Future uncertain as climate changes

“The real face of climate change is not a seal on a shrinking piece of ice ... it’s an African child suffering from malaria,” said World Vision Australia chief executive officer Tim Costello.

According to him, climate change has made this a much more erratic, unpredictable and volatile world to live in and an even more dangerous one for our children to grow up in. Take for example malaria, which is the biggest killer of children in Africa. In the past, cities in Zimbabwe and Kenya had existed above the so-called “mosquito line” (the altitude in which mosquitoes can survive), and were pretty much malaria-free. Lately, however, these places have seen increases in malaria cases and it is believed that global warming has caused the mosquito line to recede, thus affecting these previously “safe” places.

World Vision, one of the largest humanitarian relief and development organisations in the world with 5,000 projects scattered all over, has always focused on people and poverty-alleviation. Two and a half years ago, it decided that climate change was an issue it could no longer ignore as its field staff have been reporting more and more cases of disasters in their project areas.

According to Costello, World Vision is primarily a development organisation that usually only stays in one place for about 15 years, helping to lift the community to sustainability in terms of agriculture and education, and then eventually leaving them to survive on their own.

“However, in many places, it became clear to us we weren’t able to leave because there were more and more disasters, famines and droughts. Our dollar was shifting from development to disaster relief instead. We realised that if we can’t address climate, we’ll eventually turn into a disaster relief organisation, not a development one anymore. It would also undo our 60 years of development work.”

Eventually, Costello’s Australian chapter led the way in saying that they had to draw a connection between what the scientists were saying, and what they were experiencing in the field.

“It’s still a difficult issue to address. You can’t really say for certain that the Pakistan floods are caused by climate change. But from our point of view, something has changed. We now have programmes in Indonesia that are constantly flooded, and they’ve never been that way in living memory. When Cyclone Nagis hit Myanmar (in 2008), the local people said it was unprecedented. All these disasters have made our work in dealing with poverty so much more difficult.”

Adaptation

As a result, World Vision has had to adapt its own policies and methods to suit the changes brought forth by climate change. “We’ve got to think environmentally in every programme we do now. It’s no longer just ‘get them out of poverty quickly’, but ‘get them out of poverty sustainably’. So if they need a stove, it’s no longer just ‘give them a stove’. We now have to think ‘What is the most fuel-effective stove?’”

One clear example of such a change in focus is in Ethiopia, where the loss of 80% of the rainforest has affected the country’s primary crop – coffee, which needs shaded forests. It has also changed the rain patterns in Ethiopia, which means land that was once arable can no longer produce crops.

Right now, World Vision is doing the biggest reforestation programme in Ethiopia. The trees will help the coffee crops, and also act as a source of food. So it’s not just environmental ... it’s also food security for Ethiopians,” explained Costello.

The organisation has also installed a simple oven that harnesses methane gas from cow dung, so the community can not only cook on renewable gas energy but also sell the gas.

“Previously, we would have put in a big generator that produced electricity, connected to some grid, and the normal methods would have been to get power there, even if it was dirty power. That’s what we would have done because it’s the proven method and is cheaper. But the big shift now is towards simple technology that is sustainable. With the gas oven and reforestation efforts, we’ve managed to put in place a sustainable food security strategy, plus a mitigating and adaptation strategy to counter the effects of climate change.

“We still believe in (helping poor communities achieve) economic growth, but we believe we can help them move to low carbon economic growth.”

Our children’s future

Don’t get him wrong though. World Vision is still very much focused on combating poverty and helping children.

“No, World Vision is not turning into Greenpeace! But our message is this ... the child you donate money to lives within a family and community. So it is not much good donating to the child if the community doesn’t have a clinic or school. At the same time, there is also not much good in donating to the child if that community is going to be washed away by a storm surge. So your donation is also going to some climate change measures that will help protect that child’s community.”

What World Vision is doing now is to give the battle against climate change a more human face, or more specifically, the face of a child.

“Most parents, particularly those in poor countries, work incredibly hard to give their children a better life. They will sacrifice a lot just to give their children a chance. What we’re saying is that all our children are going to have their future robbed because we haven’t put a price on carbon, and the decisions we’re making or not making now are profoundly affecting their future. And ultimately, that motivates people more than environmental concerns.”

Source: thestar