Earth Equity News

African Development Forum Meets in Addis Ababa, Warned that Climate Change is Already Causing Human Migrations. Afrique en ligne, 10/16/10. “Climate change is causing growing internal population migrations and displacements in Africa, a top official of the U.N. High Commission for Refugees [UNHCR], Chrysantus Ache, said Friday [10/15/10]. Ache, the UNHCR representative at the Africa Union and the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa [UNECA], said more and more people were on the move, escaping climate change-induced disasters such as droughts and flooding. Ache warned, at the Seventh African Development Forum [meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia], that the situation would become critical in coming years as the impact of global warming worsens…

“’Climate change is already undermining the livelihoods and security of many people, exacerbating income differentials and deepening inequalities. Over the last two decades, the number of recorded natural disasters has doubled from some 200 to over 400 per year. Nine out of every ten natural disasters today are climate-related,' Ache said. He warned that as temperatures rose further and land became increasingly less productive, urbanization in Africa will also accelerate, generating additional competition for scarce resources and public services in cities. Other experts at the forum also warned that incidences of vector-borne diseases will increase as a result of climate change, as will the cost of food and energy. In the end, this will cause increased social and political conflicts, which on the surface will be difficult to trace to climate change, they said.”