"Climate change will kill more Africans than malaria or AIDS," Anglican church warned

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

"Climate change will kill more Africans than
malaria or AIDS," Anglican church warned

Posted On : August 26, 2010 12:31 PM | Posted By : Webmaster
ACNS: http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2010/8/26/ACNS4727
Related Categories: Africa

Bishops told the church has pivotal role in mitigating the impact of
climate change on local communities.

The continent of Africa is facing a future in which climate change
will kill more people than traditional causes such as malaria and HIV,
according to a Ugandan environmental expert.

Dr Rose Mwebaza warned Anglican bishops from Africa in Entebbe that
lakes across the continent are shrinking and drying up, crops are
failing, deforestation is leading to terrible flooding and, as a
result, people are fighting and killing each other over resources.

?Africa is facing several [environmental] challenges,? said Dr
Mwebaza, a senior legal advisor on environmental security at Nairobi?s
Institute of Security Studies. These include increased droughts and
reduced availability of water; desertification - one factor in major
flooding - and increased incidents of diseases in previously 
unaffected are as.

?Lake Chad in 1973 covered several countries,? she said. ?It is
reduced to a shadow of its former self. It is vanishing from the
continent right in front of our eyes.?

The same was true of Mount Kilimanjaro, she said. Once covered with
plenty of snow, experts predict that, within 2 to 5 years? time, there
will be none left on that mountain. ?These are the things that are
happening right in front of our eyes.?

?I think climate change is going to cause more deaths than many of the
other traditional causes such as malaria and aids,? she said.
?Whenever I say that, people look at me surprised but it?s true.?

?The Rift Valley used to be a bread basket, a fertile area? it?s now a
wasteland. A lot of the rivers are completely dry. What this is
leading to is that it has become a security problem. People are
literally killing each other over resources.?

?[Governments] are facing the problem of malaria and several other
diseases that didn?t exist before or existed only in a few
locations?that is adding to the health challenges of those countries.

Against this grim backdrop, Dr Mwebaza told the All Africa Bishops
Conference that there were, however, some relatively simple things
that churches could do to support communities to mitigate the impact
of climate change. She highlighted three things: information, energy
projects and reforestation projects.

?If the church provides the community with information centres, either
in the parish or diocesan office, you would be amazed at how those
information centres can transform communities.? An example of this
transformative information includes how to build simple pan dams to
capture rainwater for irrigating crops, watering cattle and - together
with water purifying techniques - to provide potable water.

A simple energy project that Dr Mwebaza explained had made a major
difference in her diocese is biogas. Turning cow dung into gas that is
burned for light and heat is cheap and low-tech, prevents oil
smoke-related health issues, allows children to study into the evening
and means less deforestation. The church, she said, could help promote
such projects in dioceses and parishes.

Finally Dr Mwebaza said that planting trees would have a huge
environmental impact and could also make the church considerable sums
of money through carbon trading schemes. ?The church is the one of the
biggest landowners on the continent. If they reforested just a quarter
of the land they have they could make a significant difference.?

She gave the example of a government-led reforestation project in
Uganda, in Kibaale and Mt Elgon that are projected to amount to
1,500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide worth US$45 million dollars.

> ENDS

> Notes to Editor

1. The 2nd All Africa Bishops Conference (AABC) from the 23rd ? 29th
August 2010 is at the Imperial Resort Hotel, Entebbe, Uganda. The
conference brings together Bishops from 400 dioceses in Burundi,
Central Africa, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Seychelles, Mauritius, Kenya,
Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, South
Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania, Egypt and Uganda.
http://www.africanbishops.org

2. The Anglican Communion Office serves the Anglican Communion,
comprising around 80 million members in 44 regional and national
member churches around the globe in more than 160 countries.
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/

3. Media queries about the Anglican Communion relating to this
conference should contact Mr Jan Butter on +256(0)700882038 or
jan.butter@aco.org