Sudan Is Number One*

Published July 13, 2009 @ 03:32PM PT

Granted, it's number one on the World Bank list of countries likely to suffer food deficits as a result of climate change. Win some, lose some.

The most recent World Bank report on climate change - Convenient Solutions to an Inconvenient Truth - lists the countries most at risk for a range of climate change-related threats, including drought (Malawi), flooding (Bangladesh), increased storms (Philippines), rising sea levels (all low-lying island states), and greater agricultural uncertainty (Sudan).

As a recent IRIN article explained:

"Most of Sudan, Africa's largest country, is arid land or desert, and most at risk of food deficits resulting from the impact of climate change on agriculture. It lies in the Sahel, a region described as the most vulnerable in the world to droughts by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), an international scientific body."

Africa as a whole is particularly at risk. According to the World Bank report:

- By 2020, between 75 and 250 million of people are projected to be exposed to increased water stress due to climate change.

- By 2020, in some countries, yields from rain‐fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 per cent.

- Towards the end of the century, projected sea level rise will affect low‐lying coastal areas with large populations. The cost of adaptation could amount to at least 5 to 10 per cent of GDP.

- By 2080, arid and semi‐arid land is projected to increase by 5 to 8 per cent.

The full list of countries most at risk from climate change is below:

Six Climate Threats, and the 12 Countries Most at Risk
	Low Income			Middle Income

Drought	Flood	Storm	Coastal 1m	Agriculture
Malawi	Bangladesh	Philippines	All low-lying Island states	Sudan
Ethiopia	China	Bangladesh	Vietnam	Senegal
Zimbabwe	India	Madagascar	Egypt	Zimbabwe
India	Cambodia	Vietnam	Tunisia	Mali
Mozambique	Mozambique	Moldova	Indonesia	Zambia
Niger	Laos	Mongolia	Mauritania	Morocco
Mauritania	Pakistan	Haiti	China	Niger
Eritrea	Sri Lanka	Samoa	Mexico	India
Sudan	Thailand	Tonga	Myanmar	Malawi
Chad	Vietnam	China	Bangladesh	Algeria
Kenya	Benin	Honduras	Senegal	Ethiopia
Iran	Rwanda	Fiji	Libya	Pakistan

Source: World Bank

[Photo of Darfur from Norwegian Refugee Council]

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Comments (1)

Africa contributes the least to global warming yet it suffers the most...one reason why the western world needs to STEP UP and help HEAL AFRICA.

WE ARE a GLOBAL COMMUNITY PEOPLE - act accordingly.

Posted by Rebecca Fowler on 07/14/2009 @ 12:01AM PT
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Author

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.