“Climate change strikes us at the core”

Climate change, environmental degradation and exposure to natural disasters are at present among the greatest agricultural and rural development challenges facing ACP countries. It is for this reason that CTA has decided to promote awareness of how climate change is affecting agricultural and rural development.
“Climate change strikes us at the core”, said CTA Director Dr Hansjörg Neun, speaking to the ACP group of countries. “We have been working with and will continue to work with our constituents to be able to cope with this challenge. More than 70% of those living in ACP countries work in the agricultural sector. Climate change for these people is not a theoretic discussion, it is the difference between life and death. CTA’s programmes have always looked at how to use natural resource management to help rural communities better cope with their environment. As an organisation, we have produced many publications focusing on climate change and its implications; we have sponsored participation in workshops looking at strategies, innovative and sustainable methods to cope with changes. We have looked at different aspects in detail in workshops and other fora, such as in the Brussels Development Briefings and the series of seminars on Food Security. Other programmes such as the Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS) have highlighted the linkages between good governance and environmental sustainability. Finally, we have highlighted the topic in a number of electronic media, including several films co-produced with DevTV and broadcast by the BBC.”
To find out more about CTA’s work on climate change, visit the website for the workshop being held from 26 to 30 October 2008 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso:
http://ctaseminar2008.cta.int