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Climate change: One of the most affected Cameroon has set up national plans

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Climate change is, no doubt, one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. Surprisingly, poor countries which are the most vulnerable populations as well, contribute little to the problem are most affected.

Evidently exposure to droughts, floods and storms as a result of climate change, is already destroying opportunities and reinforcing inequality in the society.

The 2007-08 human development report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) equally attests this fact. The report titled “Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a Divided world” made it clear that climate change is the ultimate human development challenge of the 21^st century.

The said report sets out a carbon budget “the volume of green house gases that can be emitted without cussing dangerous climate change, for the 21^st century and warn that if current emission rates are not reduced, then the carbon budget for the 21^st century will expire by 2030 and future emissions will “run up vast ecological debts that will be inherited by future generations, debts that they will be unable to repay.

Meantime, UN statistics have shown that 70% of African population’s depend on agriculture, which in turn depends on water from rainfall. However, the amount of rainwater will reduce in the near future if nothing was done to reduce the effects of climate change.

While addressing the issue of climate change following the launching of the report, Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary - General noted with regret “the early harvest of global warming is having a disproportionate effect on the world’s poor and is also hindering effects to achieve the MDGS. In the long run no one - rich or poor-can remain in immune from the dangers of climate change”.    

On this score the UN is calling for joint effect to combat the ill. In effect Cameroon has set up national plans for the development of forests and the management of the environment as a contribution to the fight. Meanwhile the Cameroon President, Paul Biya, addressing the 62^nd General Assembly of the UN, announced the imminent creation of an observatory on climate change in the country.

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