$100b dollars needed to tackle climate change
The Minister of Environment and Forestry has said the country needs US$100 billion to prevent the potentially devastating effects of climate change in the next three decades.
The docket minister, Josephine Napwon Cosmos, stated that the funds would be used to implement projects such as wetlands conservation and flood control, as well as clean renewable energy, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and harmful human activities.
She made the appeal on Wednesday as South Sudan joined the globe in commemorating World Wetlands Day to advocate for the friendly ecological relations of nature.
Josephine said activities such as oil exploration, human settlements, and poaching using automatic weapons could affect the climate country’s climate pattern if it fails to find sustainable ecosystem conservation solutions.
Threats loom
Other threats to South Sudan’s ecosystem include the stalled Jonglei Canal project, which was supposed to reduce the wet and dry seasons by 20 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, unsustainable fishing, agricultural expansion, and a lack of awareness.
South Sudan has faced one of the worst flooding effects of climate change in recent months, displacing and destroying thousands of people and sources of livelihood in seven out of the 10 states in the country.
This has thrown the country into a humanitarian disaster, with nearly half of the population expected to go hungry this year, the majority of whom are women, children, and the elderly, according to humanitarian agencies.
“The resumption of Jonglei Canal is off-limits because the ecosystem services from the Sudd wetlands are priceless,” Josephine said.
She said her ministry’s endeavour is to develop sustainable plans and actions that protect the ecological relations in the country.
Every year on February 2, 2022, the world celebrates World Wetland Day. This year’s theme was, “Wetlands Action for People and Nature”, which highlighted important actions to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands for human and planetary health across the world.
“Nearly 90 per cent of the world’s wetlands have been degraded since the 1700s, and we are losing wetlands three times faster than forest,” Josephine stated.
“Yet wetlands are critically important ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity, climate mitigation, and adaptation, freshwater, world economies, and many more,” she said.
According to the official, national wetlands awareness is required to reverse the country’s rapid loss, encourage, and conserve wetlands.
The Undersecretary of the Ministry, Joseph Africano Bartel, said the government will afford only 20 per cent of the needed amount, and the remaining 80 per cent will be solicited from partners to implement the ministry’s plan and actions already in place to avoid the anticipated disaster.
“Strategies are there, in the National Biodiversity Plan and Action that has been developed.
As the government, we have all the plans and actions, but they will cost about US$100 billion by 2050. We as the country will only be able to raise US$20 billion, and we will try and get US$80 billion from bilateral donors and other donor agencies, ” said Mr Africano.
