The challenge of climate crisis in Africa: who will heal our world?

﻿
Africa is heavily dependent on rain fed Agriulture; today, rainfall has become so unpredicatable and in most cases totally failed image courtesy shutterstock
﻿
﻿
Hi, I'm Patrick kiarie, an environmental enthusiast and the head of We don't have time African Chapter. A few days ago, I was voted as one of the most influential Kenyans positively influencing change in our country. And with that, I was given a trophy of a Rhino, a beautiful Rhino. For those who don’t know, the Rhino is one of the most endangered species in the word. And when I look at the trophy, this beautiful rhino gives me more desire to dedicate more effort and time in pushing the global leaders and industrialists to take action on climate change. 
It takes me back to the UNDP video of the dinosaur, telling us about extinction. Imagine in a few years if action is not taken, our grandchildren will never be able to see a Rhino, because they will be extinct? How many even know that we have only two Nothern White Rhinos remaining in the world? What I’m trying to say is that extinction aint a myth, it really can happen, and just like wild animals, human beings are now on a threat of extinction than before, but we are blinded (especially those in the western world) by the comfort of the luxury that we enjoy today to understand the reality of the threat to human life that is driven majorly a drive to fund our lifestyles.     
And today, I want to talk about wildlife and Africa, and where we stand today as world leaders dilly dally on taking effective climate actions. To start with I'm not impressed about the resolutions of Cop26. I know most of us environmentalists agree that world leaders Still consider talk on climate change a joke, but you see in Africa the effects of climate change are more live today than ever before. And therefore, the resolution to push further negotiations on what we need to do to heal our planet to next year in Egypt beats sense when our entire generation is at the blink of a catastrophe. 
You see most of you in the developed world will never understand how cruel nature can turn into, we in Africa are living that every day. Scarcity of food and water is a reality we have learnt to adapt to today. Our rains are no longer reliable, and with that our governments spend much of the scarce resources that we are heavily taxed to keep the engines of our economy moving, importing food from your countries for our people. It is unimaginable that in a world so advanced with technology, that there are people in the forgotten corners of the same world who have to go without food or clean water if not access to any water at all. 
And this scarcity can be directly linked to the issues of climate change. Years back, our weather patterns were so predictable, even without the weatherman telling us when to expect rains. My grandmother for example had never gone to any formal school,but she taught me that around 15th of October, the short rainy season of October to December would start: and just like magic, rains started around that day without fail. It's almost December now, and it has only rained once. As we eagerly wait for the rains, farmers already planted their crops and the few that sprouted after that rainy day have already weathered and dried up. It's not like rains completely all the time; last year we were really blessed with rains, but unfortunately, the rains went over, leaving a stream of destruction and in most cases destroying the very crops they had nurtured. You see the pattern? Extreme weather conditions are a reality in every part of the world today than ever before.
Oh, I know some will still dismiss that as something that happens in every country, you see, that's the lame excuse that has been used over the years by people, industrialists and governments to avoid responsibility over their climate inaction and their continued exploitation of natural resources with impunity. That’s the excuse that has got us where we are today.
And so when world leaders meet and can't agree to tackle this issue head on, I feel for my people, I shed a tear imagining that these leaders can be so blind to the imminent danger that our people face today. But you see this group of leaders have nothing to worry today about, we pay for their food, shelter, accommodation, entertainment and still pay them for their inaction, and so when these challenges emerge, most of them barely have any idea of what we are talking about beyond the well written speeches that they read in front of the media just to please the eagerness of the masses.
My country relies much on tourism and wildlife for foreign exchange. But today, animals in our parks have greatly reduced in numbers. The threat on wildlife is twofold; with no rains, the land has been left bare with no vegetation, this has created conflict not just within the parks, but threats from without the parks as local communities, faced too with scarce resources especially for their livestock invade parks in search of anything that can keep their animals moving. And poachers take advantage of this to kill the few remaining animals in parks. 
Because of the dwindling resources, communities too have turned against each other as the fight for the few resources that remain. If you watch international or local news, that happened (and it is still happening) in Laikipia Kenya as several people have been killed, houses burnt and several injured as communities fight for pasture for their livestock. Years ago, when Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai long warned us that there is a close relationship between environmental sustainability and peace, but did we even heed to her warnings? No we didn't, we never. Or at least if we did, things would turn out more different today.
Today, much of African countries can no longer provide jobs for their young generation, because instead of building industries, these countries are spending more of their resources in mitigating the effects of climate change, a burden that they should not be allowed to bear alone because as we all know, the carbon footprint of the entire African continent is barely 2%. To make it easier for you to understand, some industries in the western and Asian part of the world have a higher carbon footprint than our entire continent, yet we are the one paying the price today for these emissions. Life can really be cruel, right? Yes we get it, you are trying to power the world, manufacture more goods to meet the growing demand in Africa and Asia, but at what cost? Who will hear our cry, or see our tears and decide to do justice for us?
And by the way, even our African leaders have totally failed us; when they go to the negotiating table, the much they care about is publicity: A photo with the prime minister of Britain or with the US president to hang on their walls as a sign of achievement when their people are suffering: oh, I almost forgot saying that some are always busy during these meetings negotiating for “cutting business deals” with lucrative kickbacks; in the middle of the climate pandemic instead of channeling efforts in pushing their counterparts make important concessions to save our planet. 
﻿
﻿
﻿
If you believe in the cause for “we don’t have time”, please re-post or share this post, and in this small way, you can influence our leaders to do justice for our environment. 
﻿
﻿
The challenge of climate crisis in Africa: who will heal our world?

Pumped hydro storage, the Swiss Army Knife of the Energy Industry

400+ Corporations, Government- & Civil Society Organizations

Watch our Latest Broadcasts!

We need to stop methane and #BuyMoreTime

Yes, we make a difference!

The Climate Action App

Welcome, let's solve the climate crisis together
