Millennia-old glaciers retreating, some shrinking at a pace of 16-20 metres per year, will bring about greater water shortages and potential disputes over dwindling resources in the region of Central Asia. The people of Tajikistan, who already feel the strains of climate change and food insecurity, will likely face increases in extreme weather like droughts and floods that could dangerously erode food security, livelihoods and even regional stability by 2050.

Reaching Tipping Point? Climate Change and Poverty in Tajikistan, a report issued by TckTckTck partner Oxfam, illustrates how the painful blow of climate change has been sharply felt in rural areas of Tajikistan, where 1.4 million people are already food insecure, and will continue to affect the region.

Tajikistan’s plight highlights the international injustice of climate change where countries least responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change suffer the greatest effect. The mountainous, poverty-stricken Central Asian country ranks 109th in the world for all greenhouse gas emissions, 129th in emissions per capita, and its people emit less than one tonne of carbon dioxide per head per year as compared to nearly 20 tonnes by North Americans. Despite this, according to Andy Baker, Oxfam Tajikistan’s Country Director,
“Droughts are increasing and temperatures are rising. Harvests are failing for lack of water. Entire swathes of the rural population of Tajikistan have already suffered greatly in recent years, barely able to feed their families. Imagine what their situation will be in 2050 if adaptation measures are not put into place soon and if global green house gas emissions are not adequately reined in. It could be calamitous.”

Oxfam’s key recommendations from the report include:

  • At a community level: improve access to water and methods of food storage and preservation. Provide more support and training in agriculture. Scale up better insulation of houses, use of energy efficient stoves, biogas, solar power and use of passive solar greenhouses
  • At a national level: support farmers to adapt and have more resilient livelihood strategies; integrate climate change responses across government departments and into national planning; strengthen disaster risk reduction programmes; implement research programmes on climate change and its impacts
  • At regional and international level: negotiations must get straight back on track to achieve a fair, ambitious, and binding deal to tackle climate change, which is now overdue. To deliver their fair share of global efforts, rich countries would need to provide $200 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries adapt and reduce their own emissions. They need to commit to reduce their own emissions with at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2020 to have a decent chance to keep global warming below 2°C. In Central Asia, institutions for regional co-operation must be strengthened, in particular to monitor and manage water resources in the light of glacial melt, higher temperatures and increases in water scarcity.

The report and additional information is available from the Oxfam website.

Tags: Campaign stories | climate change | global warming | poverty