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FOCUS ON NIGER
CLIMATE CHANGE
Can we protect the poor from the effects of climate change?
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CLIMATE CHANGE
What is Climate Change?
When we talk about ‘climate
change’ we mean changes in the
pattern and intensity of climaterelated events. This includes the
rise in the earth’s temperature and
sea levels in the last 100 years. If
temperatures continue to rise as
they are, there will be more and
more extreme weather occurrences
like flooding and drought.
CAUSES
Climate change is not simply due
to natural variations in the earth’s
weather cycle. There is evidence
that the greenhouse gases
currently driving the increase in
the average global temperatures
are produced by the burning of
fossil fuels and are aggravating
natural variations. Do you think
human activity has been a likely
factor in climate change?
Transportation: Transportation related
emissions of carbon dioxide are growing
rapidly. The United States alone consumes
about 21 million barrels of crude oil per
day, of which approximately two-thirds
(14 million barrels) is used to fuel
transport needs.
The impact of climate change poses
a huge global risk and threatens
the most essential aspects of life
on earth: health, access to water,
and food production. It is the
primary environmental challenge
of this century.
DID YOU KNOW?
■■
Across the developing world, the
average per capita emissions level
was 2.2 tons. In the 49 poorest
countries it was just 0.2 tons. In the
US, it was 18.9 tons.
■■
Of the 600,000 or so people who
died in extreme weather events during
the 1990s, 99 percent were in poor
countries.
■■
Food is transported all around the
world, with the average meal traveling
1,490 miles. The CO2 emissions
attributable to producing, packaging
and distributing the food consumed
by a family of four are estimated to be
about eight tons a year.
CHECK IT OUT
Unsustainable use of energy and
resources in everyday life: Everyday
lifestyle actions which consume fossil fuel
energy contribute to climate change. The
rapid rate of fossil fuel burning since the
Industrial Revolution has disrupted the
natural balance of carbon in the air, soil
and seas.
Deforestation: Worldwide, 80 percent
of original forest cover has been cleared,
fragmented or degraded. Carbon stored
for years in the trees is being released at
a high rate. Africa lost 64 million hectares
between 1990 and 2005, the greatest
decline seen by any continent.
Agriculture and food industry: Intensive
agriculture and the global food industry
have contributed to the effects of climate
change and the loss of bio-diversity through
deforestation, transportation of food over
long distances, use of fertilizers and few
crop varieties, and livestock management.
Population growth: The earth’s expanding
population is leading to an increased
demand for food, livestock and energy,
which is in turn leading to increased
emissions.
CONSEQUENCES
Storms: In 2005 there were 28
tropical storms in the Caribbean
and North Atlantic—the highest
number since record-keeping began about
150 years ago. It is likely that future tropical
cyclones will become more intense due
to the rise in North Atlantic sea surface
temperatures.
Internally displaced people
and environmental refugees:
Millions of people are being
forced to migrate each year to avoid
droughts and floods. Those who lose their
jobs or homes end up in city slums and
camps where the fight for survival becomes
a daily reality.
Floods and rise in salinity
in land and water: Rising
sea levels threaten low lying
areas with flooding, erosion, and the
contamination of freshwater supplies.
Salt water seeps into the ground water,
damaging productive farmland and fresh
water supplies.
Pests and diseases: The World
Health Organization estimates
that over 15,000 people die each
year through the spread of disease caused
by climate change disasters. Flooding gives
rise to parasites in the water and plagues of
rodents. Warmer highlands allow malariacarrying mosquitoes to survive.
Drought: The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
warns that climate change will
bring more floods, more droughts, and more
vulnerability, hindering the efforts of millions
of people to escape poverty.
Food insecurity: Poor farmers
who can’t adapt quickly enough
to changing weather patterns will
be the worst affected. African communities
are particularly vulnerable to changes
in rainfall, because the majority of their
agriculture is rain fed with no access to
irrigation. Climate change has resulted in
unpredictable seasons and crop failures.
Learn more and calculate your emissions: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html
Read more about climate change and the MDGs: http://www.undp.org/climatechange/cc_mdgs.shtml
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CLIMATE CHANGE AROUND
THE WORLD
There is a strong link between
climate change and poverty.
The impact of uncurbed global
warming is already disturbing
the lives of millions of people
across the globe, particularly
in those countries that have the
fewest resources to cope. For the
poor, the devastating effects of
climate change are now a fact of
life and are already undermining
the progress intended under
the internationally agreed
Millennium Development Goals.
Those who are least responsible
for contributing to the negative
impacts of changes in the climate
will be the very ones to suffer
most from its effects.
What’s the difference
between climate change
and global warming?
Climate: the average weather, usually
measured over a 30 year time period,
for a particular region
Climate Change: any long-term
significant change in weather patterns
of an area
Greenhouse Effect: the effect of
water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other
atmospheric gases absorbing outgoing
infrared radiation, raising the Earth’s
temperature
Global Warming: an increase in the
earth’s atmospheric and oceanic
temperatures widely attributed to an
increase in the greenhouse effect
caused by pollution
Climate Adaptation: responses to the
changing climate in human behavior
to minimize the predicted impacts of
climate change
Disaster Risk Reduction: techniques
that focus on preventing or minimizing
the adverse impacts of hazards
What is the impact on the poor?
IS CLIMATE CHANGE AN URGENT CONCERN?
YOU DECIDE!
Rising temperatures in
Alaska have spurred
the spruce bark beetle
to breed faster. From
1993 to 2003, the
beetle chewed up
3.4 million acres of
Alaskan forest.
In the Horn of Africa
in 2011, the worst
drought in 60 years
along with record
highs in food and
fuel costs left over
12 million people
facing extreme
hunger.
In 2010, Pakistan experienced
unprecedented levels of heavy
rain which triggered the nation’s
worst flooding on record. An
estimated 20 million people were
impacted by the loss of livelihoods
and/or homes.
Himalayan glaciers are receding
at 10-15 meters per year, while
in India the Gangotri glacier is
receding at an average rate of
23 meters per year.
Crop yields in Sub-Saharan Africa
are projected to fall by 20 percent
because of global warming.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
The atmosphere is an envelope of gases
that surrounds the earth. It consists of a
mixture of mostly nitrogen, oxygen and
argon. But it also contains another mixture
of gases known as greenhouse gases, so
called because they absorb infrared light
but keep the earth’s heat from escaping.
Without the natural greenhouse effect, life
on earth would be impossible to sustain.
Solar radiation
powers the
climate system
However, as humans cause more
greenhouse gases to be released into the
atmosphere, the greenhouse effect becomes
stronger. More heat is trapped and the
earth’s climate begins to change unnaturally.
Greenhouse gas emissions arise from a
range of sources including transportation,
energy production, agriculture, and
industrial processes.
THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Some of the infrared radiation passes through the atmosphere but most is
absorbed and re-emitted in all directions by greenhouse gas molecules and
clouds. The effect of this is to warm the Earth’s surface and the lower atmosphere.
Infrared radiation
is emitted from the
Earth’s surface
Some solar
radiation is
reflected by the
Earth and the
atmosphere
Carbon Footprint: a measurement that
determines how much energy is required
to sustain an individual’s daily activities.
About half of the solar radiation is absorbed
by the Earth’s surface and warms it
CHECK IT OUT
In 2007 the worst
flooding in 50 years
in Hunan Province in
China caused a plague
of 2 billion mice.
Calculate your carbon footprint: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/
View photos of our changing world: http://www.climatecrisis.net/the_evidence.php
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NIGER
How does climate change affect a country that is already
vulnerable to food insecurity?
HISTORY
NIGER
Niger Country
Information
Niger has suffered from military rule and
political instability since its independence
from France in 1960. General Ali Saibou
dominated with single-party military rule
from independence until 1991. The first
multi-party elections, held in 1993, aimed
to establish a democratic state but political
divisions brought the new government to a
halt. A military coup led by Colonel Ibrahim
Bare replaced the government in 1996, but
Bare was killed in 1999 by a counter coup.
President Mamdou Tandja was then voted in
and re-elected twice until he was deposed
in February 2010. Niger is currently under a
transitional military government pending the
next election period.
The government has offered minimal
services to its people and has lacked the
resources to develop Niger’s economy.
Its largely subsistence agricultural base
is frequently destroyed by repeated
droughts common in the Sahel region.
Droughts, desertification, and high
population growth have diminished Niger’s
economy and repeatedly threatened
the country’s food security. In addition,
Niger faces serious environmental
issues accelerated by the effects of
climate change such as overgrazing, soil
erosion, deforestation, and endangered
wildlife due to poaching and habitat
destruction.
LOCATION: Western Africa
CAPITAL: Niamey
POPULATION: 15.8 million
SIZE: Slightly less than twice the size
of Texas
LANGUAGES: French, Hausa, Djerma
ETHNIC GROUPS: Haoussa 55 percent,
Djerma Sonrai 21 percent, Tuareg
9 percent, Peuhl 9 percent, Kanouri
Manga 5 percent, other 1 percent
RELIGIONS: Muslim 80 percent,
other 20 percent
LIFE EXPECTANCY: 53 years
CHILD MORTALITY RATE: 121 deaths /
NIGER’S DROUGHT & FOOD CRISIS
Millet is what keeps most people alive in
Niger. This small nation is largely comprised
of farmers and pastoralists who depend
on rain to sustain the crops and livestock
that are their sole sources of income
and food.
In the past 10 years, Niger has repeatedly
suffered from the increased effects of
climate change including desertification,
deforestation, drought, and plagues of
locusts. Niger suffered a serious food
crisis in 2005 due to drought. Lack of
rain in 2010 led to another massive
crop failure of millet and other staples,
threatening a food crisis predicted to
be worse than that of 2005. The United
Nations warned that food supplies were
dangerously scarce and that 60 percent
of the country’s population was facing
hunger.
1,000 live births
ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER: 42 percent
LITERACY RATE: 29 percent
DID YOU KNOW?
■■
Niger is one of the poorest
countries in the world; it
is ranked near the very
bottom of the UN Human
Development Index
■■
It is one of the hottest
countries in the world,
consisting of mostly desert
and sand dunes
■■
Only one-fifth of the
land-locked country is fit
for livestock and limited
agriculture
■■
It has some of the world’s
largest uranium deposits
PRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLLMENT:
38 percent
POPULATION LIVING ON LESS THAN
$2 DAY: 63 percent
KEY EXPORTS: uranium ore, livestock,
cowpeas, onions
Sources: UNICEF, CIA World Factbook
CHECK IT OUT
Read more about climate change and its impact on Niger: http://uk.oneworld.net/guides/niger/climate-change
View photos of the 2010 Niger food crisis: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8637487.stm
CLIMATE CHANGE IN NIGER
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How have people in Niger responded to the effects of climate change?
IMMEDIATE RESPONSE
Emergency Nutrition: To prevent and
mitigate the onset of severe malnutrition
Concern screened, referred, and reinforced
the Ministry of Health to provide nutrition
support to mothers and children under five.
Agaycha Awikguini’s
Story
Agaycha Awikguini is 50 years old
and a widow. She cultivates millet,
sorghum and beans on her small
farm and lives with her 13 yearold daughter. “I haven’t harvested
anything last year because of
the drought . . . I cannot buy big
quantities of millet anymore
because prices have gone up.
Before, I used to grind two bowls
of millet to cover my day’s needs.
Now I only grind one bowl.
Since I have changed my food
habits, I have lost weight . . . I do
not mind going to bed on an empty
stomach, but if [my daughter] is
hungry she will start crying.”
Agaycha got her first cash transfer
from Concern in April 2010. “I am
very happy! I am going to buy
millet . . . Just millet. I will buy the
big bag, the 100 kg bag.”
CHECK IT OUT
Seed and Cash Distributions: Concern
sought input from mothers, farmers, and
community members who have long fought
against hunger in Niger to make sure they
were delivering what was needed most.
Concern’s staff informed the community
they could choose:
❑❑
❑❑
A seed pack with improved, droughtresistant millet and cow pea seeds, as well
as fertilizer and a one-off cash installment
of CFA franc 20,000 (roughly $37)
Or four monthly cash transfers of CFA
franc 20,000 each ($37).
Which option do you think most families
chose?
The majority of families in the Salou village
where Concern worked chose the seedand-cash option.
Using Mobile Phones: Concern initiated
a groundbreaking pilot—distributing cash
through mobile phones, text messages,
and cash distribution agents. A code
is delivered via text message to each
recipient, which can be redeemed for cash
at mobile dispensing agents. It is the first
time mobile emergency cash transfers
have ever been used in a French-speaking
African country.
Why do you think mobile phones were
introduced versus distributing cash
by hand in communities?
LONG TERM SOLUTION
Climate Adaptation: To mitigate the effects
of desertification and water shortages,
Niger’s National Adaptation Program of
Action (NAPA) has focused on water
resource management, including an increase
in the use of irrigation and the protection of
livestock farming through the provision of
animal feed in planting and storage banks.
Other climate adaptation models have
focused on reducing soil erosion around
fragile water sources and using quickmaturing crop seeds as well as seed banks
to help farmers regulate production in the
midst of varied and shorter growing seasons.
Disaster Risk Reduction: Concern works
closely in the Tahoua region to reduce
the chronic vulnerability of poor people
in Niger to hazards and disaster risks by
strengthening Disaster Risk Reduction
(DRR) approaches.
Concern aims to increase resiliency of
vulnerable households to risks by forming
seed banks, building embankments to
protect villages from flooding, rehabilitating
and constructing irrigation canals, improving
agricultural practices, and introducing droughtresistant seed varieties to ensure consistent
food supply in vulnerable communities.
Read more about Concern’s mobile phone cash transfers in Niger: http://blogs.concernusa.org/category/niger-food-crisis/
Read about women farmers in Concern’s Unheard Voices campaign: www.concernusa.org/unheardvoices
GLOBAL EFFORTS TO REDUCE THE
EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
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Can we protect the poor from the effects of climate change?
“The poorest developing countries
will be hit earliest and hardest by
climate change, even though they
have contributed little to causing
the problem.” —Stern Report
“The danger posed by war to all
of humanity—and to our planet—
is at least matched by the climate
crisis and global warming. I
believe that the world has reached
a critical stage in its efforts to
exercise responsible environmental
stewardship.”
—UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
“Some of the scientists, I believe,
haven’t they been changing
their opinion a little bit on global
warming? There’s a lot of differing
opinions and before we react I think
it’s best to have the full accounting,
full understanding of what’s taking
place.” —George W. Bush
“All across the world, in every kind
of environment and region known
to man, increasingly dangerous
weather patterns and devastating
storms are abruptly putting an
end to the long-running debate
over whether or not climate
change is real. Not only is it real,
it’s here, and its effects are giving
rise to a frighteningly new global
phenomenon: the man-made natural
disaster.” —Barack Obama
“Developing countries are bearing
the brunt of climate change
despite not being the perpetrators.
There is need for a collective effort
on the part of the third world to put
a stop to it.”
—Yahya Jammeh, Gambia President
“Developed countries should
take up their responsibility and
provide new, additional, adequate
and predictable financial support
to developing countries to enable
them to have access to climatefriendly technologies.”
—Hu Jintao, China President
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS:
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) was established
in 1988 to assess scientific, technical and
socio-economic information relevant for the
understanding of climate change.
IPCC’s First Assessment Report in 1990
led to the adoption of the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) in 1992.
Under Article 2 of the Convention,
countries are committed to: “Achieve
stabilization of greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere
at a level that would prevent
dangerous interference with the
climate system—within a time frame
sufficient to allow ecosystems to
adapt naturally—to ensure food
production is not threatened and to
enable economic development to
proceed in a sustainable manner.”
IPCC’s Second Assessment Report led to
the negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol in
1997 which passed into international law
on February 16, 2005.
Developed countries have accepted
greenhouse gas emission reduction
obligations and have to submit an
annual greenhouse gas inventory.
Developing countries have no
greenhouse gas emission reduction
obligations yet but may participate in
Clean Development Mechanisms.
The United Nations Climate Change
Conference in Bali in 2007 culminated in
the adoption of the Bali roadmap, intended
to lead to a post-2012 international
agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol,
which expires in 2012.
It was widely agreed in Bali that for
poorer countries to avoid the same
development mistakes of developed
countries, they would need newer
and cleaner technologies.
The United States has not signed the Kyoto
Accord.
Do you think the US should
join international efforts to
stop climate change?
IMPACT ON
THE POOR
AND WOMEN
Women are the biggest victims
of climate change, as the
provision of food, fuel and water
falls on their shoulders. Many
women struggle with the double
burden of poverty and social
exclusion.
If climate change policies are
to be successful, women must
have opportunities to:
■■
influence decision-making
■■
build their capacity
■■
lower their vulnerability
■■
and diversify their income
sources
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO COMBAT
CLIMATE CHANGE?
DEBATE IT
?
Which one of the following solutions do you think is the best
sustainable alternative to the energy crisis?
Solar — More sun hits the earth in one
hour than would satisfy the energy needs
of one year. Solar energy is abundant,
clean and safe but the component
parts of the systems are still expensive
and the pay back time is not very
immediate.
Wind, wave, and tidal power — There
is evidence to suggest that enough wind
power can be harnessed to fuel vehicles,
power plants, and climate and air pollution
programs.
Nuclear — Climate change is being
harnessed as a late hope for a nuclearenergy revival. However, with nuclear power
comes the problem of nuclear waste and
the danger that civilian nuclear technologies
could be adapted for weapons.
Transportation — Simple activities like
walking, cycling, or using public transport
whenever possible can make a difference.
When only private transport is feasible,
driving at a pace which ensures energy
efficiency can lessen emissions.
Shipping — Solar panels and huge sails
could reduce the emissions of large freight
vessels.
Air Travel — Environmental damage caused
by flights could be offset by planting trees.
Sensitive and sustainable forest
management — Trees have the potential
to absorb about 10 percent of projected
global carbon emissions. However, when
cut down they contribute global carbon
emissions and threaten food, energy, and
environmental security.
PLEDGE TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE
Check which one of the following options you pledge to
help combat climate change or make your own pledge and
petition it at your school!
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❑❑
❑❑
To campaign that my country joins an
international treaty within the next two
years that cuts global warming pollution
by 90 percent in developed countries
and by more than half worldwide in time
for the next generation to inherit
a healthy earth
To take personal action to help solve the
climate crisis by reducing my own CO2
pollution as much as I can and offsetting
the rest to become carbon neutral
To fight for a moratorium on the
construction of any new facility that
burns coal without the capacity to safely
trap and store the CO2
Each year, the US consumes 100 billion
single-use plastic bags at a cost of $4
billion a year. Imagine how many lives we
could save by investing that money to
better protect vulnerable populations from
the effects of climate change?
❑❑
❑❑
❑❑
❑❑
To work for a dramatic increase in the
energy efficiency of my home, workplace,
school, place of worship, and means of
transportation
To lobby for laws and policies that expand
the use of renewable energy sources and
reduce dependence on oil and coal
To plant new trees and to join with others
in preserving and protecting forests
To buy from businesses and support
leaders who share my commitment to
solving the climate crisis and building a
sustainable, just, and prosperous world
for the 21st century
Can you make a list of
everyday actions that
you can take to combat
climate change?
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate Crisis
http://www.climatecrisis.net/
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change
http://www.ipcc.ch/
NASA
http://climate.nasa.gov/
United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change
unfccc.int
US Environmental Protection Agency
http://epa.gov/climatechange/
NIGER
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/
country_profiles/1054396.stm
IRIN Humanitarian News Analysis
http://www.irinnews.org/country.
aspx?country=NE
UNICEF
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/
niger.html
The World Bank
http://data.worldbank.org/country/niger
ORGANIZATIONS
Climate Institute
http://www.climate.org/
The World Meteorological Organization
www.wmo.int
World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/globalchange/en/
World Wildlife Fund
http://www.worldwildlife.org/climate/
United Nations
http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/
climatechange/gateway
United Nations Environment
Programme
http://www.unep.org/
CAMPAIGNS
Earth Day
http://www.earthday.org/earthday-2011
Earth Hour
http://www.earthhour.org
Power of One
www.powerofone.ie/
CONCERN WORLDWIDE US, INC
www.concernusa.org
355 Lexington Avenue
19th Floor
New York, NY 10017
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This publication is intended to inform readers about the issue of climate change and does not necessarily reflect the
views of Concern Worldwide U.S., Inc. or Concern Worldwide on this issue. Concern Worldwide does not officially
recommend or endorse any of these organizations.
Concern Worldwide U.S., Inc. is a New York not-for-profit corporation exempt from Federal income taxation under
section 501(c) (3). Concern Worldwide U.S., Inc. supports projects carried out in the field by Concern Worldwide,
registered in Ireland.
Photos: Niger, Concern Worldwide.