Africa will be severely affected by climate change, and must enhance coping strategies, expert says

Addis Ababa, 19 April 2007 --- African countries will be severely affected by climate change and its serious social and economic impacts in the future, the Programme Leader of Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA), Dr. Fatima Denton, said in Addis Ababa today as the joint ECA/CCAA workshop on climate change adaptation entered its fourth day.

In an interview with the Information and Communication Service (ICS) of the Economic Commission for Africa, Dr. Denton said while Africans and African institutions had developed coping strategies to deal with climate variabilities, their ability to cope with future conditions was limited by many factors, including poverty, weak institutions and fragile ecosystems.

Many African countries are already experiencing climatic extremes such as high variability in rainfall which have serious impact on agriculture, health and energy.

Dr. Denton said Africa would have to pay urgent attention to its climate change-related regional priorities, which, she said, include better management of its water resources, the use of renewable energy and sustainable agriculture.

More than 60 experts from about 23 institutions are taking part in the workshop, which provides an opportunity for reviewing key methodological tools and sharing of adaptation experience with policy makers, researchers, at-risk groups and development agents.

A joint program of the International Development Research Centre and the Department for International Development, CCAA's objective is to build institutional and Africans' capacities to adapt to climate change in ways that benefit the poor and the most vulnerable.