CLIMATE CHANGE SITUATION IN ETHIOPIA & Africa & THE ROLE OF THE ETHIOPIAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY (ETMS ) IFMS GM1 19 January 2010

Climat change studies/reports on Africa The UNDP’s Human Development Report (2007) which intended to explore the linkages between climate change and human development is one such report and the following few slides are extracted from the first cluster of the report which is devoted to Climate change impacts and adaptation in Africa whish concentrates in 3 eastern/southern African countries

Impact of Climate change in Africa Africa is very vulnerable to the current climate variability including recurrent droughts and floods. The impacts of future climate changes on economies and livelihood assets in Africa will be very devastating. Adapting to future climate changes would require developing systems capable of absorbing the current climate shocks and at the same time integrate future climate change risks.

Some manifestation of Climate change in Africa Mean annual temperature trend in Africa (Source: IPCC, 2001)

: Fluctuations in the levels of Lake Turkana, 1888-1990 (Source: World Lakes Database 2002

Need for adaption strategies in Africa For the development of realistic adaptation strategies, there is need for relatively accurate future regional climate scenarios. In general, technology transfer will play pivotal role in adaptation,. In most parts of Africa, capacity building is critical in all areas including ability to identify climate change risks and vulnerability as key determinants of well being of the vulnerable communities;

Ethiopia’s activities related to climate change Initiating, preparing documents for ratification of both the UNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol and ratified in 1994 and 2005, respectively From the expectations of the protocol the NationalMeteorological Agency has produced and Submitted national reports : 1. The first national communication of Ethiopia, 2001 2. Techniological needs assessment report (TNA) , June 2008 3. National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA), June 2008

The Need for NAPA The purpose of the NAPA document for Ethiopia is : To identify and communicate immediate and urgent adaptation activities that address current and anticipated adverse effects of climate change including extreme climate events, building on synergies with other relevant environmental and development programs and projects.

Framework for Adaptation Programme in Ethiopia Findings Climate is a key natural resource on which the others depend Climate Change is already happening and more change is yet to come Warming trend has been observed in the country over the last 50 years Climate variability and Change have adverse impacts on many socio-economic sectors There is a need for climate change Adaptation As party to the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol Ethiopia has the commitment to develop and implement climate change adaptation programs

Findings cont---- The major climate related hazards/risks for the country are drought followed by floods Agriculture, water resources, and Human health sectors were identified to be more vulnerable to climate variability and change Small holder rain-fed subsistence farmers and pastoralists are more vulnerable to climate variability and change Arid, semi-arid and dry-sub humid parts of the country are more vulnerable to climate variability and change .

Identification of key adaptation needs &List of Priority Activities that Ethiopia has developed for action Multi-criteria Assessment (MCA) technique was applied using selected Criterias to prioritize and rank 37 projects The selected projects can be broadly categorized into : Promoting drought insurance programs Improving Natural resource management Promoting irrigation agriculture and water harvesting Strengthening drought and flood early warning systems Strengthening malaria containment programs Capacity building on climate change issues

Activities of ETMS on Climate change A scientific Conference on Climate change was organized by ETMS in 2008.. The proceedings of the conference has been puplished and widely distributed. At the Third Annual General Assembly of the Society in December 2009 briefing on the process and outcome of the Copenhagen Climate change summit was given A letter outlining the society’s concern on the impact of climate change on Ethiopia was addressed to The PM of Ethiopia, prior to his departure to the Summit. Plans are underway through the Society’s standing committees to develop research programmes and projects related to climate change

- sponsoring and assisting researchers A major challenge of ETMS is to demonstrate the benefits that members can obtain from the Society individually and collectively e.g. through - fellowships and scholarship programs - participation in international events (seminars, trainings, conferences etc. ) - sponsoring and assisting researchers - assist research results to be published in national and international journals We at the ETMS want to cooperate and collaborate with other societies to develop and implement joint projects and activities with a view to addressing the various challenges that societies such as ETMS face. After all this is one of the main objectives of IFMS.

THANK YOU