Mr. Chairperson,
Climate change has confronted us with many challenges. We have to focus on
adaptation measures. In particular least developed countries are hit hardest.
Look at what happened in Myanmar. Adapting to climate change wil influence
our lives in general and could make a difference between "life or death".
Anticipating extreme weather and being prepared for disasters can save many
lives. Most of our knowledge on adaptation to climate change is relatively young.
We therefore need to increase our knowledge base about effective adaptation
policies and share experiences with other states. This knowledge should be
integrated in development strategies, in particular into policies for sustainable
food production. The Netherlands and the UK have recently commissioned a
study which will be carried out by the World Bank to fill in important knowledge
gaps relating to the costs of adaptation.
For the monitoring of climate change a climate it is necessary to create a climate
observation system, spanning the earth, particularly in Africa. The World
Meteorological Organisation has made plans to fill in the gaps and coordinate
material and financial support to help developing countries set up their own
climate observation system. Such monitoring systems will assist all states to
develop effective policies in order to adapt to climate change. For example, in
relation to national agricultural production.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The fourth assessment report of the United Nations Intergovernental Panel on
Climate Change predicts that the hunger crisis in Africa will deepen, following
the degradation of farmland, shorter growing seasons and decreasing yields.
This wil affect food security and increase malnutrition even further.
There are no easy answers. But, first and foremost we have to respond by
substantially investing more in sustainable agriculture.
In the last decade we have neglected agriculture in our international policies for
sustainable development. In many countries the productivity can and should be
considerably improved in a sustainable way. This should be done by sharing
knowledge, developing sustainable production chains, supporting local and
regional markets, but also in the field of water use and access to sustainable
energy resources.
Agricultural land can also contribute to combat climate change by absorbing
carbon. Investments in agricultural productivity and sustainable management of
biodiversity and natural resources need at the same time be combined with a
better understanding what the effects will be of adapting to climate change in the
long term. The industrialised countries have a special responsibility to provide the
main part of the solution. We believe that new and additional fuding is needed to
support the poorest countries in this effort.
The Netherlands Government is committed to improve sustainable agricultural
development in developing countries in order to reduce poverty and hunger.
We announced last week that we will invest an additional 50 million Euros for the
revitalisation of agriculture, agricultural knowledge and training, local economies
and ensuring food security in developing countries. I call upon other donor
countries to increase their investments as welL.
No conflict exists between development and investments in adaptation.
Adaptation is smart development!
Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.
