TANZANIA WANTS SINGLE EAC CLIMATE LAW

Tanzania plans to propose to member states of the East African Community (EAC) to have a clear implementation and policy in the process of curbing climate change with the reason to mitigate its effects in the regional level.

 Speaking in an exclusive interview with East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam last week, the Minister of State in the Vice President Office, (Environment), Dr Bilnith Mahenge said since the signing of the treaty for the establishment of the EAC, the regional bloc has been a shining example of African regional integration and economic development.

“Since we are the shining example we need collective efforts and responsibility to ensure that we mitigate the effects of the climate change in the regional level he said adding that I am aware that the bloc has the strategic plans to fight climate change but we want a clear implementation in the EAC.”
Dr Mahenge added that the value of intra-regional trade has surpassed $5 billion annually because of the increase of trade between countries but the threats of climate change may damage the trend in every sector especially agriculture.

“The facts are incontrovertible, climate change is not a myth and it will affect our day to day lives (and wallets) sooner than we think. Human activity is increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, which is in turn resulting in warmer temperatures,” he warned.

He further said that the regional bloc ought to come up with collective efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change in the regional for instance to start depending on agricultural irrigation and discovering of natural gas as a source of energy.

Dr Mahenge said that an increase in trade simply means higher volumes of goods and services are being moved from one place and consumed in another.

He noted that this movement requires transportation that will invariably emit CO2 into the atmosphere, especially for goods, the most utilized mode of transportation in the region is road. Road transport contributes 72.6% of CO2 emissions from the transport sector. Rail transport on the other hand, only contributes 2%.

Dr Mahenge said that unfortunately, the repercussions of climate change will affect Sub-Saharan Africa the most and higher temperatures will affect agricultural yields.

“If temperatures continue to rise at the current rate, by 2030, most of East Africa will be unsuitable for maize production. The negative implications of this on the food security of the 135 million East Africans are substantial,” he noted.

Furthermore, the EAC Climate Change Fund that has been proposed and debated by the East African Legislative Assembly would require Member States to contribute at least $360 million annually to address climate change issues.

The operationalization of this fund would be a major step in helping countries adapt to the current and future effects of global warming.

In the recent years climate change has become a global social, economical and environmental challenge facing humankind. The fourth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007) has revealed that climate change is real and already happening.

According to the report, while it is difficult to accurately predict the consequences of climate change, enough understanding is available on the kind of risks posed.


The impacts include melting of glaciers, floods, frequent prolonged droughts, reduced water supply, decline in crop yields to food insecurity, increase of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, rising sea levels leading to displacement of people and disruption of both terrestrial and marine ecosystems and important natural habitats, which are now not only predicted but vividly observed in many parts of world.