Juba – Over one hundred and twenty people representing national, regional, international institutions including national and state governments, donors, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, and media houses witnessed the launch of the National Adaption Programme of Action (NAPA) for climate change in Juba, South Sudan.
The 64-page NAPA document was prepared with technical support from UN Environment and funding support from Global Environment Facility (GEF) as part of the Government of South Sudan’s action to lessen effects of climate change on vulnerable communities and institutions.
With the completion of the NAPA document, South Sudan is eligible to benefit from 40 - 50 million US dollars in the envelope of the Least Developed Countries Funds to deal with the effects of climate change.
The event was opened and attended by National Ministers comprising of National Minister of Energy and Dams, National Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, National Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disasters Management, National Minister of Environment and Forestry, the Acting National Minister of Agriculture and Food Security. The Chairman of Specialised Committee on Environment and Natural Resources in National legislative Assembly of the Republic of South Sudan was accompanied by more than 10 members of the Assembly. The two main research and academic institutions of the Republic of South Sudan; University of Juba and University of Upper Nile were represented by more than 35 senior teaching staff. The Ambassador of France and Economic Consular in the Embassy of United States of America in South Sudan attended the event along with many other diplomatic missions and donor community with presence in South Sudan. The United Nations Deputy Special Representative of Secretary General (DSRSG)/ UN Resident Coordinator and other heads of UN agencies also attended.
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry presented an overview of the report’s findings and recommendations to the key stakeholders and general public. A key goal of the event was to build ownership and promote involvement of the various levels of decision makers, research institutions and development partners in addressing climate change issues facing the new nation.
Speaking at the launch, the guest of honour, the Minister of Energy and Dams, Dr Dhieu Mathok, said that the legal framework and the government’s efforts to create more awareness for the plan and appropriate funding are very important to the successful implementation of the findings and recommendations in the NAPA document. Dr Mathok has planned to make use of wind energy to generate power to the people of this Country. In doing this, "we need support from the development partners to achieve this important intervention," he said.
Dr Mathok described the event as of great importance to future generations of South Sudanese because the government has now developed some early warning documents, enabling them address issues related to environmental hazards. He further acknowledged that the current sources of energy in South Sudan are not environmental friendly and are even causing more harm to the environment.
High-level attendees at the launch of South Sudan’s National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) for Climate Change
The Minister of Environment and Forestry, Josephine Napwon Cosmas said the threat of climate change in Sudan is real. He gave examples of heat waves and prolonged drought as being among the impacts experienced by South Sudan.
In his remarks, Mr. James Janga Duku, the Minister of Livestock and Fisheries said climate change has resulted in the loss of pastures for communities rearing cattle in South Sudan. He said communities should be taught about the dangers of natural and manmade activities towards climate change. "They should know that unnecessary felling of trees is reducing the sustainability of rainfall in their areas," he said. "Communities should explore alternative ways of extracting energy from the trees".
The UN, Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General (DSRSG/RC/HC) in South Sudan, Eugene Owusu, stressed that climate change accelerates poverty and is particularly severely felt by the poor and their livelihoods. Mr. Owusu said that since a vast number of South Sudanese live in poverty, and 90% of the population depends on natural resources which can be negatively impacted by climate change, it is essential to prepare the local communities to deal with climate change and to diversity their income base to become more resilient and prevent droughts and floods.
Eugene Owusu said that 5 million hectares of land in the Sahara region have been restored, resulting in better food security in Mali and Senegal. He said similar interventions are helping farmers in the Turkana region of Kenya to improve their food and livestock production. "Lost livelihoods can be restored when interventions are made early," he said.
Owusu said climate change would remain a silent killer if preventive measures are not taken. He urged the government to take swift measures to prevent massive effects of climate change on the livelihood of South Sudanese.
Arshad Khan, the Country Programme Manager of UN Environment, pointed out that South Sudan has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. He said forests are the main absorbers of carbon dioxide and therefore must be protected.
Mr. Khan said natural and manmade environmental problems are threatening the daily lives of people and livestock of the South Sudanese people. He said it is very important for South Sudan to adopt policies to reduce its vulnerability by building natural resilience against the impact of climate change through involving all tiers of the government and communities. "If today you think it is not your problem, I am certain, tomorrow it will be yours," he added.
“It is very important that a country like South Sudan, which is prone to natural hazards, should be adapting to climate changes to reduce its vulnerability by building resilience against the impacts of climate change through involving all tiers of governments and communities,” Mr. Khan said.
The launch event was covered by South Sudan Broadcasting Cooperation (SSBC TV), national and international radio stations, including Voice of America (VOA) and UN Radio Miraya, as well as national newspapers.
