The world is likely to face severe disruptions to food supplies well before global warming and temperatures rise by the objective of 1.5C, according to the president of the UN’s desertification conference, who issued this warning because the effects of the climate catastrophe combine with water scarcity and poor farming methods to harm global agriculture.
According to Alain-Richard Donwahi, a former defence minister of the Ivory Coast who headed the United Nations Cop15 summit on desertification last year, the effects of drought are taking hold of the region more quickly than was anticipated.
“Climate change is a pandemic that we need to fight against as soon as possible. He stated, “See how quickly the climate is deteriorating – I think it’s going even faster than we predicted.” “See how quickly the climate is deteriorating.” “Everyone is hyper-focused on 1.5 degrees Celsius [over pre-industrial levels], and it’s a very important goal. However, in terms of soil deterioration, water scarcity, and desertification, some really negative things could happen well before the temperature rises by 1.5 degrees Celsius.
According to Donwahi, the challenges caused by rising temperatures, heatwaves, and more violent droughts and floods were putting the safety of food supplies in a number of places at jeopardy. “[Consider] the consequences that droughts have on food security, the effects that droughts have on population movement, and the implications that droughts have on inflation. In addition to the temperature, he mentioned that we can experience a quickening of the negative consequences.
He claimed that the inefficient farming practices were not helping. “Bad habits are what lead to the degradation of soil, and the way in which we practice agriculture will lead to the degradation of soil in the future.” According to what he said, “when the soil is affected, the yield is affected.”
Donwahi issued a call to action to investors from the private sector, urging them to participate in the initiative and take advantage of possibilities to make a profit. “There is a growing interest among private companies in agricultural practices that make more efficient use of the land. The topic at hand is [making] the most of one’s harvest. We are discussing agroforestry, which is an additional method through which businesses in the private sector can get a return on their investments, as he explained. “We need to think outside the box in order to come up with new methods of financing.”
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is the parent treaty to the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, and the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity, which seeks to conserve species abundance, were both signed by governments from around the world in 1992. In addition, a treaty was signed in 1992 that pledged to tackle desertification.
But the treaty on desertification receives the least amount of attention, and the Cop15 on desertification that took place in December of last year was mostly overlooked in comparison to the Cop27 on climate change and the Cop15 on biodiversity. Desertification Cops are held less regularly than climate summits: the next desertification conference will be held in Riyadh in December 2024, while the next climate summit, Cop28, will be in Dubai in late November. Both of these events are known as the Conference on the Prevention and Control of Desertification.
Donwahi argued that the globe could not avoid the effects of desertification any longer. “We need to work together to find solutions to all of the challenges. Desertification and drought are the primary contributors to climate change, which in turn contributes to the loss of biodiversity. Droughts, floods, and storms are all symptoms of climate change, which brings its own set of problems.
“It’s not only the poor countries; we’re all in the same boat [when it comes to food security]. The effects of climate change, including droughts, storms, as well as floods, do not respect international borders and do not require a visa to enter a country.
He suggested that the developed nations of the world should look to Africa for answers to the climate catastrophe. Africa is blessed with many of the natural resources that are necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase food security, and preserve biodiversity. These resources include minerals that are necessary for the development of renewable energy technology, as well as forests, sun, and large groundwater supplies.
“The continent of Africa is a continent of answers. It is a continent that contains the majority of the world’s natural resources. People who have access to financial resources ought to assist others who are in possession of natural resources. He described the situation as one in which both parties may benefit from the alliance.
He urged those of African descent to make the most of these chances. “If the people of Africa understand that Africa is part of the solution, then they will behave differently; they will approach the situation with a more optimistic outlook, believing that you are all working together to discover answers. That is the way we should be thinking about things — you don’t want to always be the one waiting for the help, for the handout, waiting cap in hand.”
