Governments and stakeholders must scale-up efforts in protecting and managing biodiversity and intact ecosystems, an official at BirdLife International, Africa has said.
Policy, Climate and Communications Coordinator Ken Mwathe said restoring degraded biodiversity and ecosystems was also vital as the world grapples with effects of global warming.
He observed that biodiversity and ecosystems must play a key role in providing solutions to climate change as part of nature-based solutions.
Mwathe said nature and healthy ecosystems could provide 30 per cent of the cost-effective solutions, including mitigation needed to address climate change.
Speaking during a Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture (MESHA) Science Café organised by African Biodiversity Collaborative Group (ABCG), Mwathe told governments across the world that climate action should be matched with adequate and predictable financing.
The environmentalist said climate and biodiversity crises threaten nature, human lives, livelihoods and well-being around the world and they must be tackled together.
"Healthy, well-connected ecosystems and biodiversity play a key role in helping people adapt to adverse effects of global warming while forests, wetlands, grasslands and marine areas are critical in absorbing carbon thus mitigating climate change,” he said.
Mwathe said more than two billion people globally rely on healthy ecosystems for fuel wood to meet their energy needs while 70 per cent of all medicines are derived from or inspired by nature.
He reiterated the importance of biodiversity and ecosystems to food security saying that another 75 per cent of key food and cash crops depend on animal, bird and insect pollination.
Mwathe said the world was at a tipping point as most sectors were affected by climate change especially agriculture which has shorter growing seasons and the net crop revenues being expected to fall by 90 per cent in Africa by 2100.
"Food security is at risk, maize crop yield might drop by 40 per cent by 2050 yet 300 million Africans depend on maize as a main food crop.”
Mwathe was accompanied by African Wildlife Foundation vice president Global Leadership Team, Fredrick Kwame and ABCG Director Kenya, Rubina James.
He said access to water will be main source of conflict in the next 24 years with between 350 million and 600 million Africans experiencing water stress by 2050.
Mwathe said for sustainable conservation, all adaptation must be ecosystem-based to help people adapt adverse effects of climate change
"At COP27, countries agreed on a draft framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) which will guide negotiations on how to assess collective progress on adaptation," he said.
He said ecosystem-based adaptation such as restoring and protecting wetlands helps to reduce exposure to impacts of climate change like flooding.
"Crucially, natural ecosystems underpin the existence of all people through the provision of basic needs, including food and water," Mwathe affirmed.
He said negotiations on a GDA whose aim is to enhance climate change adaptation by increasing awareness of and funding towards countries' adaptation needs must be fast-tracked and agreed at COP28.
Mwathe supported the call by developing countries for a clear roadmap for doubling of adaptation finance seeing that the global south contributes the least emission and bear the brunt of global warming.
