Davos starts on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 and runs through to Friday, January 24, 2020. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting engages the world’s top leaders and activist youth in collaborative activities to shape global, regional and industry agendas at the beginning of each year. The theme of the 2020 meeting is Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg marched with 10,000 protesters in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Friday and demands action. She warned leaders, “You have not seen anything yet”.
In her brief speech, Greta noted that we had entered a new decade, and there are no signs whatsoever that real climate action is coming. This inaction, she says, “has to change.” She is taking this message with her to Davos next week.
Young people have been striking every Friday for over a year. They are fighting for their right to a future.
Around 40 million people depend on Lake Chad. Yet, the lake has nearly disappeared over the last 50 years. The shrinking lake forces men to leave their communities during the dry season to look for work in the city, leaving women and children behind to manage the crops.
The drought diminishing Lake Chad — from 1973 to 2001, primarily in Chad, Central Africa. Shown in a composite of NASA satellite images. The large image is a composite of photos taken with en:Landsat-7. Images courtesy NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio and Landsat 7 Project Science Office.
Across the Sahel desert, many farmers are reviving an old technique called Zaï, which involves digging pits to catch rainwater and sowing crops in the pits. The method concentrates nutrients and can increase crop yields by up to 500%.
Chad also struggles with poverty, with the fourth-highest poverty rate in the world. Around 87% of Chadians are poor, according to the Multidimensional Poverty Index, which factors in health, education, and living standards. Further, 63% of the population are “destitute,” the most extreme category of poverty. The size of the destitute population is also the fourth highest in the world.
Climate change will make life increasingly harder, making the changing climate reality even more real. Chad will be hotter and arider, yielding lower crop yields and worse pasture.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is a Mbororo pastoralist and President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT). In this video, she explains what it’s like to live in Chad, where the effects of climate change are reality.
