AWD Report 2020
7. ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE Africa is said to be one of the world’s most vulnerable continents to the effects of climate change, although it contributes minimally to the roots of the problem.
7.1. Issue Analysis Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges globally. Africa is said to be one of the world’s most vulnerable continents to the effects of climate change, although it contributes minimally to the roots of the problem.2009 The impacts of climate change in Africa vary according to specific sub-regional environmental and socioeconomic contexts.2010 Central and East Africa, for example, have seen changes in seasonal rainfall alongside increasingly prolonged drought.2011 A decrease in rain and an increase in temperatures present challenges in Southern Africa. In North Africa, the most common climate-related disaster is flooding, resulting in loss of lives and livelihoods. Changing rainfall patterns exert pressure on pastoralists in West Africa. The region has seen an increase in conflict and competition between pastoralists and farmers over land, water and forage.2012 With temperatures rising and a decrease in precipitation, many countries are experiencing crop failures and shrinking natural resources, including land and water, leading to increased food insecurity and conflict, loss of lives and livelihoods. Meanwhile, the impacts of climate change are not gender-neutral. African women are disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which exacerbates existing gender disparities, leading to further human rights violations. Droughts and drying river basins, flooding, coastal erosion and rising sea levels, for example, force many women and girls to migrate, placing them at a greater risk of trafficking, sexual abuse and GBV.2013 African women nevertheless play a critical role in developing climate change responses because of their considerable skills and knowledge of sustainable resource management and practices. Articles 18 of the Maputo Protocol guarantees women the right to live in a healthy and sustainable environment. It calls upon States Parties to ensure greater participation of women in the planning, management and preservation of the environment and the sustainable use of natural resources at all levels. States shall also promote research and investment in new and renewable energy sources and appropriate technologies, including information technologies; facilitate women’s access to and participation in their
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