Expectations for Durban are low, but farmers not only want an agreement – they want agriculture to be put on the agenda.

Komati Basin Water Authority» (KOBWA), un projet intergouvernemental, mis en place en 1993 par l’Afrique du Sud et le Swaziland, a aidé 66 familles swazies à se regrouper autour des activités agricoles afin de lutter contre l’insécurité alimentaire et la pauvreté.

Climate change could drive women’s empowerment, says Stephanie Midgley.

 

 Zeenat Abdul interviews STEPHANIE MIDGLEY [1:50m]: Play Now | Download (76)

Among the more than a hundred people present at the Multi-Stakeholder Water Dialogue, there was a curious absence: ordinary citizens, such as the smallholder farmers whose lives and livelihoods participants heard will be most immediately affected by climate change were nowhere to be seen.

 

 Climate change could drive women's empowerment, says Stephanie Midgley.: Play Now | Download (76)

The term climate change is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, but while extensive work has been done on the hard science of global warming, there is far less research into a detailed understanding of its impacts on economic and social development.

Relatively little is known about the water beneath our feet. But if groundwater is to remain a reliable part of the region’s water supply, it must be understood and cared for as carefully as any other water resource.

‘An average of between 45 and 70 percent of water is unaccounted for in many countries in the region,” says Dr Bhekithemba Gumbo. “The financial loss is horrendous. We could adapt to the stress on water being exerted by climate change if we [could] become more efficient in using the water that is available.’

 

 Themba Gumbo talks water demand management with Zeenat Abdool: Play Now | Download (87)

Climate change already costs Southern Africa five to ten percent of its GDP, according to the Stern Report; this implies a loss of between 10 and 21 billion dollars each year – in a region where nearly half the population is living on less than a dollar a day.

Climate change threatens Africa’s water and food security: the changes in climate will impact on social and political stability of most African countries.

Adapting effectively to climate change.

 

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