Ethiopia s Commitment to Climate Change Adaptation By H.E. Bashir Abdullahi State Minister, MoARD A summarized paper prepared for the Earth Day Ethiopia 22 April 2009
Introduction Climate change is any long-term significant change in the expected patterns of average weather of a specific area over a significant period of time. Climate change reflects abnormal variations to the expected climate and subsequent effects on other parts of the Earth, over durations ranging from decades to millions of years. In recent usage, climate change refers to global warming. The dynamic interaction between humans and climate affects all aspects of sustainable development. Anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases affect the heat balance of the earth and have significant impact on climate. Understanding such climate dynamics requires knowledge/technology that can lead to reductions of carbon emissions. Hence, development choices must consider both sides of the climatehuman interaction: aiming for a moderation in greenhouse gas emissions and anticipating the impacts of expected climate trends. There is a need to develop and evaluate mitigation and adaptation strategies, and improve the dissemination of information to enable managing climate risks, policy concerns, and social and political issues related with climate change. Stakeholders from the business world, governments, and non governmental organizations have taken a stand on the need for climate change adaptation. The current worldwide efforts include, advocating zero carbon emission power plants, roundtable discussion, communicating risks associated with climate change to various target groups. A new UN climate change agreement created a comprehensive global framework within which these goals can be met. Industrialized countries must take the lead in cutting emissions as they are responsible for the bulk of the problem and have the greatest resources to tackle it. The EU is ready to cut its emissions to 30% below by 2020 if other industrialized countries agree to do likewise under a new agreement.
On the other hand, climate change cannot be controlled without efforts by developing countries, and notably the emerging economies. Rapid and uncontrolled deforestation in tropical countries has to be halted and reversed if the fight against climate change is to be successful. Deforestation is currently responsible for around one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change has been an issue of growing concern where a range of frameworks are designed. Support for adaptation. Measures include: supporting partner countries in preparing vulnerability and adaptation assessments and national adaptation program of action; developing guidelines for integrating climate change into development programs; supporting capacity-building in developing country institutions to prepare for and reduce the impact of climate change-related disasters. Support for mitigation and low greenhouse gas (GHG) development paths. Strengthen the links between government ministries and the research community; supporting partner countries to carry out research on lowcarbon technologies and further develop local mitigation technologies. Capacity development. Building individual and institutional capacity in impact prediction and vulnerability assessment; establishing knowledge banks to disseminate information and provide training for action on climate change. Monitoring and evaluation. Ethiopia s Commitment for Climate Change Adaptation Like in any other parts of the world, Ethiopians have always adapted to variations in their climate, by making preparations based on their resources and their knowledge accumulated through experience of past weather patterns. Periodically, they have also been forced to react to and recover from climate extremes and surprises, such as floods and droughts.
Professional in the MoARD appreciate that the earth's climate is changing and MoARD past experience alone can no longer provide a reliable guide to the future. Accordingly, securing economic and social well-being of vulnerable people will increasingly require the various agricultural development actors to work together to consider the implications of a changing climate. In order to address the current and future climate vulnerabilities into development has been considered long ago. Development efforts, focused on poverty reduction and securing sustainable livelihoods, have provided an important means to reduce vulnerability and increase agricultural growth of over 10% for the last six years. As you all know, agriculture is the most important economic sector of the country contributing 50% of the GDP, 90% foreign earnings and employing 83% of the population. Over the last few years the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) has been implementing a reform program aimed at poverty reduction through rapid economic growth and macroeconomic stability. The current poverty reduction strategy is called Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End Poverty (PASDEP), which has eight priority thematic areas: commercialization of agriculture, geographical differentiation, population control, gender equality, infrastructure development, risk management, scaling-up service delivery to reach the millennium development goals (MDGs) and employment. Of the eight thematic areas, geographical differentiation, population control and risk management are directly related with issues of climate change adaptation. The climate change adaptation strategies that the country is using in the agriculture sector which employs 83% of the population are related with technology development and promotion, disaster
risk reduction, community based adaptation, governance and policy: Agricultural technology development and promotion strategy/theme includes development of drought resistant/tolerant varieties of crops and irrigation schemes being conducted at various federal and regional research centers and promoted to drought-affected areas of the country. These drought resistant/tolerant/escape crop varieties significantly increased production and productivities and thereby reduced vulnerability to climate change. The research and development strategy is to significantly improve the capacity of Ethiopians to adapt to climate change in ways that benefit the most vulnerable. While working towards PASDEP objectives, MoARD will promote the incorporation of indigenous knowledge in coping with climate variability into research projects which will facilitate the process of transferring or devolving results and skills to those who will use them. Climate change is one of the development challenges in addition to the existing problems like food insecurity, poverty and HIV/AIDS. The impacts, caused by past emissions of greenhouse gases, will be inevitable in Ethiopia regardless of global, regional and national mitigation efforts like disaster risk reduction. The risk management under PASDEP will build on existing experience and efforts. By supporting regional states, MoARD will seek to strengthen the ability of the poor to cope with climate variability and changes. For this purpose the MoARD has established Disaster and Food Security Sector at the State Minister level. The PASDEP program recognizes the urgency of further enhancing population management to minimize population pressure on natural resources where deforestation is one of the most important issues.
The Disaster and Food Security Sector adopts a pragmatic approach to tackling climate change and sustainable development. The tools and methodologies that the sector has key activities: mitigation in the drought-prone areas, community-based adaptation activities. In Summary Ethiopian Government is committed: 1. to enhance implementation of PASDEP which is interrelated with goals of addressing climate change, while contributing to targets of accelerated and sustainable development agenda of the country. 2. for the widest possible cooperation and participation in an effective and appropriate international responses. 3. to undertake rigorous adaptation strategies and programs for areas vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. 4. to incorporate climate risks and adaptation strategies into national development strategies and policies. 5. to strengthening cooperation with our development partners to exchange information and early warnings on natural disasters, including those that arise from climate change. 6. to complement climate change policies with actions to combat deforestation, water stresses, post-harvest losses and the spread of infectious diseases to mitigate this challenges the country planted 1.5 Billion seedling in two years during the Ethiopian Millennium. 7. establishment of National Climate Forum. 8. establishment of institutions dealing with climate change like EPA National Meteorology Agency and other GOs and NGOs. 9. Prime Minister is always raising issues of climate change in various international, regional and national forums. 10. development and utilization of environmentally friendly technologies. 11. releasing various proclamations related to environmental protection.