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Nerd Alert

El Niño in Spanish means ‘young boy‘ which describes the Southern Oscillation. It refers to the cycle of warm and cold temperatures, as measured by sea surface temperature, of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean. El Niño is accompanied by high air pressure in the western Pacific and low air pressure in the eastern Pacific. The El Niño  cycle occurs every 3-6 years – with the sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator become warmer or cooler than normal. These anomalies are the hallmark of El Niño and La Niña climate cycles, which can influence weather patterns across the globe.

(Reference: Wikipedia)

Southern Africa is currently experiencing an El Niño-induced drought that is further exacerbated by the climate change phenomena.

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In May, Neoka attended the United Nations Women Gender and Climate Change workshop on building resilience, in Benoni, Johannesburg. This facilitated workshop focussed on building resilience in communities in light of the current climate change impacts, and was attended by participants representing six SADC countries.

Most of the participants that attended were small-scale women farmers who shared their stories and experiences centered around dealings with the changing climate.

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During this three day workshop key issues around land, climate change resilience, and policy implementation were raised. To assimilate the poignant issues raised, a declaration was produced. The declaration is aimed at policy makers highlighting their responsibility and the sometimes unintended consequences at the grassroots level of overarching decisions.

Whilst the participants and their respective constituencies continue to advocate for systemic change (at the national level) with respect to their access to basic services (including water and agricultural subsidies), these women have resorted subsistence small scale farming as an interim solution to address their financial issues, but their struggles are now compounded by the growing impacts of climate change.

Climate Action Now!

http://mwnation.com/sadc-women-want-leaders-to-listen-to-them-on-climate-change/

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