The world is likely to experience significant disruptions to food supplies well before the 1.5C target is reached, according to the president of the UN’s desertification conference, as the combined effects of the climate crisis, water scarcity, and poor agricultural practices threaten global agriculture.
Alain-Richard Donwahi, a former Ivory Coast minister of defense who headed the UN Cop15 summit on desertification last year, stated that the effects of drought were manifesting more quickly than anticipated.
“Climate change is a pandemic that we need to fight quickly. See how fast the degradation of the climate is going – I think it’s going even faster than we predicted,” he said. “Everyone is fixated on 1.5C [above pre-industrial levels], and it’s a very important target. But actually, some very bad things could happen, in terms of soil degradation, water scarcity and desertification, way before 1.5C.”
Donwahi stated that rising temperatures, heatwaves, and more severe droughts and floods were jeopardizing food security in numerous regions. “[Look at] the effects of droughts on food security, the effects of droughts on migration of population, the effect of droughts on inflation. We could have an acceleration of negative effects, other than temperature,” he said.
He stated that poor agricultural practices were not assisting. “The degradation of soil comes with bad habits, and the way we do our agriculture will lead to degradation of the soil. When the soil is affected, the yield is affected,” he said.
Donwahi urged private sector investors to participate and take advantage of profit-making opportunities. ““The private sector has an interest in agriculture, and the better usage of the soil. We’re talking about [improving] yields. We’re talking about agroforestry, which is another way the private sector can have a return on investment,” he said. “We have to be innovative, to find new vehicles for finance.”
In 1992, governments from around the globe signed a treaty pledging to combat desertification, along with the UN framework convention on climate change, which is the parent treaty of the Paris climate agreement of 2015, and the UN convention on biodiversity, which seeks to protect species abundance.
Read Also: New Study Reveals Alarming Trend: Cancer Patients Turning to Binge Drinking, Even Amid Treatment
Desertification Treaty’s Overlooked Status Amid Climate and Biodiversity Conferences
Nevertheless, the desertification treaty receives the least attention, and last December’s Cop15 on desertification was largely unnoticed compared to the climate Cop27 and the biodiversity Cop15. In December 2024, the next conference on desertification will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while Cop28, the next climate summit, will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in late November.
The globe, according to Donwahi, could not afford to disregard desertification. ““We need to solve all the problems together. Desertification and drought leads to climate change, leads to loss of biodiversity. And when you have climate change you have droughts, floods, storms.
He added that wealthy nations should turn to Africa for solutions to the climate crisis. Africa possesses a number of the natural resources required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance food security, and preserve biodiversity, including minerals required for renewable energy technology, forests, sun, and extensive groundwater reserves.
He urged Africans to take advantage of these opportunities. “If the Africans realise that Africa is a solution, they will act differently – they will come with a more positive attitude, that you’re fighting to find solutions together. That’s how we should think – you don’t want to always be the one waiting for the help, for the handout, waiting cap in hand.”
Read Also: Fox’s Chief Legal Officer Behind $787 Million Dominion Settlement Steps Down: Viet Dinh Departs
Source: The Guardian
