Monday, March 5, 2018

Women’s Day 2018 in East Africa: “Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Lives” Through Implementing Pro-poor National Climate Actions


Over the last three decades the frequency of droughts and floods in East Africa have increased (for example, the 2016-2017 drought experienced in Kenya), resulting in crop failures and loss of livestock (EAC, 2017). Impacts of climate change are being acutely felt by women who make up a large percentage of poor communities worldwide that rely on natural resources for their livelihoods.

The theme for International Women’s Day, 8 March, is “Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives”. This year, International Women’s Day comes on the heels of unprecedented global movement for women’s rights, equality and justice. This has taken the form of global marches and campaigns, on issues ranging from climate justice, sexual harassment and femicide to equal pay and women’s political representation.

Echoing the priority theme of the upcoming 62nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, International Women’s Day will also draw attention to the rights and activism of rural women, who make up over a quarter of the world population, and are being left behind in every measure of development including climate action.

A Report by UN Women, ‘Turning Promises into Action’ notes that climate change cannot be fully addressed by individual countries, but rather requires enhanced global cooperation from both policy-makers and non-party stakeholders in order to bring women’s voices and specific needs to the table.

The 2018 Women’s Day therefore comes at a time when there is near global consensus that successful action on climate change depends on the engagement of women as stakeholders and planners in ensuring that everyone has access to the resources they need to adapt to and mitigate climate change. Coming on the heels of the recently adopted Gender Action Plan at the twenty third UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP23). The aim of the Gender Action Plan is to ensure that women can influence climate change decisions, and that women and men are represented equally in all aspects of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as a way to increase its effectiveness.

The Gender Action Plan sets out, in five priority areas, the activities that will help achieve this objective. These range from increasing knowledge and capacities of women and men through workshops and information exchanges, so that they can systematically integrate gender considerations in all areas of their work, to pursuing the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in national delegations, including women from grassroots organizations, local and indigenous peoples and women from Small Island Developing States. Other priority areas refer to the need to increase integration of the gender considerations—such as addressing women’s specific vulnerability to natural disasters as well as understanding women’s role in agriculture and food production, and supporting women entrepreneurs in the energy sector—into the areas of work of all Parties to the Convention; and to increase climate-related financial resources that integrate gender priorities and reflect the needs of women and girls. Lastly, the Gender Action Plan seeks to improve tracking of the implementation of the gender-related decisions.

In East Africa, Civil Society Organisations implementing the Project: Promoting implementation of the Paris Agreement (PIPA) in East Africa have recently raised a ‘red flag’ in form of a Policy Brief on the need integrate poverty eradication in implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda), and have recommended measures that East African Community stakeholders can undertake to fully integrate poverty reduction in implementation of NDCs of the EAC Partner States. This Brief follows the PIPA project Partners’ submission at COP23 calling for development of the ‘Paris Rule book’ in order for the resulting NDCs and climate actions to mitigate climate change, build climate resilience, enhance sustainable development and above all reduce poverty in developing countries.

What is at Stake for Women in East Africa?

Poverty and climate change are among the most pressing challenges globally. The Paris Agreement set the goal to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels (UNFCCC, 2015). It is this goal that the international community has committed to, in or-der to address climate change. At the national level countries have determined what actions they are willing and able to take to achieve this goal, and communicate this through their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)1, including open discussions through the Talanoa Dialogue, to raise their ambitions.

In Eastern Africa, agriculture sector is dominated by small scale farmers and is the main source of livelihood in rural are-as. It drives the rural economy, accounting for approximately 25 percent of GDP (World Bank, 2017), 70 percent of employment and five billion USD in food export revenues every year (FAO, 2017). The sector is highly exposed to climate change as farming and livestock activities directly depend on climatic conditions. The majority of agricultural activity in the region is rain-fed, and therefore, susceptible to weather fluctuations. Over the last three decades the frequency of droughts and floods in East Africa have increased (for example, the 2016-2017 drought experienced in Kenya), resulting in crop failures and loss of livestock (EAC, 2017).

Another major constraint is related to unequal access to land that disfavours women. Furthermore in this region, large quantities of agricultural commodities produced by farmers tend to perish un-marketed as small-holder farmers lack technology for processing and preservation. In addition, irrigation facilities remain inferior and inaccessible to the poor.

Furthermore, with increasing soil erosion, nutrient depletion and land degradation, land resilience has been reduced and the effects of drought and floods exacerbated. The combination of deforestation due to croplands open, the extension of agriculture onto land with low potential, and the use of more basic farming techniques and technologies due to cost and capacity barriers, make the current agricultural system unsustainable in the long term.

Therefore women who largely make the bulk of the smallholder farmers primarily face the wrath of these unfavourable changes.

East Africa Partners’ NDCs: What is planned in the Agriculture Sector?

Agriculture is a priority sector for adaptation in all NDCs of the three countries. All the three countries aim to increase agricultural production and productivity, as well as create sustainable production systems and improve market for farm products.

In summary, the proposed priority adaptation and mitigation measures for the crop and livestock sectors in the NDCs of the three countries include improving land and water management, expanding information and early warning systems, expanding Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), diversification of crops and livestock, strengthening extension services, expanding value addition and post-harvest handling, improving access to market and microfinances, expanding research, rangeland management and promotion of crop insurance. Crop pests and diseases are expected to in-crease as a result of regional warming due to climate change. Partner states should improve measures to overcome pests and diseases in next review of NDCs.

CSA seems to be a priority intervention to NDCs of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. CSA has the potential to increase sustainable productivity, increase the resilience of farming systems to climate impacts and mitigate climate change through greenhouse gas emission reductions and carbon sequestration. For smallholder women farmers in East Africa, the opportunities for greater food security and increased income together with greater resilience will be more important to adopting CSA. Often, food-insecure, resource-poor, smallholder women farmers in EAC partner state cannot afford to make a long-term investment required for many climate-smart agriculture practices, while market and institutional environments are not conductive.

What needs to change in the agriculture sector?

The agriculture sector NDCs in EAC should focus on improving livelihoods and income so that there is incentive for women smallholder farmers to invest in CSA.

Climate actions should also consider combining practices that deliver short-term benefits with those that give longer-term benefits to help reduce opportunity costs and provide greater incentives to women smallholder farmers to invest in better management practices. Existing production and market systems should be modified to facilitate equitable access for women smallholders to the technologies and financial resources they need to reduce vulnerability and risk.

What should different actors do to address the main constraints faced by women small holder farmers?

Overall, in order to integrate poverty reduction in implementation of NDCs of East African Community (EAC) Partner States, the East African Community Secretariat, Partner States, Civil Society, Private sector and development partners have a collective role to play.

For example the EAC secretariat should ensure clear alignment between Partner climate change policies and poverty reduction strategies (including gender related aspects) while reviewing the EAC’s Regional Climate Change Policy (2011), the Climate Change Strategy (2011/12 – 2015/2016), and the Climate Change Master Plan (2013 – 2033) to mainstream the Paris Agreement commitments

There are upcoming global, regional and national policy reviews for example the Global Stocktake. Here, EAC Partner States should take into account existing safeguards to address social exclusions and (gender) inequalities in order to guarantee existence of the poor women and other marginalized communities to cope with global warming and its effects. In addition, the relevant climate change ministries and departments should undertake specific efforts to ensure wider participation of the poor and their representatives in the implementation of the NDCs and their reviews.

Civil Society Organisations should mobilize citizens and citizen groups to regularly generate information and ideas for contribution to raise the ambition of the NDCs by highlighting the need to address poverty that affects millions especially women. In addition, CSOs should play a role in the promotion of tried and tested local technologies (amongst potential supporters) that have potential to enable poor women and other marginalised groups to adapt to the unpredictable climate change patterns in East Africa.

Among others, Development Partners should ensure that development cooperation support for implementation of NDCs in East Africa is sensitive to addressing poverty amongst women and other marginalised groups.

Read the full Policy Brief: Illuminating the need to integrate poverty reduction in Implementation of the NDCs in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) from the PIPA Project Partners from here

Monday, January 22, 2018

Uganda 2018 CSO New Year Statement urges for more climate action in 2018

As we start 2018, it is important for us to reflect on the year past and cast our eyes towards what the New Year presents. Needless to mention that the Year 2017 was a tough one, replete with several challenges on the socioeconomic and political fronts. Some of these challenges created major fault-lines in the bedrock of our society and threatened the future of all Ugandans.

One of the key development challenges is  the lukewarm attention to climate change. 2017 was the second hottest year on record worldwide. Uganda’s weather patterns have equally changed as reflected in the unpredictable rainfall patterns characterized by a mosaic of extended droughts and heavy storms that have led to loss of assets and livelihoods in 2017.  

In order to cope with these fast changes in the short and medium term, the Government of Uganda needs to fast track the delayed implementation of the National Climate Change Policy, advance mainstreaming of climate change in the district development planning process as well as the district environment action planning process. In order to address the increasing vulnerability of the majority poor on one side and in line with the Paris Agreement, Uganda needs to expeditiously formulate the National Adaptation Plan through a multi-stakeholder consultative process. Read the full Uganda 2018 CSO New Year Statement -  'Transcending Despair and Restoring Dignity': Ugandans on a People-Driven Path to Progress from here

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

FAO urges Countries to Comply with the Global Chemical Conventions to cut back Soil Pollution and to Address Food Insecurity

Did you know that it takes thousands of years to form 1 cm of soil? Yet, it can be destroyed in almost no time at all. Unsustainable agriculture practices, urban infrastructures, pollution, erosion, climate change and other factors all contribute to the rapid degradation of our soils and to desertification. About 33 per cent of our lands are already degraded, and this increasing trend is putting in check the achievement of many global agreements.

Indeed, the 2017 World Soil Day is on the theme: ‘Caring for the planet starts from the ground’. Soil is a symbol of fertility. It is the origin of life. It is the basis for food production. According to a statement from Dr. Cristiana PaÅŸca Palmer - the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity on the occasion of world soil day, ‘Soils are also home to a range of life forms, which are not, perhaps, as charismatic as bees or butterflies. However, soil biodiversity is also fundamental to keeping Mother Earth fertile and for nurturing life on our planet’.

As part of this day, the Food and Agriculture Organization and UN Environment organized a breakfast side event to honor it on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA3) taking place in Nairobi 4 – 6 December 2017.

Speaking at this event, Mette Wilkie - Director of the Ecosystems Division at UN Environment, warned that soil degradation costs are estimated at USD 68 billion per year as lost income. On the other hand while 1/3 of the global food is lost as waste, it needs to be properly recycled to replenish our soils, given that 95% of all global food supply comes from the soil.

Carlos Martina Novella - Deputy Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, noted that farmers continue to use chemicals that are known to be dangerous to the environment and much so to the soil. While 3 chemical conventions (Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions) are in place, the use of some outlawed chemicals still goes on, while others result in bioaccumulation in the food chain, due to their persistence in the environment (Persistent Organic pollutants) causing long-term public health and environmental disruptions that stride borders. Unfortunately these chemicals are still widely used in large quantities including in emergencies like in control of the army worm and desert locust invasions.

Mr. Vijay Kumar from the Small holder farmers cooperative – State of Andra Pradesh in India shared several useful experiences on conservation agriculture that has zero chemical application that has changed food productivity, communities incomes and general landscapes in that area. He noted that, ‘these positive experiences have been replicated elsewhere and have the potential to contribute to better farming that can reduce soil pollution across the world’. He added that farmers in Andra Pradesh have a saying: ‘soil is my mother; protection of soil is my duty to get food from my mother’.

At this occasion a Global soil Organic Carbon Map (involving 110 countries) was launched. Soil organic carbon is the carbon that remains in the soil after partial decomposition of any material produced by living organisms. It constitutes a key element of the global carbon cycle through atmosphere, vegetation, soil, rivers and ocean. It is the main component of soil organic matter and as such constitutes the fuel for any soil. Loss of this vital soil component negatively affects not only soil health and food production, but also exacerbates climate change as organic matter decomposes releasing carbon based green house gases to the atmosphere. The map notes that globally, the current estimate of carbon stock (up to 30 cm from the surface) is 680 billion tones.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

'Pope Francis’s Laudato Si principles provides a transformative response to Climate Change'



A side event organized by CISDE, CAFOD, Trocaire, and Caritas Internationalis underscored Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ (powerful message on our moral responsibility to care for creation) principles and held discussions regarding the extent to which they could be useful as a transformative response to the global climate change challenge. Panelists shared their experiences from Tuvalu, the Philippines and the United Nations.

Sharing Tuvalu’s experiences as a Pacific Island State, Prime Minister - Enele Sosene Sopoaga noted that the current severe human-induced events call for urgent action to cut back on use of fossil fuels and replace them with Renewable Energy options. He appealed to everyone who cares to heed to the Pope’s warning that is summed up in the encyclical. ‘There is no time to waste – drowning of people due to cyclones and other forms of disasters should be contained by our very equal response’, he added.

Tuvalu has always had to fight with extreme weather events like storm surges and floods. But as a consequence of climate change and sea level rise, the frequency and magnitude of these weather events are intensified. Even a very minor rise in the sea level would have "severely negative effects on atolls and low islands" (IPCC 2001, p. 856) and would increasingly threaten areas with inundation. Additionally, the effects of storm surges and floods are exacerbated due to the fact that natural break-waters, like coral reefs, are decreasing because of global warming.

Prime Minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga expressed fear for inaction since the Paris Agreement came into force. ‘There is a resurgence of very weak leadership, obstructionist approaches and cannibalizing the Paris Agreement while vulnerable communities are bring submerged’, he cautioned. He therefore warned that it is not moral enough to do more dialogue when emissions are still going high, but rather act – by reducing CO2 emissions from the atmosphere, and keeping fossil fuels in the ground.

Neil Thorns (CAFOD) agreed that the Tuvalu Premier that the current ‘cannibalizing’ models of development need to change. He suggested the UNESCO’s Declaration of Ethical Principles in relation to Climate Change (2017). He particularly singled out the need to have climate action participatory at all levels through listening to all groups. In addition he called for the need for promoting equitable and just transition (that related to NDCs, Climate actions and plans.

Tetel Lauron (IBON International) noted that false solutions like bioenergy carbon capture, geoengineering with ethical and moral questions, as they tinker with natural systems, with unknown consequences. She called for a change of paradigm in support of the poor and theroi efforts to get out of poverty. ‘Pull those that are far ahead’ (in reference to Agenda 2030’s Leave No One Behind. This calls for building reconstructing structures that strengthen the powerless, redistribute resources and power based on gender, social and environmental considerations.

Jean Pascal (Advisor to the Fiji delegation and Scientist) called for increased political debates on climate actions / climate change issues in national parliaments and community meetings than it is currently. He reminded the meeting that through the Laudato Si the Pope speaks to more people across the world, not only Catholics.

Monday, November 6, 2017

Uganda CSOs urge Govt on vulnerable populations in the Climate Change Bill

Ahead of this Year's Climate negotiations in Bonn, Ugandan CSOs under the auspices of Climate Action Network Uganda and the Environmental and Natural Resource CSOs resolved that Government of Uganda should ensure that the Climate Change Bill addresses the needs and concerns of vulnerable communities, indigenous peoples and specifies the roles of civil society and the private sector in scaling-up efforts and support actions to reduce emissions and build resilience to the adverse effects of climate change

For the COP23 process, Ugandan CSOs call on parties to clarify on the features of the NDCs; provide information to facilitate clarity, transparency and understanding of the NDCs. The CMA should agree to have a minimum standard in the NDC with a new way of accounting for NDCs; urge Parties to consider establishing the Adaptation Benefit Mechanism as a component of the Framework for Non-Market Approaches (NMA) so as to pursue voluntary cooperation in the implementation of NDCs .

Read the full Uganda CSO statement for COP23 from here

Southern CSOs to showcase how NDCs and LEDs can advance climate solutions at COP23 in Bonn


The annual UN climate talks for 2017 will take place from 6 to 17 November at the World Conference Centre Bonn (Germany) under the Fijian Presidency. During this global meeting, Governments are expected to advance discussions on implementation of the Paris Agreement with efforts on developing guidelines on how the Agreement’s provisions will be implemented across a wide range of issues. These include Greenhouse Gas emission reductions, provision of climate finance, adaptation, capacity building and technology transfer.

According to IISD Reporting Services, among others, this meeting is expected to be technical in nature, focused on issues related to operationalizing the Paris Agreement, which is set for completion in 2018 at COP24. Among the many technical issues parties will discuss are: further guidance in relation to mitigation, including on the features of Nationally-Determined Contributions (NDCs), and in relation to adaptation communications; modalities, procedures, and guidelines for the enhanced transparency framework; matters related to the global stocktake; modalities and procedures for the committee to facilitate implementation and enhance compliance; matters related to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement (cooperative approaches); modalities and procedures for the operation and use of a public registry, or registries; and other matters related to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Project Partners working under the Project to Promote Implementation of the Paris Agreement (PIPA) that comprise SusWatch Kenya, TaTEDO, and Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development (UCSD), SustainableEnergy and the International Forum for Sustainable Energy (INFORSE), have issued a policy brief titled: ‘The importance of a poverty reduction focus in the NDCs, transparency framework and global stocktake’. According to this policy brief, the Partners urgue that In the ongoing negotiations on the development of the “Paris Rule book”, it is important that the “rules” are set in order for the resulting NDCs and climate actions to mitigate climate change, build climate resilience, enhance sustainable development and reduce poverty in developing countries. This will increase popular support for the climate actions, and thereby the likelihood of their success.

The 3 PIPA Partners have also partnered up with others to organize a side event on Thursday November 9, 2017 from 16:45 to 18:15 in Room 4, Bonn Zone. In this side event, Partners will showcase village based solutions from South Asia and East Africa and how NDCs & LEDS can promote these solutions, how a good Paris Rulebook can facilitate this. Join us then!

Friday, July 7, 2017

Climate Change Education | MBC Television

The sensitization of Climate change and its adverse impacts are taking place at the school level.Communications Officer for the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project at the Department of Sustainable Development, Lucius Doxerie tells us about the campaign to edify young minds on the need to take action to minimize the damage they can cause and the need to take advantage of opportunities that may arise.