The Cameroonian economy is mainly based on the agricultural sector and is heavily dependent on the exports of cash crops such as cocoa, coffee, banana, cotton and sugarcane. This also applies to other countries in its geographical region, such as Chad and the Central African Republic, which derive a large part of their foreign exchange from the exports of livestock, cotton and tobacco. However, the productivity of these crops is currently threatened by a number of environmental factors, including abnormal temperatures and erratic rainfall, which affect both the Sahel region and the wetlands, where farmers struggle to achieve expected results.
In the wetlands, excessive rainfall leads to flooding that destroys crops, while in the Sahel, pastures are becoming scarce, water sources for livestock are drying up and agricultural activities are increasingly being abandoned. A striking example is the Far North of Cameroon, a region in the Sahel, where weather reports show temperatures reaching peaks of 47 degrees Celsius.
In view of this situation, experts from the National Observatory on Climate Change (ONACC), led by Professor Joseph Armathé Amougou, are calling for vigilance, as there is a risk of famine and drought. Their research sheds light on the socioeconomic effects of climate change in Africa. ONACC researchers point out that “in Central Africa, as in the Sahel, people are currently experiencing extremely high temperatures. In Cameroon, this heatwave is characterised by its intensity, duration and the fact that it is affecting regions that are normally spared.” These experts also warn of the risks for agriculture and livestock farming.
Damage to climate
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change defines climate change as a “change” in climate that is a direct or indirect result of human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere beyond the natural variability of climate observed over comparable time periods. According to experts at the Central African Forest Commission (CAFC), an intergovernmental organisation set up by the heads of state of Central Africa, this situation is caused largely due to the conversion of forest land into farmland and to the growing demand for land and fuelwood as the population continues to grow.
CAFC studies also show that carbon dioxide concentrations have increased significantly over the last century compared to pre-industrial levels. This increase has led to an intensification of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and excessive rainfall, with different impacts in different regions.
The results are clear and alarming: “If nothing is done, 1.5 billion hectares of land will need to be restored by 2030, up from 1 billion hectares today. Droughts will become more severe, having already increased by almost 30 percent since the 2000s. By 2050, three out of four people will face water scarcity,” the ONACC experts stressed.
Role of China
China’s contribution is crucial to establishing effective mechanisms to combat the effects of global warming in Cameroon and Central Africa. The member countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) – Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, Niger and the Central African Republic – have chosen Power Construction Corp. of China to carry out the work of transferring water into Lake Chad. The project involves large-scale funding.
According to hydro-mechanical experts, Lake Chad will be filled by transferring water from the Oubangui River, a major tributary of the Congo River, which covers an area of 643,900 square km. The most ambitious idea is to build a 2,600 km canal from the Democratic Republic of the Congo through the Central African Republic to Lake Chad. The total cost of the project is estimated at $14 billion. This major project will be a boon for the 40 million people who depend on this lake, which lies on the border between the Sahel and the forested area of the Congo Basin in Central Africa.
In addition to a significant technological contribution to this titanic project to combat desertification in the region, China could also contribute financially to the $14 billion needed to support the LCBC member states. China is also assisting the states in their reforestation efforts to combat the advance of the desert. Providing water to the Lake Chad Basin would open up great opportunities not only for the countries of the basin, but also for West and Central Africa.
Continental climate action
In their fight against climate change, African governments have signed a continental agreement on climate mobility. To this end, ministers from across Africa adopted the Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change, which has now been extended to the whole continent. These climate commitments are critical to ensuring peace and prosperity, as well as preserving Africa’s unique natural wonders, such as the Nile – the world’s longest river, the Congo rainforest – the second-largest on the planet, and the unparalleled biodiversity found in the continent’s diverse ecosystems.
As the effects of climate change are increasingly felt across Africa, the continent is at the forefront of climate action, making the most of the solutions the continent has to offer. In line with other African nations, countries in Central Africa have demonstrated their commitment to tackling climate change by ratifying and acceding to international conventions, implementing adaptation and mitigation policy plans, and adopting environmental protection laws and specific sectoral regulations.
The majority of these countries have revised their Nationally Determined Contributions in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement, as well as the requirements of COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 and COP27 in Egypt in 2022. Despite accounting for only a small amount of global greenhouse gas emissions, the countries of the CAFC region are experiencing the consequences of climate change disproportionately, with rising temperatures and sea levels in the Gulf of Guinea.
African Times has published this article in partnership with ChinAfrica Magazine.
