By Editorial Team
South Sudan’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Wednesday launched a project worth 10 million U.S. dollars to boost climate change resilience and adaptation in two states.
The five-year project, funded by the Global Environment Facility, will benefit the pastoral communities in Terekeka County of Central Equatoria State, and Kapoeta North County of Eastern Equatoria State, which have been severely affected by climate change over the years.
Terekeka is impacted by seasonal flooding, erratic rainfall, and frequent dry spells while Kapoeta is directly affected by drought events and flash floods.
Josephine Napwon, minister of Environment and Forestry, said floods and drought caused by climate change have displaced more than 2 million people in the country since 2019.
“The climate crisis is worsening in our country, and over 2 million people are internally displaced due to flooding and drought, excessive heat, heat waves, and rain patterns have resulted in crop failure,” Napwon said during a two-day climate change validation workshop held in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
UNDP Resident Representative in South Sudan Samuel Doe said the project will see a multi-hazard early warning system equipped with five manual and three automatic stations established. He said they will collaborate with the leading University of Juba to establish the Center for Climate Change Studies within the School of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies.
“The purpose of this is to develop a research-based curriculum for a master’s program in climate change to build the next generation of experts who will engage in finding solutions to challenges caused by climate change,” Doe said.
Moro Isaac Genesio, Central Equatoria State minister of local government and law enforcement, said the project will help Terekeka County to have access to clean drinking water.
“Terekeka County is one of the beneficiaries in Central Equatoria state, especially on the aspect of access to water, capacity development, and many other valuable micro-projects that are going to be directly implemented in Terekeka,” Denesio said.
