Every day, thousands of rangers patrol national parks and other protected areas in Africa. Their job is fraught with danger,…
Browsing: Climate Change and Environmental Conservancy
Plants play a key role in mitigating climate change. The more carbon dioxide they absorb during photosynthesis, the less carbon dioxide remains trapped in the atmosphere, where it can cause temperatures to rise. But scientists have identified an unsettling trend – 86% of land ecosystems globally are becoming progressively less efficient at absorbing the increasing levels of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Monsoons altering African climate is replete with complexity and marvels. The Sahara is the world’s largest desert with the deepest layer of intense heating anywhere on Earth. In June and July the most extensive and most intense dust storms found anywhere on the planet fill the air with fine particles that interfere with climate in ways we don’t quite understand.
Editorial commentary: What is discussed here has particular relevance to East African countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia where coffee production accounts for a significant share of gross domestic product.
A rich cup of coffee is one of life’s little pleasures, but it will become more difficult and expensive to obtain in the near future. Coffee is among the crops under threat from climate change. An extensive study published in Januaryfound that 60% of wild coffee species — or 75 of 124 plants — are at risk of extinction.
The international community aims to eradicate extreme poverty and to do so in a sustainable manner. This chapter suggests that climate change poses a major obstacle to this challenge. Climate-related shocks and stresses – from natural disasters to agricultural impacts and health shocks – already prevent households from escaping poverty.
Africa contains about one-fifth of all known species of plants, mammals, and birds, as well as one-sixth of amphibians and reptiles. These species compose some of the world’s most diverse and biologically important ecosystems such as savannahs, tropical forests, coral reef marine and freshwater habitats, wetlands and montane ecosystems. These globally important ecosystems provide the economic foundation that many Africa countries rely on by providing water, food, and shelter.
It is now virtually certain that Australia and the world will experience significant climate change over the next century, as a result of human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases.