The hilly slope of South Africa’s Institute for the Advancement of Journalism offers a perfect bird’s eye view of the City of Gold’s rich ornamental environment.
Johannesburg is one of the world’s greenest cities and part of the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group. Home to some 10 million trees, the city boasts the largest man-made urban forest.
Fascinatingly, about 7.5 million of the planted trees are private properties, whilst the other 2.5 million are in parks. In 2010, the city planted 200,000 street trees and an additional 20,000 for 2011.
These figures should get everyone thinking about what other cities on the continent can do and should be doing, as the world’s biggest summit on climate change holds in Durban, South Africa.
So what are some of the little and big things everyone needs to be doing to dodge the damning impact of a changing climate, especially in Africa, where already the changing weather and rainfall patterns are having a major impact?
According to Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the youth are critical to global efforts to combat deforestation and natural resource degradation.
Getting the youth involved in conservation, he believes, could help preserve the African forests, sustain efforts on reforestation, and slow down the alarming rate of deforestation and natural resource degradation.
Between 1990 and 2005 alone, the world lost 3.3% of its forests.
Ghana lost 33.7 percent of its forest cover between 1990 and 2010, an average of 125,400 ha or 1.68 percent per year.
“The consequence of this situation has led to global warming and climate change that is now affecting agricultural production,” says Dr. Sanginga.
A recent study by the World Bank said Sub-Saharan Africa alone will need to find another $14-17 billion a year between now and 2050, with the cost of adapting to climate change added to the mix.
The Bank’s Vice President for the Africa Region, Obiageli Ezekwesili, says climate change is adding to an already tough set of development challenges for the continent.
The World Bank Group has about $7 billion in planned investments to help Africa deal with climate change – ranging from helping countries come to terms with climate risks and vulnerabilities to designing new climate-friendly policies to making the shift to renewable forms of energy.
These investments must however be driven by individual and collective commitment to mitigate the changing climate.
The Nigerian Field Society for instance, wants to recruit youths who are committed to the cause of environmental protection and raise awareness on the negative effects of deforestation, as a response in curbing forest loss.
The gathering of the 17th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) would attempt to find a common solution to secure a future for generations to come.
But it is hoped that cities in Africa will not just be caught in the debate of a new global agreement on greenhouse gas emission.
The Johannesburg green credentials should be inspiring enough for Africa to start walking the talk of mitigating climate change.
Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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