Madagascar, which has been impacted by climate change, is adjusting to the changing conditions. The UN Resident Coordinator has written a blog post about this adaptation process.
The residents of Madagascar are adjusting to the changing climate, as it is considered the fourth most impacted country by climate change globally. This information comes from the UN Resident Coordinator, the highest-ranking UN representative in the country located in the Indian Ocean.
As his time in Antananarivo comes to a close, Issa Sanogo sat down with UN News to discuss the advancements made by the country and its people in addressing the climate emergency.
The UN’s Resident Coordinator, Issa Sanogo, recently toured a site in Amboasary, Madagascar where peanuts are flourishing thanks to improved irrigation techniques.
I met a female farmer in Betroka, a small town located in the Anosy region of southern Madagascar. This particular area has been experiencing a humanitarian crisis caused by severe drought.
Living in this place is difficult, especially given its history of underdevelopment and insecurity.
She went to a farming school funded by the World Food Programme (WFP) and AMC, a nearby non-profit organization. Afterward, she explained her dedication to experimenting with different methods of cultivating cassava, a staple crop. She has been utilizing a compost basket, which has shown remarkable and immediate results.
Due to the progressively arid and hostile environment, each plant was previously only able to yield approximately four kilograms of the root crop. However, thanks to the modifications she has implemented, her 100 plants now produce 20kg each, resulting in a total of two tonnes of harvest. This is an unexpected accomplishment on such dry land.
New opportunities
Her family has access to more nutritious food and she is able to sell what she has left over to pay for children’s education and the family’s health care needs.
This is merely a single instance of how the Malagasy population is adjusting to the current circumstances of climate change, but there are numerous others.
The presence of electricity, through the Rapid Rural Transformation project, is creating additional opportunities for entrepreneurship, such as barber shops.
In the southern region of Anosy, specifically in the Behara and Ifotaka communities, access to water is a pressing matter. This has prompted the UN to implement a Convergence Zones approach, wherein various UN agencies collaborate to utilize their skills and enhance results.
The FAO, part of the UN, has implemented climate-smart techniques to encourage the use of drought-resistant seeds like sorghum and peanuts, as well as Californian drip irrigation systems powered by solar pumps.
The WFP’s Rapid Rural Transformation initiative has implemented a solar-powered hub in Ifotaka, providing the local community with access to electricity and digital resources for their school and other important facilities.
Additionally, it is offering chances for entrepreneurship and generating job opportunities for young individuals, with assistance from the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
UNICEF helps communities access clean water through the installation of solar-powered water pumps and water kiosks. This initiative aims to provide safe drinking water for daily use and decrease the prevalence of diarrhoea, other water-related illnesses, and malnutrition.
Climate vulnerability
Madagascar is the fourth most vulnerable country in the world to climate change. It is recurrently hit by droughts and cyclones that are increasing in frequency, duration and intensity due to climate change. These effects mainly impact the south and south-east of the country.
In the latter part of 2020, upon my arrival in Madagascar, the nation was experiencing its worst drought in four decades. This resulted in widespread hunger, known as kere, which caused communities to be on the brink of famine-like circumstances.
Many farmers in southern Madagascar have ongoing worries about accessing water for their crop growth.
On my most recent trips to the southern region, I observed the dryness of the land despite the added precipitation from cyclones in 2023.
The stability of weather conditions is becoming more unpredictable, leaving households heavily reliant on rain-fed agriculture in a vulnerable state.
In times of drought, crops are not only deprived of water, but they also face the damaging effects of red sandstorms that demolish the plants and remove the nutrient-rich topsoil. This creates a challenging environment for communities to cultivate essential crops, leading to heightened food insecurity and malnutrition, with women often bearing the brunt of the struggle.
Building resilience
I am confident that avoiding future disasters and expediting recovery from the impacts of recurring climate disasters necessitates more than just emergency aid.
Strengthening the ability of people, communities, and organizations to withstand the impacts of droughts and cyclones, while also addressing climate change, is the most long-lasting answer.
A clear and straightforward illustration is the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) cash-for-work initiative, which allowed community members to earn money by planting sisal trees along the coastline.
Sisal plants help reduce the harmful effects of wind on crops and also help to retain soil moisture. This stabilizes coastal sand dunes and protects crops from the red sandstorms. As a result, communities are now able to cultivate profitable crops in areas that were previously unusable due to sand.
Drier weather and stronger winds are being brought to southern Madagascar by El Nino.
UN collaboration
The United Nations is currently implementing a comprehensive strategy to address hunger and poverty in the southern region, with the goal of promoting sustainable solutions.
In the past three years, our main goal has been to develop the ability to withstand and alleviate the severe consequences of potential droughts, ultimately decreasing the need for humanitarian aid in the future.
Due to these combined efforts, we are witnessing a positive change in the daily lives of the nearby communities. Our next goal is to expand this initiative to the rest of the southern region.
We are striving to work together towards long-term solutions that prioritize addressing people’s risks, needs, and vulnerabilities rather than solely responding to short-term supply-driven demands.
The importance of prioritizing the people affected by recurrent crises in these regions has been acknowledged by the Malagasy Government, the UN, and various technical and financial partners.
Our goal is to shift towards demand-driven outcomes that address the underlying issues and lessen the risks, needs, and vulnerabilities of individuals, rather than relying solely on short-term supply-based responses.
El Niño
Nevertheless, the situation remains delicate and the ongoing El Niño phenomenon presents a considerable threat of further deterioration.
We have updated our Flash Appeal in order to assess its potential impact and provide assistance to 2.3 million individuals in need.
Approximately $39 million of the total $162 million funding requested is designated for anticipatory measures.
Madagascar is among the 30 nations chosen for the UN Secretary-General’s Early Warnings for All Initiative. The country has successfully finalized its action plan for 2024-2027, making it the first country to do so on a global level. The plan was officially announced during the COP28 in Dubai in December 2023.
This greatly increased awareness of Madagascar’s efforts and raised awareness among partners to support our prevention efforts and the need for funding.
The goal of the plan is to ensure that all individuals in the nation have access to early warning systems by 2027. This is crucial for decreasing the need for humanitarian aid and reducing the financial burden of responses in the future, ultimately leading to progress in achieving the 2030 Agenda.
Optimism
Before departing Madagascar, I hold onto hope that, with proper assistance, the most susceptible communities can achieve their dreams of a better life for everyone. This vision is rooted in principles of peace, safety, and abundance.
-
The United Nations Resident Coordinator, also known as the RC, is the most senior envoy of the UN’s development network in a given country.
-
For this sporadic collection, UN News is requesting RCs to write blog posts on topics that are significant to the UN and the nation in which they are stationed.
-
Discover additional information about the United Nations’ efforts in Madagascar on this page.
- Find out more about the UN Development Coordination Office here.
Source: news.un.org
