Rivers in Africa are suffering from climate change and environmental degradation

Arabia Weather - The main river basins in Africa have become centers of conflicts over the past twenty decades. Agricultural yields on the continent are expected to decline by up to 50% in the coming years due to a shortage of traditional water sources, partly due to the effects of climate change and environmental degradation.

Environmental degradation in Africa

At the same time, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss are affecting Africa more than other regions, where 4 million hectares of forest are lost annually, twice the global rate of loss.

Researcher Maina Waruru indicates in a report published via Inter Press that this factor has partly contributed to the migration of more than 50 million people from deteriorating areas in sub-Saharan Africa to North Africa and Europe by 2020, according to a report issued by the Indian Center for Science and Environment in Nairobi in October 2023.

The report showed that all major water basins on the continent are experiencing disruptions that include unsustainable use of resources as well as climate change, making them hotspots of competition for water resources.

These basins include Lake Chad, shared by Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Niger; the Nile River, shared by Egypt, Uganda, Sudan, and Ethiopia; Lake Victoria, shared by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania; and the Niger River, on which local communities in Niger, Mali, and Nigeria depend.

The list also included the Congo River Basin, a shared resource used by Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, the Lake Malawi Basin shared by Tanzania and Malawi, and the Lake Turkana Basin in Kenya and Ethiopia.

For example, conflicts have raged over the Lake Chad Basin since 1980, and water bodies have seen their bodies shrink by up to 90% since the 1960s as a result of overuse and the effects of climate change.

The report also noted that Lake Chad has for decades supported drinking water, irrigation, fishing, livestock and economic activities for more than 30 million people, and is vital to indigenous, tribal and agricultural communities in one of the world's poorest countries. Climate change has significantly affected the escalation of environmental and humanitarian crises in the region.

Bodies of water have diminished by 90 percent since the 1960s due to overuse and the effects of climate change

The report explained that international bodies and regional governments have long ignored the interaction of climate change with societal violence and forced displacement. He stressed that conflicts between herders and farmers have become common as a result of the loss of means of livelihood and the migration of families that depend on water areas to other areas in search of water.

The report indicated that conflicts in the Congo Basin began in 1960, and that the basin is suffering from multifaceted crises, including forced displacement, violent conflicts, political instability, and the effects of climate change.

The report also followed conflicts in the Niger Basin until 1980, blaming climate change for escalating disputes over damage to farmland and restricted access to water. Disagreements over the Nile River began in 2011 due to Ethiopia’s construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam, which raised Egypt’s concerns about its impact on water flow.

However, disputes over Lake Turkana's resources are somewhat more recent, dating back to 2016 when it was noted that 90% of the lake's water comes from the Omo River in Ethiopia. Temperatures have risen and rainfall has decreased, causing lake levels in Kenya to fall. Ethiopia's pastoralist tribes have begun following the water's path to survive, sparking a tribal conflict with their Kenyan counterparts. The construction of the third Gilgel Gibe Dam in Ethiopia contributed to the worsening situation.

The report had predicted that in 2020, between 75 and 250 million people in Africa would be vulnerable to “high water pressure” due to climate change. The report also warned that agriculture may decline in some countries by up to 50% due to the lack of traditional water sources such as lakes, rivers and wells.

It was emphasized that the way Africa manages its water resources will determine the extent of water security in the world. Africa's aquifers contain 0.66 million cubic kilometers of water, more than 100 times more than the renewable freshwater resources stored in dams and rivers.

The report explained, for example, that Ethiopia, known as the “water tower” on the continent, faces challenges related to the decline in the level of lakes and rivers. Africa is considered the second largest continent in the world in terms of area and population, and contains a large percentage of the world's animal and plant species. However, species extinction and rates of biodiversity loss on the continent are higher than on any other continent.

35% of all deaths caused by extreme weather, climate change or water stress in the world over the past 50 years were recorded in Africa as a result of these phenomena. Although the global South will mainly bear the burden of internal migration, the reasons for migration will vary from region to region based on issues related to climate change such as water shortages or sea level rise. However, the report shows that water scarcity will be the main driver of migration overall.

The State of the Environment 2023 report indicates that there are only between 1,050 and 2,050 million chimpanzees remaining on the African continent. This species is limited to Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon, while other populations have become extinct in Gambia, Burkina Faso, Benin, Kenya and Togo. This represents a major threat to the diversity of wildlife on the continent and requires sustained efforts to conserve this valuable species and maintain ecosystem balance in the areas where it is found.

The report shows some optimism when it points to some successful models of environmental conservation that have been implemented by local communities in some African countries. He stresses that the world will benefit if Africa works to protect its biodiversity. It emphasizes that protected areas in Africa have the potential to eradicate poverty and promote peace.

The report indicates that South Africa will be most affected by extreme weather events, making some areas uninhabitable due to weather phenomena. People there actually have to migrate to other areas within or outside their country in search of better living conditions.

The report also addresses the challenges of agro-pastoral communities in East Africa, as their migration rate from arid and semi-arid regions of Africa to urban areas and outside the continent has increased in recent years. This is partly due to accelerating environmental degradation.

The report stresses that Africa bears a collective responsibility to manage the environment sustainably by guiding and directing it at the COP28 conference scheduled in Dubai. The World Meteorological Organization shows that the “2022 Global Climate Situation” indicates a lack of rainfall in East Africa for four consecutive seasons, something that has not happened in 40 years. The region recorded five consecutive deficits by the end of 2022, and the 2022 rainy season was the driest in more than 70 years in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. This drought is partly attributed to environmental destruction and climate change. Overall, the report confirms that the climate crisis in Africa represents a real challenge facing millions of people who have been suffering from nature's wrath for many years.

Source: alarab