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Africa most vulnerable to climate change effects

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-24 22:14

ABIDJAN  -- The continued deforestation of the forest cover is exposing the African continent to the most "brutal and devastating climate changes" in the world, the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) has said.

"Africa is the continent most affected by climate change. The rate of deforestation is the highest compared to those of other continents," ITTO Director Emmanuel Ze Meka said on Monday during the opening session of an international meeting on "afforestation and reforestation" at Grand-Bassam, near Abidjan.

"A good portion of the population live in rural areas and are extremely dependent on forest resources, from which they derive most of their livelihood," said the Cameroonian while officially opening the four-day meeting.

"Broadly speaking, this population is extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change because the vast majority are living well below the poverty line... thus limiting the possibilities for adaptation," said the ITTO director.

"The fight against climate change and adaptation to its effects on Africa represent an extremely important issue," according to the ITTO chief, who stressed that "Africa has vast areas that need to be reforested as a matter of urgency."

The Grad-Bassam meeting is bringing together experts from Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana and Togo, as well as Japan and India, according to its organizers.

The experts will deliberate on the "revision" of procedures for implementing the so-called Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which was decided by the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 with a view to mitigating the effects of climate change by providing helps to developing countries.

"The conditions of the CDM, thanks to which the Northern countries can invest in the South and generate profits for sustainable development, are complex," said Cyril Loisel, who is in charge of renewable energies at France's National Forests Office.

"The CDM requires that the land, on which we will reforest, has remained deforested at least since 1990. In many circumstances, Cote d'Ivoire, as in other countries of the sub-region, it is quite difficult to demonstrate that these lands have been left bare during this period. This poses a problem and disqualifies many potential projects," said Loisel.

The ITTO is an intergovernmental organization that was established to promote the sustainable conservation, management, operation and trade in tropical forest resources, according to official sources.

The organization, which has 59 members, represents about 80 percent of the world's tropical forest cover and commands up to 90 percent of world trade in tropical timber.