MESA key to environmental protection
Mpho Mokwape | Tuesday July 15, 2014 12:52
Opening a three-day regional MESA workshop, De Graaff said the African continent especially the SADC region was vulnerable to many of the climate related environmental problems. MESA will therefore provide capacity to monitor the minimisation of the impact and effects of environmental disasters.
MESA, launched by Southern African Development Community (SADC), is an initiative between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) to monitor the state of the environment and it contributes to the Joint Africa-EU Strategy on Climate change and environment. De Graaff noted that the environmental problems are due to the fact that large shares of its economics and the people depend on the climate-sensitive activities such as agriculture stressing that in the last 30 years, 70% of the worst drought disasters in the world took place in the sub-Saharan region. “It is predicted that the world can expect more frequent extreme climate-related events such as heat waves, droughts, floods, cyclones and wildfires which may disrupt food production and water supplies that calls for intervention at the earliest,” he said. De Graaff said with the flood mortality risk is still increasing consistently in Africa despite a downward global trend, it was important to come up with solutions that will prepare countries for the impact and effects.
He pointed out that MESA will allow countries to continuously monitor the state of the environment, have appropriate policies and contingency plans in place to reduce risk and vulnerability of the people and mitigate the effects of disasters. “While we may not be in a position to prevent these events from occurring, we should however, make sure that their impact and effects are minimised by being prepared,” he said.
He explained that the security aspects of the project will be the protection of the population and the environment against natural threats such as flooding, wildfire, and drought and land degradation and underlines the link between environment management and the well being of the people.
De Graaff further lamented that within the SADC region, MESA will focus on agriculture and environmental resource management by building on the achievements of the African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development prograamme implemented between 2006 and 2013.
“The overall objective of MESA is to support African decision-makers and planners in designing and implementing policies and development plans towards sustainable development and advance the socio-economic progress and the well being of African populations towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.”
The organisation coordinator, Jolly Wasambo said through MESA countries will be able to guide policy and development choices and mobilise action in respective countries and the region at large.
He said MESA is an important tool in implementing critical strategies such as the Integrated African Strategy of Meteorology, the African Strategy on Disaster Risk Reduction.
“We owe the coming generation a responsibility to ensure that they inherit environment and natural resources which will be able to sustainably provide for their needs as such unsustainable agriculture and environmental and natural resources management practices cannot be an option,” Wasambo said.
MESA is also expected to provide infrastructure within the SADC region as a support access to earth observation data by upgrading 38 satellite data reception stations at the meteorological services, ministries of agriculture and installing 15 reception stations across the region for the flood monitoring service foreseen to be developed during MESA implementation phase