when it is obvious that climate change is poorly integrated into countries development strategies and national public policy discourse.

"The absence of political will in relation to environmental governance among the leaders can be regarded as one of the major limiting factors in reporting climate change," Yanda observes.

The East African media has not created the desired impact in terms of influencing communities’ perceptions and appreciations of the climate change phenomenon as an immediate risk to their livelihoods. The media should focus on political, economic and social consequences of climate change in terms of emerging challenges and opportunities, vulnerability, mitigation and adaptation to enable communities cope and recover from impact of natural disasters.

This will help highlight the ability of East African states and communities to devise home grown solutions in achieving sustainable development.

url link: http://www.coastweek.com/3329_climate.htm