Transcript Climate change

By
Dr. Yasser Adel Hanafy Osman
2009
Outline
What are the environmental problems?
 Are it real?
 How do we know?
 Why should we care?
 What next—what can we do?
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What is Biodiversity?
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What is Desertification?
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What is climatic changes?
Biodiversity
“ The variety and variability
among living organisms, and
the ecological complexes in
which they live ”
Biodiversity Importance
Or
Why should we care?
Desertification
The degradation of land
productivity specially in
arid, semi arid and dry subhumid areas into desert
Climatic changes
Up normal climatic changes such differ than
common ones
(cosmological and geological processes)
Climate Changes
Basic Issues
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Earth’s climate varies naturally – because of a
variety of cosmological and geological processes.
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“Climate change” refers to an additional, and
relatively rapid, change induced by human actions.
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The additional change – several degrees C within a
century – will disrupt the foundations of life on
Earth.
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Ecosystems and life in general have evolved within
a
narrow
band
of
climatic-environmental
conditions.
What do climate scientists really
think?
How do we know?
Global mean surface tempratures have increased
“Greenhouse effect”
Increasing greenhouse gases trap more heat
Carbon
dioxide
Water
Methane
Nitrous
oxide
Sulfur
hexafluorid
e
Causes for the environmental
problems
 Human
activity
 Climatic
changes (non-human induced)
 Biological
diversity (Animals – Diseases)
Human activities
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Urbanization
Mining
Pollution
Recreation
Over population/land stress
Overgrazing
Over exploitation or using of natural
resources
Deforestation
Precarious agriculture
Human activities
Human activities have changed the composition of
the atmosphere since the pre- industrial era
Precipitation patterns have changed
Climatic changes
Uncertain rainfall
 River flooding
 Depletion of surface water
 Depletion of ground water
 Fires
 Soil erosion
 Sea water intrusion
 Sand encrogment
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Why should we care?
Sea-level rise projections: a few inches - a few feet
•2 ft: U.S. would lose 10,000 square miles
•Affects erosion, loss of wetlands, freshwater
supplies
•Half of the world’s population lives along coasts
•Big question: Ice sheets
Modulating
influences
Health
Healtheffects
Effects
Temperature-related
Temperature
-related
illness and death
Extreme weatherExtreme
weatherrelated (floods,
storms,
related
health
effects
etc.) health effects
Human
exposures
Climate
Change
Air pollution-related
Air
pollution-related
health effects
health
effects
Regional weather
changes
Microbial
changes:
Contamination
pathways
Contamination paths
•
•Heat
waves
••Extreme weather
•Temperature
••Precipitation
Transmission
Transmission dynamics
dynamics
•Sea-level rise
Water
andfood-borne
food-borne
Water and
diseases
diseases
Vector
and
Vector -borne
borne and
rodent
diseases
rodent- borne
borne diseases
Changes in agroecosystems, hydrology
Effects of food and
water shortages
Socioeconomic and
demographic disruption
Mental, nutritional,
infectious-disease
and other effects
More adverse than beneficial impacts on biological and
socioeconomic systems are projected
Food production needs to
double to meet the needs of
an additional 3 billion
people in the next 30 years
Climate change is projected to decrease agricultural
productivity in the tropics and sub-tropics for
almost any amount of warming
Wood fuel is the only source of fuel for one
third of the world’s population
Wood demand will double in the next 50
years
Forest management will become more
difficult due to an increase in pests and fires
Climate change is
projected to decrease
water availability
in many arid and semiarid regions
One third of the world’s population is
Population facing water scarcity will more
now subject to water scarcity
than double over the next 30 years
Estimated 10-15% of the world’s species could become extinct
over the next 30 years
Climate change will exacerbate the loss of biodiversity
Agricultural Lands
Coastal
Zones
Forest
Lands
Freshwater
Systems
Arid Lands &
Grasslands
Food and Fiber Production
Provision of Clean and Sufficient Water
Maintenance of Biodiversity
Maintenance of Human Health
Storage and cycling of Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus
Climate change will affect the ability of ecological
systems to provide a range of essential ecological
goods and services
Developing countries are the most
vulnerable to climate change
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Impacts are worse - already more flood and drought prone and a large share of the
economy is in climate sensitive sectors
Lower capacity to adapt because of a lack of financial, institutional and technological
capacity and access to knowledge
Climate change is likely to impact disproportionately upon the poorest countries and the
poorest persons within countries, exacerbating inequities in health status and access to
adequate food, clean water and other resources.
Net market sector effects are expected to be negative in most developing countries
Linkage between Climatic Changes,
Biodiversity loss and Desertification
Reduced
Carbon sequestration into
Above- and below- ground
Carbon reserves
Desertification
Decreased plant and soil
Reduced primary
Production
And Nutrient cycling
Organisms species
diversity
Reduced
Soil conservation
Increase in
Soil erosion
extreme events
Reduced
(floods, droughts,
fires..)
Structural diversity
Of vegetation cover
Reduced
And diversity of microbial
species in soil crust
Carbon reserves
And increased
Climate change
CO2 emissions
Loss of nutrients
and soil moisture
Biodiversity loss
Increases
Change in
And reductions in
Community structure
Species abundances
And diversity
Environmental problems Threats
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Extinction of some genetic resources or Habitat
destruction
Biodiversity loss
 Poverty
 Hunger
 Diseases
 Floods
 Land erosions
 Immigration
 Wars
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Threats
So
We are facing a
severe case of
Environmental
problems
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United
Nation
Convention
for
Compete
Desertification (UNCCD).
United nation Convention for Biodiversity (CBD).
United Nation Frame work Convention for Climatic
Changes. (UNFCCC).
Wedges for
mitigation
“For every
complex
problem there
is an answer
that is clear,
simple, and
wrong.”
H. L. Mencken
National and International
Conferences, workshops and
training coerces
One destiny for all of us
Give us a hand to solve or mitigate
those problems
Don’t say
I am too little
Hand on Hand
Yes We Can
References and important sites
The realities and opportunities of climate
change - S. Mulkey
 Climate Change - Dave Griggs
 www.cbd.net
 www.unccd.com
 www.unfccc.com
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Thank you for giving us a hand
[email protected]
http://www.scouting4peace.org