How Climate Change links Pongola, Peru, Pacific Ocean with Massive Bird Carcases

How climate change links disparate places through bird carcases

Credit, Reuters

A few days ago, a massive die-off of birds took place on the  coast of Mexico, mainly affecting the Buller's shearwater species, a  vulnerable bird  of 46-47 centimeters in length and 97 to 99 centimeters in wingspan, weight ranging between 342 to 425 grammes.

In the first week of March, the death of  migratory-birds took place in Ecuador, their carcasses appearing on the beaches, while a recent mass deaths of seabirds happened along Chile's northern coast, as some 3,500 guanay cormorants got affected, all found dead near the coastal port of Coquimbo.

Heat associated events happen in places like the Australian Outback, but such an event took place in South Africa, with the corpses of 47 birds discovered during an 11-kilometer patrol through the Pongola Nature Reserve, on the morning of 8 November 2020.

Similar stories take place in other parts of the world, not just Mexico, Ecuador, Chile or South Africa, and it doesn't come as a surprise when 49 percent of bird species suffer a decline in population, with one in eight bird species under the threat of extinction, and at least 187 species confirmed or suspected to have gone extinct since 1950.

Authorities in Mexico waved off the presence of the AH5N1 virus as the cause of the deaths of the shearwater, rather pointing at the Pacific Ocean, which shares the same characters with most of the world's oceans, where temperatures hover around an all-time high since satellite records started, with average temperatures surging to 21.1 degrees Celsius, beating the previous high of 21 degrees Celsius in 2016.

Tests in Chile's northern coast discounted avian flu as the factor behind the bird die-off earlier in the year, with scientists pointing at the Pacific Ocean again as the culprit for the deaths of the guanay cormorants, a threatened species after extractions to Europe destroyed its breeding habitats.

In South Africa, scientists quickly waved aside notions that bird flu was the cause of the deaths of the birds at Pongola Nature Reserve, as they pointed at the searing heat that descended on November 8, 2020, where by 10 in the morning the temperature registered a figure of 40 degrees Celsius, soon rising to 45 degrees Celsius.

Just as in the case of the die-offs with respect to fish and sea lions, accusing fingers can be pointed at climate change as the reason behind the bird die-offs in Mexico, Chile, South Africa and other places, by fuelling the increase in sea temperatures, bringing rises in heat records, creating conditions against the survival of birds.

While experts in Mexico blame the warming Pacific Ocean for the deaths of the Buller's shearwater, they also blame the effects of the El Nino climate phenonenon, which occurs on the average of every two to seven years, an event affecting more than 60 million people from 2015 to 2016, particularly severe in eastern and southern Africa, the Horn of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Asia Pacific region.

The same situation also occurred in Chile and Ecuador, where experts also blame the effects of the climate change-fuelled El Nino for the die-offs of birds, and this could be an indication of future troubles, because a climate-change-fuelled El Nino in 1997 to 1998 brought floods and mudslides to Peru, with the government calculating damage to infrastructures amounting to about $3.5 billion, or about 4.5 percent of that nation's gross domestic product.

The same situation also applies to South Africa, where the country's informal dwellings experience climate-change-fuelled heat stress 32 percent of the time, with predicted conditions in the future seeing a rise of heat stress exposure up to 40 percent over a full year.

Going forwards, the rise in temperatures of the Pacific Ocean probably brought about the bird die-offs in Mexico, Chile, and Ecuador, but since the events show the opening consequences of a climate-change-fuelled El Nino, it could mean more than 60 million people getting affected, as trends indicate even warmer temperatures than the 2015 to 2016 scenario once the upcoming El Nino arrives. 

Halting a massive die-off of birds in Mexico going forwards will require action, such as on the issue of landscape level land-use changes. Reducing bird die-off in Ecuador, Chile, and others will entail changes in national policies affecting the use of fossil fuel, which triggers off climate change. Cutting down the heat stress in South Africa will also entail changes in individual actions in relation to the environment. Only through changes in the usage of fossil fuel and individual actions will birds stop dying the way they did in Mexico, Chile, and Ecuador.

Youth Leading on Climate: Interview with Elizabeth Gulugulu

Elizabeth Gulugulu

Youth play an important role in meeting the climate challenge. Young people are among the least responsible for climate change and are often among the loudest calling for action. UN Climate Change sat down with environmental scientist, climate change activist and YOUNGO Global South Focal Point, Elizabeth Gulugulu, to discuss youth leadership and participation

Can you tell us about how you got involved with youth climate advocacy and the major challenges to youth climate action?  

There has been a huge gap in youth participation on climate change. Challenges to greater youth participation include lack of funding to implement a number of initiatives or projects, youth washing, access to climate finance and lack of inclusion and transparency in youth engagement which derails climate action. I hope to bridge that gap.

I want to make sure young people's voices are not only heard but also being supported in their climate initiatives. I was involved in the registration of the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change in Zimbabwe and ever since it has been a platform for young people in Zimbabwe to be innovative, brainstorm on how to unlock green jobs and disseminate information on climate change.

Through this work, I learned about YOUNGO, the Official Children and Youth Constituency of UN Climate Change that serves as platform for youth engagement. After two and half years actively engaged as a member of the constituency, I became the contact point of the Agricultural Working Group.

We advocated for agroecology and addressed the vulnerabilities of agriculture to climate change. I also had the opportunity to join the Working Group on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. NDCs are national climate action plans. In the group, we advocated for just and ambitious national climate actions while making sure young people can contribute to the plans.

Why is youth leadership and youth empowerment so important for climate change?  

We need to understand that youths are capable of leading and coming up with brilliant initiatives regardless of age. What youth need is space and a chance to show their maximum potential. However, most of the time, space and platforms are not given to them. Youth should be empowered. If they don’t know then they should be taught. If they lack motivation, then initiatives should be branded to enhance participation.

Empowerment is not only supporting young people financially, though this is critically important. Empowerment must include sharing relevant knowledge, teaching new skills, creating green jobs and above all accommodating youths and allowing them to organise, lead initiatives and co-create programmes. We definitely cannot do without youth leadership.

Youth are energetic, they are leading in technology and innovation. We know how critical technology is in combating the effects of climate change and the climate crisis requires innovation and new ideas to keep within the 1.5-degree target. Youth leadership is certainly a solution to the climate crisis.

Culled from United Nations Climate Change

What to Eat

Peru vegan diet, Credit, VeggiElation