World Vision's experience
World Vision’s experience in field operations supports the warnings from scientists. Anecdotal evidence points to a detrimental shift in climate conditions in Africa.
David Scheiman, the Director of World Vision Africa programs, says "Every farmer we talk to says there is either not enough rain, or it’s very erratic, or both. They can’t feed their families anymore and the situation is getting worse”.
Scheiman points to Kiffa in southern Mauritania as an example of how climate changes have already had a dramatic impact. In the late 1980s it was possible to buy beef and sheep meat. Ten years later, vegetation in and around the city was disappearing, the desert was advancing, and the water table had dropped significantly. Sheep and cattle had disappeared and the only meat readily available was camel. With sadness Scheiman notes “Now only the true desert animal can survive there.”
Can't ignore unfairness
We can’t ignore the fact that this is unjust, especially when we consider that Africa’s carbon emissions are minimal. If we want to care about the poor we have to care about the environment they live in and depend upon. We have a responsibility to both help poor communities to adapt to changes caused by climate change and also through our own actions and campaigns we need to mitigate further change.