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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: ETHIOPIA DROUGHT CLIMATE
HEADLINE: Persistent Drought in Ethiopia an Example of Climate Change, Experts Say
TEASER: Re-greening degraded land, capturing rainwater among climate adaptation efforts in Ethiopia’s Somali region
PUBLISHED AT: 05/16/2022 at 8:45am
BYLINE: Linda Givetash & Michele Spatari
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Gode, Ethiopia
VIDEOGRAPHER: Michele Spatari
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: MPage, wv
VIDEO SOURCE (S): Original,
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 2:45
VID APPROVED BY: MPage
TYPE: PKG
EDITOR NOTES: There is a radio story accompanying this piece.))
((INTRO))
[[Drought is not new to the Horn of Africa, but experts say the record one killing crops and cattle across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia has underscored the increasing frequency of drought due to climate change. In Ethiopia, the U.N.'s World Food Program is not just feeding those affected but also working to help drought-proof communities for the longer term. Linda Givetash reports from Gode, Ethiopia.]]
((NARRATOR))
Hawo Abdi Wole has lived through many droughts in her 70 years. But until now, she says she’d never seen four consecutive rainy seasons fail.
((Hawo Abdi Wole, Pastoralist, (English, 12 sec))
“There is big difference. In early years, people used to get more raina, animals produced more milk. There is big, big difference.”
((NARRATOR))
The World Food Program is helping her village not only survive the crisis but rebuild for the long term.
These half-moons are designed to capture runoff water when rains return so that grass can grow more effectively and feed their surviving livestock.
Forward-looking interventions are desperately needed. Scientists say climate change is the culprit for these more frequent, severe conditions.
((Abubakr Salih Babiker, World Meteorological Organization, (English, 24 sec))
“The climate in this region is driven by what is happening in the neighboring ocean.”
“There are studies that indicated that this is the world's fastest warming part of the tropical ocean system. So it is warming rapidly during the past 100 years. And this warming, as I said...it was... it is associated with the dryness of the March-June season.”
((NARRATOR))
It also results in flooding when the rains do return. These events aren’t just examples of climate change but inequality.
((Habtamu Adam, Climate Policy Expert, (English, 12 sec))
“When you compare from the emission level from our contribution to the climate change, it is very incomparable because most of the emissions are emitted from developed countries.”
((NARRATOR))
Yet developing countries like Ethiopia don’t have the funds to fight the effects.
The World Meteorological Organization estimates that sub-Saharan Africa will need up to $50 Billion annually to adapt to climate change. Without it, the number of people displaced and in need of aid will only continue to rise.
((Ali Hussein, World Food Program, (English, 20 sec))
“We need to build the community resistance to these shocks and in that line, we want to put more emphasis on these regreening activities, such as half-moons, to regenerate this dry desert area to become a green land in the future, which can be more useful to both communities and as well as livestock."
((NARRATOR))
Projects like this around the Somali region are showing success and could be replicated to help more people.
((Ibrahim Kurbad Farah, Village Elder, (English, 13 sec))
“We have received good advantages. We are now doing farming and using the grass for livestock, as well as thatches for our houses. We also use the water for drinking, especially for the livestock.”
((NARRATOR))
While adaptation is crucial to communities’ health and survival, climate scientists warn reducing emissions remains a priority in preventing even worse conditions in the future.
((Linda Givetash, for VOA News, Gode, Ethiopia))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Gode, Ethiopia
BylineLinda Givetash & Michele Spatari
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
