There once was a time when people thought of the environment, they thought of its virginity and its beauty, but now the natural beauty of the earth that once was has almost completely disappeared. It is now official-man has finally managed to twist the fabric of nature. Africa represents what is at risk in the face of global climatic changes as it is where the negative impacts of environmental destruction are most evident.

The environment is being transformed and fast. Previously undisturbed rain forests are being cleared at a sickening rate; fresh surface water bodies, landfills and other undesignated open spaces are being stuffed with non-biodegradable and toxic garbage leaving a legacy of pollution and waste for future generations. Indiscriminate human behaviors and an inadequate understanding on the part of the public of the potential consequences of their actions and the lack of proper infrastructure have resulted in such poor and unsustainable environmental management practices. These practices pose economic, health and aesthetic problems especially for the poor as dumping of waste, toxic or not takes place in poor neighborhoods globally. These poor waste disposal methods threaten to rouse conflicts between those living in affluent neighborhoods and those in the informal settlements.

Other environmental problems such as soil erosion and toxicity, poisonous food, ozone layer destruction, carcinogenic pollutants, radon in our homes and a series of other threats are looming larger than ever. Mining companies are ripping pristine mountaintops to strip out coal mainly for use in industries, and the transport sector is rapidly increasing the numbers of fuel inefficient automobiles. Both are main sources of green house gases and acid rain. Climate change, now the 21st century global environmental challenge, has gained attention as a potential source of widespread conflict in Africa. Evidence is pointing toward unnatural and unprecedented global temperature increases that could wreck unlimited havoc.
Global climate change is set to reshape coastlines, alter disease prevalence, weather patterns, water availability, and where people can grow food and live. Changes in rainfall patterns, along with increased evaporation rates driven by the rising temperatures, will mean some places on the continent will face considerable decline in available water. Flooding in the lowlands will force people to relocate and hamper crop productivity. And while water is indispensable to human survival, livelihoods and most of economic production, climate change is intensifying water insecurity on unparalleled scale. The threat of water wars hangs over the heads of the world’s population living in water stress areas where shared resources serve diverse peoples within and between countries. Constraints in water availability are currently a growing concern which climate change will exacerbate, making access to water; water allocations and use become the focus of tensions which may spill over to conflicts.

The planet is moving into an accelerated period of climate change driven in part by the industrial agribusiness model that dominates the global food system. Rain fed agriculture being the backbone of many African economies and a climate sensitive sector at that, will present another possible conflict point which is food insecurity. Decreases in rainfall and prolonged and repeated drought periods cause loss of productive assets such as fisheries and also undermine the sustainability of livelihood systems based on rain-fed agriculture. This results in decreased crop and aquatic yields in parts of the continent amidst growing population demands and rising malnutrition. In fact, research proves that hunger has been on the rise for the past decade. It is estimated that in the year 2009, 265 million people were undernourished in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. Climate change is affecting food availability and its accessibility as reflected by the high food prices. In fact here in Kenya the prices of staple foods had more than doubled in the past year.

This has a huge impact on human health, livelihood assets, food production and distribution channels as well as purchasing powers. This forces poor people to reduce consumption below the minimum required for a healthy and active life leading to food riots and social unrest. .
These concerns about climate change and environmental degradation have now broadened and evolved into energy and economics. Countries all over the world are now centred on national and regional security struggling to slow down atmospheric pollution that initiated the whole problem, as climate change threatens to undermine international peace and security.

Africa is no stranger to conflict. The continent has been rocked by war, ethnic hatred, post-colonial border disputes and competition for resources. The continent is getting hotter. But as deserts encroach in Sudan, rainfall declines in the Horn of Africa and fresh water evaporates in the south, climate change is transforming conflicts and kicking old tensions into an overdrive. Maximum temperatures in Kenya’s Rift Valley and on its northern coast have risen by more than 5 degrees over the last 20 to 40 years. Climate change is amplifying and escalating vulnerability. And more so because of it’s ever increasing population growth rate.
Africa has the highest population growth rate in the world and this is only aggravating the situation. According to the United Nations Population Fund, Kenya’s population in 2008 was approximated to be 38 million with an annual growth rate of 2.8 per cent, which is considerably higher than the world’s average of 1.2 percent. Shrinking natural resources combined with climate change and the increasing demand from such a growing population is likely to trigger conflicts causing more failed states and mass migrations, food insecurity and water stress.

Kenya provides us with an example of how nations despite being peaceful, can experience conflicts as a result of limited natural resources. For a long time, the country was perceived as a beacon of stability, democracy and economic growth on the continent. This colorful picture however, was shattered in 2007 when violence broke out following the country’s disputed general elections. As is now being appreciated, beneath the simplistic tribal battle-lines laid the historic patterns of unequal resource distribution in Kenya. The contested presidential votes only triggered the much larger underlying problems of poverty and inequality of access to national resources. And though Nairobi is one of the rapidly growing cities in the world, it is fast becoming a divided society where the gap between the rich and the poor is widening and fast. Kenya is still politically volatile with the growing resentment over inequality and the continuing environmental changes will worsen this situation.

There is therefore much to be done to turn the tide on the decline of the environment.
Despite all of the damage we have caused the environment, most of it fortunately is reversible. We can restore habitats and return species to them; clean rivers; renovate buildings; replenish the topsoil; replant forests and manage waste in an environmental friendly way. However, these activities do not relieve the worst symptoms of the damage. We still have to fix the source of these problems in order to progress towards a much cleaner and greener sustainable development.

We human beings are not responsible for our existence. By the time we become self conscious we are already many years old. Likewise, human kind became conscious of its existence in the world many millennia after the world had been in existence. The world we find ourselves in is not our own; we are a tiny part of it. Other creatures and inanimate things are as much as part of the world as we ourselves. It is an error on our part as creatures to conduct ourselves in this world as if we, members of this generation, are the only creatures that matter, and we are the owners of the world.

We are in a serious ecological crisis, a crisis into which we have plunged ourselves. The intelligence with which we human beings are endowed has turned us into careless plunderers of the fruits of creation. Human kind is on the verge of self destruction through technological inventions and innovations that undermine rather than enhance the various components of creation that make life on earth possible.

First came the World War 1 (1914-1918) which was followed by the World War 11 (1939-1945). Both wars paint a grim picture of what all this meant to man and his environment. Missiles were launched, bombs detonated, grenades set and machine guns used to kill men in massive numbers. The environment suffered too. Though silently destroyed, it did regenerate as the rule of nature dictated. So much time has elapsed and this war has evolved to what is now known as terrorism. Enmity between nations over resources, religion, race and tribe has generated a new wave of dreaded fear among the peoples.

And though overlooked, death has penetrated the agricultural sector. In ancient times, man obtained his food through hunting wild game and gathering plant materials. His population was low and his activities had little impact upon the environment. Though farming is being practiced all over and especially in the rural areas, hunger has still been on the rise for the last decade. And important as it is, man is losing interest in the sector which is now being commercialised as a business venture. Among the factors that determine access to food by man is money.

A wealthy person has access to lots of foodstuffs, gets fatter and fatter by the day, becomes vulnerable to all sorts of diseases, has access to quality medical services and solves the ‘obese’ issue by getting access to a local gym in order to fit into societal size eight requirements. Always on the scale curious on whether the ‘appropriate’ size has been reached. On the other side of the world is a very poor person so poor that even access to food becomes a huge struggle day in day out. Some even die because of lack of it. Over-reliance for food donations here becomes the norm, and wrinkled skin, weak and a lesser than eight body sizes is what they’ve got to show for it. While this is happening, poverty is driving man to clear forests to get firewood, practise poor farming methods to over-cultivate his land in an attempt to increase food production. The result? Well, you guessed it right-desertification.

The industrial agribusiness sector has become the main consumer of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, herbicides and worse still, the 12 most dangerous chemicals. Both sides of the coin have negatively impacted the environment. With the current advancement in science and technology as well as the continuous increase in population, we are producing so much waste that the environment is almost becoming over-saturated. Over-consumption has led to a massive waste problem on open spaces. Landfills are already filled up, our rivers and lakes have become centres of pollution. In an attempt to solve this situation, some have even gone to the extent of dumping such toxic waste in the deep oceans. And while urbanisation is growing faster by the day, taller buildings, sky scrapers, expansion of road, communication infrastructure, traffic jams are occupying everywhere. Land pollution, water pollution, air pollution, noise pollution, what more has man left to pollute?
This has spelt doom for the aquatic life beneath. Small and big animals, microscopic and macroscopic plants, all have been endangered. Some animals have been forced to relocate as the quest for survival continues. The land animals and plants have not been spared either; wild animals have been sought after in the national parks, national reserves and in other unprotected wild environs and killed for their products such as their skin, hide and tusks. Wild plants have been choked up to death by invasive plants or overexploited for sale as medicinal or for beauty.

While the quest for more energy led to the industrial revolution which has brought about so many different innovations and inventions, the result of this has turned out to be the biggest threat for man’s survival here on earth. Forests are disappearing, and fast. Pristine mountain tops are being stripped of coal in an attempt to speed up the industrialization process which has become the top most priority for all nations as the atmosphere becomes choked up with GHG.

There is much to be done to turn the tide on the decline of the environment. The challenge now is for the public and African governments to awaken to the realities of just how fragile our earth actually is.