[From AWID]  We, the Women’s Major Group representatives* at the Asia Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for Rio+20 call on governments to reaffirm their commitments to Agenda 21 and the Beijing Platform for Action, and fulfill their obligations to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 

We the Rural Women’s Assembly of Southern Africa, meeting in Durban on the event of the 17th Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC in Durban from 30 November to 5 December 2011 demand that governments take the following immediate steps to address the clear and present danger posed to rural communities by the climate crisis.

Current estimates of climate change state that the world’s average temperature is due to increase by at least 2oC to 2.4oC over the next 50?100 years. Furthermore it is expected that by the end of the century a range of additional impacts will be felt: sea levels will rise by an estimated 60cm, resulting in flooding and the salinisation of fresh water aquifers, and snow and ice cover will decrease. Simultaneously, precipitation patterns will change so that some areas will receive large increases whilst other areas will become hotter and drier.

Ethiopia remains one of the least-developed countries in the world: 50 percent of the population lives in abject poverty, and average life expectancy is only 43 years. Agriculture-the main sector of the Ethiopian economy-employs about 80 percent of the population and is dominated by small-scale, mixed crop and livestock production with very low productivity, which can be attributed to obsolete farming techniques; soil degradation caused by overgrazing and deforestation; poor complementary services, such as extension, credit, markets, and infrastructure; and frequent droughts and floods.

The Yellow River basin (YRB) is the breadbasket of China and the “cradle of Chinese civilization.” The basin is characterized by severe water scarcity; the ratio of surface water withdrawal to water resources, at 64 percent in 2008, is among the highest in the world. Particular climatic conditions, the rapid socioeconomic development, and the absence of defined water rights have led to excessive water abstraction. During the last 50 years agricultural water use has increased by more than 250 percent, while water demand from industry and domestic use has grown even more steeply.

Climate change is one of the major threats to the development of rural Africa, and without wide-ranging adaptation strategies the challenge it presents cannot be met. Although appropriate measures have been identi? ed, international funding for adaptation has not materialised at the rate that was pledged. This is irresponsibly delaying the implementation of adaptation measures.

Les petits paysans dans les pays en développement ne peuvent pas, à eux seuls, absorber plus longtemps les conséquences massives du changement climatique au moyen de leurs stratégies traditionnelles de gestion des risques. Ils doivent bien plus se mettre en quête d'instruments de gestion des risques qui tiennent compte de la nouvelle dimension de ces dangers.

Les programmes d’assurance-récolte des pays en développement et des marchés émergents, tant qu’ils ne sont pas stabilisés et qu’ils n’ont pas accumulé suffi samment de données pour justifi er la mise en place de programmes plus avancés, sont habituellement limités aux risques
météorologiques désignés.

En 2008, le Fonds pour l'innovation en micro-assurance a attribué une subvention à Planet Guarantee (en partenariat avec AGF Afrique et Swiss Re) pour la réalisation d'une étude de faisabilité sur l'assurance indexée destinée aux producteurs de coton du Mali. Trois types d'indices ont été évalués. Étant donné le risque de base élevé que présente l'indice climatique et les ressources techniques importantes requises par l'indice satellitaire, l'indice de rendement est considéré comme l'approche la plus prometteuse.

The message in this short, yet stark sentence highlights a phenomenon that farmers, particularly in marginalized dryland areas, have been experiencing for years – the threat of desertification and climate change to their lives. Carbon sequestration, however, serves a dual purpose to remedy this threat. Firstly, global warming can be mitigated significantly by removing atmospheric carbon dioxide and sequestering it in soil. Secondly, increased carbon in the soil has great value as a food-producing asset.

Ce message pessimiste met en évidence un phénomène que les agriculteurs des zones arides marginales connaissent depuis des années, là où la désertification et le changement climatique sont une menace concrète. La séquestration du carbone peut cependant être un moyen de lutte efficace : d’une part, elle permet d'atténuer de façon significative le réchauffement planétaire en transférant dans les sols le CO2 atmosphérique ; d'autre part, le carbone ainsi stocké dans le sol constitue une ressource importante des processus de production alimentaire.