[Juba, South Sudan, TCT] The Ministry of Environment is warning that South Sudan is suffering drastic effects of climate change that will only worsen if nothing is done about it.
Speaking to media on Monday, the Environment Minister, Deng Deng Hoc Yai, highlighted drought and floods in different parts of the country as symptoms of climate change. The human activities such as environmental pollution and cutting of trees for charcoal burning are worsening the conditions in South Sudan, he said.
The Minister warned that climate change should be taken seriously, “Climate change is more dangerous than an atomic bomb, because climate change affects people everywhere; but an atomic bomb can be dropped in one area and affect people in one area,” narrated Yai.
Rains are dwindling in some areas and that leads to crop failure. In some parts of the country people experiences heavy floods. And in some areas people seen drought like in Eastern Equatoria State, especially in Kapoeta North and East, he said.
Regarding conflict, the Minister said climate change can also increase conflict between communities because of a lack of grazing land and also the issue of water and access for human beings as well as for animals.
Yai told media he will represent South Sudan at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in Paris, France from 30 November to 11 December.
In that conference, the government will present a 10 year national program of action that outlines steps the government intends to take to combat climate change and its effects, added Yai.
However, climate change has already affected some parts of the country; in Eastern Equatoria state especially, where the crops seriously failed this year, the drought seemed to have started earlier. This situation needs government plans to be enacted to avoid communal conflict over resources such as water.
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