A Thief Calling 'Thief!' - Meles Zenawi and Climate Change

www.nazrett.com Home of Ethiopian News and Blog Breaking News Last week we read in the news that Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was warning that African delegates may walk out of the upcoming UN World Summit on Climate Change to be held in Copenhagen in December unless they are assured of a huge sum - hundreds of billions a year - by the countries of the West. A number of things may come to one's mind on reading such warnings. For the sake of this article however, we will only focus on whether or not African leaders, and Meles in particular, have the moral high ground to issue that warning. We believe not. Let's unambiguously state from the outset that Western countries, and the US in the main, are largely to blame for the world's climate change and that they bear the highest responsibility for the consequences that occur globally thereof. That said however, nobody is free from blame either; it is only the degree of the blame that differs. It is true that Africa is on the receiving end of the environmental crisis resulting from climate change. But, Africa also has its part in contributing to the climate change. The cause for climate change is not just the emission of greenhouse gases, it is human activity in general as well as some natural changes occurring within and around earth. Nobody is to be spared of responsibility from the consequences of human activity in general. However, the degree of greenhouse emissions as a result of human activity differs from activity to activity. One thing for sure is that emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) since the industrial revolution have greatly increased and the global temperature has also risen. Industrialisation as one human activity is the biggest culprit in this respect. Other human activities that result in emissions of CO2 also contribute to climate change. These are fossil fuel burning, deforestation purposes and other forms of environmental degradation. Now, the industrialised countries are undoubtedly the first to blame for CO2 emissions as a result of industrialisation. In this regard, the greatest polluters at the moment are the US, China and India. The non-industrialised countries are not to be spared from blame either. They have their share of the blame too. In fact, from the angle of the prevalence of poverty and under-development, their mistakes are as detrimental to the existence of their own communities as we are going to see in the case of the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government in Ethiopia. In Africa as a whole, the degree of deforestation that results in soil erosion, the drying of lakes and the reduction of soil fertility and other forms of environmental degradation is extremely high. Until a few years ago, Africa was well-known for its tropical forests and wild animals. Today, it has been observed that the forest land coverage in Europe is much larger than it is in Africa. That means, Europe has more forests and trees than Africa. This is because Europe resorted to massive reforestation while Africa is still in the process of destroying its forests. Europe resorted to policies of massive reforestation while African governments resorted to massive deforestation or displayed utter insensitivity and complicity in face of massive deforestation. Now, here is the crux of the matter: government policies. What have African governments done to conserve the environment and their forests in particular? Let's focus on the records of Meles's government in Ethiopia and examine if Meles really has the moral high ground to accuse Western governments on grounds of polluting the world. Environmental protection or the conservation of nature are absolutely crucial for Ethiopia as the greater part of its social formation is constituted by activities of the natural economy, as well as the fact that more than 85 per cent of its population live in rural areas and depend on what nature provides. The rural population's survival depends on the environment and it goes without saying that the sustainable use of the environment is the crucial link to food security. From the point of economic growth, social development and indeed of social change, the protection of the environment is crucial for Ethiopia as it is connected with issues of rural development. Social development in rural Ethiopia cannot take place just by 'boosting production through the hard work of the peasantry', but by creating the legal, social and political environment that enables the peasantry to diversify its livelihood system. In other words, development and economic growth that in turn begins with the accumulation of wealth also begins with disengaging the peasantry from land and enabling it to be engaged in other livelihood systems. To enable the peasantry accumulate wealth through production surplus, it is crucial to ensure that its production target succeeds, which in turn requires the availability of rain or irrigated water and the conservation of the soil. And this is what protecting the environment all is about. It is indeed crucial to realise the environment-rural production-accumulation nexus. In an impoverished country such as Ethiopia which has no capacity to replace nature with technologically advanced alternatives accessible to a large population, once the environment is destroyed and eroded it is nearly impossible to recover it. In the face of an increasing population which still depends on nature and works on it for survival, the sustainable use of nature is indeed a very serious issue that requires not only seriousness of purpose on the part of governance but also intellect and capacity. Here, a number of crucial issues are interwoven and interdependent: protecting the environment, strategising rural development, population control and ensuring food security in the immediate term, and a comprehensive environmental policy to address these issues. The need for such a policy is to prevent the further erosion of the environment, ensure food security and generate rural development. In all these, the record of Meles Zenawi's government is abysmal. Now, what are Ethiopia's environmental problems that have a direct bearing on the prevalence of continued environmental destruction, poverty and under-development? First of all, massive deforestation. Trees and forests have a special function in preserving moisture and water and, above all, soil and its fertility. The preservation of forests and trees is absolutely crucial for Ethiopia's survival. Unfortunately, due to the utter neglect of successive governments in the country, massive deforestation has occurred. Records show that Ethiopia's forest coverage by the turn of the 20th century was 40 per cent. By 1987 (under the military government), it had gone down to 5.5 per cent and in 2003 (under Meles's government) it had gone further down to 0.2 per cent. In terms of area, Ethiopia's rate of deforestation was between 150,000 and 200,000 hectares of land a year. Deforestation has led to massive soil erosion. One of the most important functions of trees is to keep the soil intact from erosion by running water as a result of rain or from being blown away by strong wind. When soil is preserved, its nutrients are also preserved, meaning its fertility is also preserved. Trees also absorb and maintain water and moisture and play crucial role in balancing the ecosystem, which has strong bearing on agriculture. When deforestation takes place, all these crucial roles of trees are lost, exposing the land to further erosion of its top soil, with a huge negative impact on agriculture. A study by M. Constable suggests that the highlands of Ethiopia contain one of the largest ecological degradations in Africa. Soil erosion in turn contributes to the drying of lakes. In the last few years alone, three Rift Valley lakes have dried up: Lake Alemaya, Lake Adele and Lake Lange. When soil is massively washed into the lake, silt develops underneath, pushing the water upwards and expanding the area of water coverage. This gives the impression that the lake has more water and in fact makes it look as if flooding takes place. The reality is exactly the opposite, however. The water is pushed to a larger surface and exposed to massive evaporation, drying up at the end. Relevant Links East Africa Ethiopia Climate International Organisations Sustainable Development The same process is repeated at Lake Awassa. A study by one international NGO concluded that Lake Awassa is threatened by the same process through which the other three lakes dried up. The regional government of Meles Zenawi refused to accept the report and argued that they are actually noticing that Lake Awassa threatens a flood situation because they see more water in a larger area. (So much for the capacity his officials in the region.) Undoubtedly, the issue of water in general is crucial for Ethiopia as an agricultural society as it is often hit by drought, resulting in a situation of perennial food insecurity. There was no visible sign of seriousness or alarm on the part of Meles's government when the three lakes dried up completely. The town of Harrar, probably the fourth or fifth largest town in the country, which depended on Lake Alemaya for its water supply, was left to suffer from acute water shortage for weeks when the government watched the lake dry and did practically nothing noticeable until the last minute. This brings us to the policy of Meles's government. Page 1 of 212