Integrate building resilience in economic prosperity plans

By Wanjira Maathai

The climate agenda is crucial for Africa. The road to COP26 must somehow lead to finding solidarity for the climate vulnerable countries, which currently does not exist.

The resilience and adaptation agenda has to be at the very top of what we do. Not just building resilience but also building resilience as we build prosperity. So the economic agenda and carrying our people to be able to withstand the impacts of climate change is going to be increasingly difficult.

There is increasing outrage and frustration out there, even as there are early warnings saving lives when we have impacts like floods, the damages and losses that people are suffering are simply crimpling.

It is extremely important that people are made to have the economic ability to lift themselves up and to ensure resilience.

It is therefore important that Africa see that building resilience is also about building prosperity and the two agenda have to be combined.

The area of food systems must be transformed that even as we feed ourselves and ensure that supply chains for food and for inputs for agriculture do not come from so far away. It is time our youth and women and those most excluded to begin to benefit from opportunities such as CFTA to help build the needed resilience.

Our nature is most important, that we protect our forests, and our oceans. Even as we work and battle it out in the multilateral regimes and building solidarity, we have to focus our energy in building resilience at home.

The writer is the Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, World Resources Institute and Chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation and the former Chair of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya.