The
Gambia has received US$52,822,672 for tackling climate hazards through
implementing various climate change projects.
This
is part of funds aimed at supporting the efforts of Least Developed Countries
(LDC), which are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Indeed,
LDCs including The Gambia are really vulnerable to climate change.
Climate
change is a global or regional climate patterns attributed largely to the
increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil
fuels.
Climate
change is a global problem, and its effects are many and could increase health
risks and escalate poverty in developing countries.
Its
impacts are also wide-ranging and are felt ecologically, economically, and
socially, hence solutions to it must always be found to ensure we live on a
safe environment.
According
to Climate Action Network, an international apex institution fighting climate
change and promoting solutions to climate change problems, climate change is
probably the most urgent problem facing our society caused by human activity,
“but we also know that we can solve this problem”.
It
says: “Our planet’s atmosphere is part of a global system that keeps the
temperature of our planet within a habitable range. Over the last 200 years or
so, humans have been altering the composition of the atmosphere by burning
fossil fuels, including coal, oil and gas. When these are burned, CO2 is
produced and builds up in the atmosphere, creating what is known as the
greenhouse effect. Other ‘greenhouse gases’ that contribute to this effect
include methane produced from livestock and N2O from nitrogen-based
fertilizers, although CO2 is the most prevalent.
“The
greenhouse effect traps energy from the sun, and raises the temperature of the
earth; it is similar to what happens when a car is left in the sun. This rising
temperature is what most people are referring to when they say ‘global warming’
or ‘climate change’.”
Climate
change could pose serious threat to The Gambia’s future, as the country’s
climate is typically Sahelian with a long dry season from November to May and a
short rainy season between June and October.
Therefore,
The Gambia is highly vulnerable to any changes to its climate characteristics
and it is evidently documented that there is an increase in average minimum
monthly temperature by 0.40 degree centigrade over 40 years, according to an
environmental education officer with the Programme of Works on Protected Areas
(PoWPA) under the Department of Parks and Wildlife.
“The
Gambia is mainly an agrarian economy and its agriculture sector is mainly
subsistence rain-fed agriculture with a food self-sufficiency ratio of about 50%,
which generates approximately 40% of the country’s total foreign exchange
earnings,” he said.
Climate
Change is indeed a common concern of humankind and the fight to tackle it must
not be constrained by any vices or factors that impinge on human rights.
As
stated by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2016 – 2020), which the
environment minister reported on few days ago at the National Assembly, parties
to the Agreement, when taking action to address climate change, should respect,
promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the right to
health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants,
children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the
right to development, as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and
inter-generational equity.
These
are all the issues that need to be addressed by this project through
appropriate policies and actions with the aid of the funds.
So
let fight climate change appropriately and promote solutions that protect the
climate, since The Gambia is signatory to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change.
“Tackling
climate change is everyone’s business.”
The
Point
