Africa as a region is most vulnerable to climate change due to extreme poverty of many Africans and the heavy dependence on rainfall and other natural resources. Agriculture is the most important economic sector in most African countries. Because most of it is subsistence with high dependence on rainfall, it is highly vulnerable to changes in climate variability, seasonal shifts and precipitation patterns. The food security threat posed by climate change is particularly great, especially in the arid and semi arid Sudano- Sahel zone, Eastern and Southern African regions where in conjunction with the endemic threats of desertification, per capita food production has been steadily declining. As agricultural yields continue to drop by as much as half in some of these areas, other sources of income needs to be found for people to meet their basic needs. Economic necessity and competition for access to resources are already resulting in displacement, mass movement of people within countries and across borders, heightened social tensions and in many cases, conflicts. It has been argued that increased  competition over land was one of the triggers of conflicts in Darfur in Western Sudan.

Africa is well known for its rich natural resources, especially wildlife, varied ecosystems, and picturesque landscapes. The forest and savanna ecosystems, the rivers, lakes and wetlands, are currently under threat from natural and human pressures. In the dry lands of Africa, the heavy dependence of the rural poor population on natural resources for subsistence has largely contributed to land degradation and desertification. Projected climate change by the year 2025, associated with a rise in mean temperature, will exacerbate the losses already experienced due to drought and land degradation. The link between climate change and desertification is an issue that needs to be explored. Climate change has become an additional stressor which is leading to changes in habitats, causing species migration or extinction for both flora and fauna.

Environmental resources such as wetlands, grasslands woodlands and associated wildlife are currently natural resources upon which the burgeoning   tourism activities in several dry land countries in Africa are built. These resources are fragile because of the stressful climatic conditions. Any depreciation in any of the resources which tourists come to countries such as Kenya, Botswana, and South Africa to see would mean a decline in tourism's contribution to the national and local economy.  Climate change poses an imponderable threat to this most important resource for the continued growth and development of tourism in these countries

Climate change also increases the risk of contracting vector borne diseases. In southern Africa, a disease that has made a spectacular come back in recent years after a successful campaign to curb it, is   malaria.  The malaria areas where the mosquitoes occur seem to have been growing larger, possibly because of global warming and changing rainfall patterns.  It is estimated that almost 30 million people in Southern Africa are at risk of severe malaria. Awareness of the potential impacts of climate change on human health is generally low within health sectors in Africa.  Very few national or local assessments of the impacts of climate on human health have been undertaken. Such assessments would be of great value to health decision makers.

To sum up, climate change in Africa is already undermining economic development, increasing poverty and impeding development efforts in key sectors. For most rural people especially in the Drylands of Africa, climate change is making their already difficult lives impossible. There is a direct link between climate change and development.

However, although Africa's vulnerability is highly linked to climate variability and change, several other factors are exacerbating and accelerating the effects of climate change and making adaptation and coping strategies extremely difficult. These include the debt burden, structural adjustment policies, trade liberalization, conflicts, poverty and diseases (particularly malaria and HIV/AIDs).

In spite of the current low adaptive capacity of Africa, there are some African communities that have developed traditional adaptation strategies. For example, in response to   the desiccation and decreasing rainfall in the Sahel since the late 1960s, farmers have shifted to shorter cycle varieties of millet and maize and abandoned crops like groundnuts that need higher rainfall. Other examples of the rich heritage of traditional adaptation strategies and social networks that African communities have developed to cope with climate variability and extreme events include: improved adaptive capacities by using traditional pruning and fertilizing techniques to double tree densities in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe and Madagascar, diversification of herds and incomes such as the introduction of sheep in place of goats in Western Sudan, reliance on forest products as a buffer to climate induced crop failure, decentralization of local governance of resources, and manipulation of land use leading to land use conversion
Fortunately for Africa, the continent is still not heavily polluted and is not considered to be a major source of green house gas emissions. African countries must ensure that their limited contributions to the problem through green house gas emissions do not grow unacceptably. The solution to the problem is sustainable development through mitigation and adaptation strategies. Adaptation, according to the IPCC's Third Assessment Report, refers to "the degree to which adjustments are possible in practices, processes or structures of systems to projected or actual changes in climate".  Adaptive capacity must take place through the broad framework of sustainable development taking both environmental and socio-economic considerations into account. African countries need to mainstream adaptation, with governments taking adaptation into account in any future expenditure and development planning. Necessary legislative and government structures will have to facilitate sustainable development and climate change responses such as mitigation and adaptation within their bureaucratic process. They must develop existing and new capacities to cope with climate variability and change so as to increase the resilience of societies, of natural systems and of economies. Approaches to climate change adaptation that are based on top-down development models, which often have little relevance to local conditions, should be avoided. More effort is needed to strengthen the capacity of local people to develop their own knowledge and promote techniques that involve both scientific and indigenous knowledge.

National Adaptation Programs of Action (NAPAs) were established as a part of the Marrakech Accords in 2001, in recognition of the particular vulnerability of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to climate change. NAPAs provide a process for the LDCs to identify, communicate and respond to their most urgent and immediate adaptation needs.  As of June 2008, 38 LDCs (including 29 African countries) had submitted NAPAs to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) (Ayers, 2008). Implementing NAPA projects can help build LDC resilience.

Despite progress on the development of NAPAs, the implementation of projects identified in NAPAs has been slow, largely owing to functional problems between countries and implementing agencies. It is vital that NAPA projects receive the financial and institutional support they require from donors, governments and climate change institutions

There is limited research on climate vulnerability and the approaches that could maximize resilience at regional, national and local levels. Consequently there is an urgent need to undertake comprehensive research and map out the complex impacts of global warming, integrating climate change risks with other vulnerabilities such as desertification, human health and diseases. Links between climate variability, air pollution and the occurrence and incidence of respiratory and vector borne diseases need exploring as does the impact of water scarcity in areas such as the dry lands of Africa.

 African countries should implement sustainable development policies that prioritize energy efficiency and renewable energy. Clean Development Mechanism Projects (CDM) need to be promoted as a means to improve energy efficiency in industrial operations. CDM opens up new opportunities to generate substantial revenues for entrepreneurs and governments and diversify economies. CDM allows industrial countries to meet their carbon offset obligations by investing in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reduction in their own countries.

The successful development of bio-fuels in African countries can be both an opportunity and a threat. An assessment is needed of the carbon benefits of different bio-fuel schemes, the risk of deforestation and socially negative impacts and whether there is competition between use of land for fuel or food

To help mitigate climate change and maintain valuable ecosystems, African countries should reduce and eventually halt deforestation. More stringent measures to protect Africa's rain forests from unsustainable logging and environmentally destructive development, including agricultural expansion, are needed.  More protection for biodiversity and ecosystem integrity in   wetlands and mountain regions is also vital.

Dramatically increased support for small scale agriculture is needed, with encouragement of diversification because diverse systems are more resilient and more productive than monocultures. Boosting production requires systems that combine new insights and technologies   with the wisdom of tradition. Dangers associated with clearing forest land and planting bio-fuels as opposed to food crops should be avoided.

In conclusion, climate change-induced impacts are already undermining Africa's ability to develop. Climate change impacts have the potential to weaken Africa's adaptive capacity and compromise development efforts in key sectors of the region's economy. They could reduce livelihood security and delay or prevent the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. African countries must take the initiative in crafting development strategies that encompass the need to mainstream and boost adaptation to climate change as well as invest in infrastructure, clean energy, health, research and other sectors that go to the core of the national development strategies. Non governmental organizations and civil society groups can play a major role in strengthening local capacity to cope and supporting local action.

At the global level, any new climate deal should address the special needs of Africa, particularly its least developed countries. It should include binding commitments to ensure that they have access to financial resources and technological know how.
As the world marches towards the coming summit in Copenhagen in December this year, we must ensure that the voice of the poor countries of the world is heard and that they are helped. These poor countries are suffering some of the greatest impacts despite their people having contributed the least to the human impact on climate. As Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary General and  Nicholas Stern of the London School of Economics  have recently admonished,  the poor countries of the world  should pursue a common negotiating stance and define a clear position on key issues,  including the steps that they and their partners should take to ensure financing of adaptation and appropriate mitigation actions using new and additional sources of swiftly accessible funds, including from carbon markets, and to ensure that the existing international aid and commitment are met (ANNAN & STERN 2009). Finally,  global climate change affects every one on the planet. We therefore need to find solutions that are based on genuine partnerships.

*Paper presented at the Pre -Valedictory Workshop in honor of Professor J B Opschoor on Climate Change and Making Development More   Sustainable, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands, 4th June 2009.