Climate Change
Little to celebrate as Ozone Day is marked By Obadiah Ayoti
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s the world prepares to mark the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, there is little to write home about if the increased depletion is anything to go by. Although many countries have ratified the Montreal protocol to protect the thin layer of gas that protects all life on earth from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation from space, there has been little effort towards implementation of the all-important treaty. United Nations General Assembly adopted September 16 as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer in 1987 and called for concerted efforts among member states to put prerequisite measures in place to protect the layer. Although over 100 countries have ratified the protocol including all the five East African states of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, they fall short on implementation especially on the provision that calls for manufacturing of ozone friendly products. Kenya ratified the protocol in 2000 but still lacks resources and expertise to fully conform to the letter and spirit of the treaty. Kenya’s Permanent Secretar y in the Ministry of Environment Prof James Kiyiapi says that plans are at an advanced stage to establish a climate change national centre to coordinate environmental issues including ozone preservation. According to the PS, the centre will not only provide information on climate change but also develop a national climate strategy and action plan which will among other things set out the government’s programmes aimed at curbing ozone depletion. He warns that unless Kenya and other African countries which are vulnerable to climate change come up with strategies to reverse the trend, the dreams of achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 will not be realised. To combat the impacts of climate change, Prof Kiyiapi notes that his ministry has partnered with that of Energy to embrace the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects which are not only environmentally friendly but also based on non-green house gas emitting technologies especially on non-carbon renewable energy. At the same time, Prof Kiyiapi challenged the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) which is charged with among other things
Kenya’s Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources Permanent Secretary Prof. James L. Ole Kiyiapi fields questions from journalists during his recent visit to the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) headquarters in Nairobi to open an international workshop on climate change.
monitoring Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) of ozone to provide early warnings to enable the country plan in advance for conservation of environment in order to achieve sustainable development. Generally, CDM projects must contribute to global efforts to achieve stabilization of green house gases concentration in the atmosphere, generate maximum economic, social and environmental benefits and transfer technologies that are locally appropriate, environmentally friendly and demonstrate energy efficiency with necessary precautions to avoid dumping of substandard technologies. Most countries still emit the chief greenhouse gases (GHGs) which are responsible for global warming which include carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N2O), tropospheric ozone (O3), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). These gases prevent the escape of heat initially received from the sun by the earth’s surface leading to global warming. Experts say that the continual increase in CO2 and other GHGs in the earth’s atmosphere has already led to temperature increase which is projected to rise from 3-5°C by the year
2100. This is further demonstrated in increases in global average air, ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level. Other characteristics of global warming are shifts in rainfall patterns causing changes in weather patterns, prolonged drought, floods, melting of glacier especially in the Arctic, diminishing snow cover, heat waves, storms and hurricanes. In East Africa for instance, Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro which are important sources of river streams and springs have lost 92 per cent and 82 per cent respectively of ice mass in the past century. As a result of this, there is a significant drop in water levels of some lakes, rivers and dams causing severe socio-economic impacts since majority of the population is rural based which depend on rain-fed subsistence agriculture. Apart from reducing emission and promoting alternative source of energy, experts argue that reforestation is very critical in mitigating climate change. The rationale here is to increase the forest cover hence natural carbon sinks. Continued on pg 37 EnviroConserveAFRICA Aug/Oct 2008
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