Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – The climate emergency linked to the environmental issue continues to present itself as one of the most important on the planet, in corroboration with the recent summits of the UN in Poznan, Poland and that of the European Union in Brussels, without counting the repeated appeals made by the Holy See to the international community, calling for an increased effort in protecting the environment.
The most recent statistics from UN agencies confirm the complexity of the situation and focus, among other things, on the impact of agriculture on the current ecological crisis. The sierra gas emissions produced by forests and agriculture, is over 30% of all the emissions per year currently produced (deforestation 17.4% and agriculture 13.5%). Agriculture is responsible for 50% of the methane (zootechnical and rice production) and for over 75% of the nitrous oxide (mainly from the use of fertilizers) emitted by human activity.
In this regards, the UN points out that the climate changes will have grave consequences on living conditions for farmers, as well as for fishermen, and all those who depend on forest resources from developing countries, many of which are finding it hard to survive and feed their own families. It is important to not that 40% of the earth's biomass is directly or indirectly handled through farmers, forest agents, or livestock farmers.
In relation to the climate – which has direct influence on how agriculture and livestock turn out, especially in the poorer countries and developing countries of Africa and Asia – there is a growing emergency. Based on a study done by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), since 1980, the dangers linked to the climate, such as heavy floods, have increased 340% and those from wind have doubled.
According to a study on the costs and impact of several natural disasters, 2008 has been a record year in many cases. The event that caused most economic damage was the earthquake in China in May. However, the majority of the significantly harmful disasters were linked to the climate, in 9 out of 10 cases, with Cyclone Nargis that hit Myanmar, claiming 84,500 victims. This was the phenomenon with the most victims in 2008. China also suffered two large disasters linked to the climate, the worst of which occurred in January, in a particularly hard winter, which led to 2 million dollars' worth in damages. Other problems in other parts of the world were caused by prolonged drought or torrential rains that destroyed crops and contributed to the world food crisis.
The Poznan Conference, which was attended by 190 countries, approved a plan of work to be carried out from now until a year from now (for December 2009), in the Conference on the environment in Copenhagen, with a text on climate changes, on which to begin talks among all the countries involved.
Among the urgent replies that should be given on the agriculture-environment problems are: the use of a variety of more productive crops, better control of forest fires, better management of natural resources, capture of biogas from animal excrements, regeneration of soil through grazing control, agricultural conservation and agricultural-forest systems...these are the measures that are moving in the right direction and should be promoted with increased vigor in order to reduce the emissions created in the agricultural and forest sector and improve climate changes and adaption.
The FAO has also pointed out the particularly delicate situation of the Pacific Islands. The warming of the oceans, the greater frequency of tropical cyclones, floods, and droughts, can all have devastating effects on food productions in this area. The catastrophes linked to climate changes are already testing these nations' development capacities, as they seem to be in a constant state of aftermath reconstruction. On various occasions, Benedict XVI has intervened to reaffirm the need to protect the environment, understood as safeguarding Creation. In our time “we cannot use and abuse the world and matter merely as material for our actions and desires; that we must consider creation a gift that has not been given to us to be destroyed, but to become God's garden, hence, a garden for men and women” (June 3, 2006). (Mtp) (Agenzia Fides 16/12/2008)
