IFAPA Summit was a determined gathering of seven faith traditions of Africa.
IFAPA third Summit calls for justice for Africa as an essential outcome of United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place Dec. 7 – 18 in Copenhagen, with commitments to funding for essential climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in the continent. “Not as a matter of charity, but as an ethical response to the damage already sustained and still to be suffered by Africa’s people and environment due to the profligacy of others”, stated the Summit held in Nov. 17 -21 in Botswana.
As representatives of religious communities (African Traditional Religion, Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Muslim), governments and the private sector from across the continent of Africa, meeting in Gaborone, Botswana, under the theme Envisioning a Peaceful Africa: Water For All, IFAPA reflected on the ways in which climate change is deepening the water crisis in Africa.
In the statement on the climate change of IFAPA Summit expresses:
We shared perspectives on the different ways in which our various faith traditions all value water. We lamented the death of rivers and lakes, the increasing aridity, advancing deserts, and extreme and destructive weather events that we observe already now in many parts of this continent, and the disruption of seasonal weather patterns that have shaped agricultural practices for centuries. We heard with alarm the predictions that, as a result of climate change:
Between 75 and 250 million people will be exposed to increased water stress by 2020.
By 2020, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50% in some countries. Agricultural production and food security is likely to be severely compromised in many African countries.
Arid and semi-arid areas are expected to increase by 5%-8% by 2080.
We see all too clearly how the consequences of climate change compound the realities of food insecurity and poverty in Africa. Climate change threatens to greatly increase the lethal impact of poverty and disease in Africa. We also perceive that these changes will increase competition for diminishing water resources, and will force increasing numbers of people, communities and animals to become ‘climate change refugees’, posing additional serious challenges to peace and security in the region.
Climate change and its impacts is an issue of justice. Africa and its peoples, who have contributed least to the emissions accelerating these global climatic processes, are suffering its worst effects. It is also an issue of basic human rights, as it impinges on the rights to life and an adequate standard of living for millions of people, and a gender issue, as it impacts women disproportionately. And ultimately it is a failure of our ethical, moral and religious duties, resulting from the systemic greed which has led to the inequitable concentration of the world’s God-given resources and wealth in the hands of a few, and the unsustainable lifestyles of rich elites and developed countries. It is our indifference to the plight of other people and other species, and our continuing exploitation and destruction of creation, that has led to this crisis.
There is much that we and our communities and nations can and must do to reduce and adapt to the expected impacts of climate change, including through protection of existing forests and reforestation of other areas, rainwater harvesting, crop diversification and other agricultural extension initiatives, and public awareness-raising at all levels. We have committed ourselves to pursuing these and other relevant initiatives.
But the fact remains that Africa is least equipped technically, financially, and institutionally to deal with climate-related risks and disasters. Africa’s vulnerability is increased because its agriculture depends mainly on rainfall. Subsistence farming, which is the main source of Africa’s food, is being threatened by climate change and global economic systems.
Therefore, with the voices of the faith communities, the desperate poor, and the future generations of Africa, we call urgently upon all governments that will meet in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Conference to reach an agreement on climate change which is legally-binding, effective, and founded upon the fundamental principle of justice.
We call especially upon African governments to speak with one undivided voice in Copenhagen; a strong voice that is not weakened by petty politics, competition and corruption, but which expresses the shared suffering of Africa’s peoples, the plight of Africa’s most vulnerable and marginalized, and the needs of future generations of Africa’s children and the commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
We urge all African religious leaders and communities to hold their governments accountable to this responsibility.
We call for justice for Africa as an essential outcome of the Copenhagen conference, with commitments to funding for essential climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in this continent, not as a matter of charity, but as an ethical response to the damage already sustained and still to be suffered by Africa’s people and environment due to the profligacy of others.
We invite all partners and all people of goodwill around the world to join us in this call for justice.
