Helping Senegal tackle climate change from the Netherlands
Sharing solutions will be critical to overcoming the threat posed by climate change. My recent internship with the Global Center on Adaptation helped expand my thinking, writes Ibrahima Sall.
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was still a teenager when I experienced first-hand the impact of climate change on my country. Flash floods swept through many regions of Senegal, including Dakar, in September 2019; the floods forced thousands of families to abandon their homes. Crops that were ready for harvesting were washed away. Many farmers lost their livelihoods that year.
The Dakar floods were not a one-off. Last August, flooding hit the city of Saint-Louis, and many schools and homes were underwater.
It is no exaggeration to say that climate change is an existential threat to my country and its people. In addition to higher temperatures, scientists say Senegal is likely to experience less rainfall and more frequent and extreme weather events. These changes will make farming more precarious. They will buffet Senegal’s beautiful coast, on which fishing and tourism depend. Moreover, young people will suffer the most in a country where 42 percent of the population is under 14. Unless we can adapt to climate change and make our more resilient, our youth will have a hard time finding jobs and making a living
Learning lessons from success
So when I was given a chance to learn more about climate change and what to do about it, I jumped at the opportunity.
The search for answers took me to the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) hosted by the Netherlands in Rotterdam. This international organization is dedicated to helping countries find local solutions that help build resilience to climate change. This is not about responding to climate disasters when they happen. It is about new ways of building, farming, and harnessing technology so we can adapt and thrive despite the effects of climate change.
Much of the GCA’s work is focused on Africa. This is how I first met Professor Patrick Verkooijen, the GCA’s CEO. He was in Dakar last May to help secure climate finance for Senegal under the Africa-led and owned Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP). I liked how the program puts youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, and job creation at the center of efforts to adapt to climate change.
For example, the GCA is already working with the Integrated National Livestock Development Program in Senegal to make livestock farming, practiced by a third of Senegalese households, more climate-smart and resilient to the impacts of drought and floods.
One of the solutions being discussed is the introduction of digital advisory services for cattle farmers via apps on mobile phones. Such apps can warn farmers when a flood or a heatwave is about to hit their district, giving them more time to act. Young entrepreneurs and start-ups are launching these digital services all over Africa. So even while climate change is making livelihoods more precarious in Senegal, it is also creating opportunities for young people who want to find ways to adapt to the impacts of global warming.
Applying local solutions globally
To learn more, I joined the GCA’s Youth Leadership Program. This program brings together young students from all over the world to learn more about climate adaptation, share experiences, and ultimately take back ideas on creating climate-resilient solutions in their home countries.
One of the notions that struck me about the Netherlands was that although our countries are at different development stages, there is an underlying challenge faced by both parties. Both countries have sizeable agricultural sectors that must adapt to upcoming crises. Secondly, both have coastlines vulnerable to sea-level rise and storm surges.
Both countries struggle to cope with excess water, so both can learn from one another. In Senegal, sea-level rise is also causing coastal erosion and flooding. Consequently, I wanted to see how we could do things differently back home.
Surrounded by water on four sides, Rotterdam is a delta city, so it cannot flush a sudden storm away. Instead, it has to engineer ways to absorb the water like a sponge. I had the opportunity to discover some adaptive solutions integrated into the city. Water plazas; green walls planted with vegetation that help absorb water from heavy rains; neighborhoods built on floating platforms; and underground car parks that double as emergency reservoirs in the event of a severe flood are examples of solutions implemented in Rotterdam.
I was also impressed by the headquarters of the GCA – the world’s largest floating office. It sits on a massive floating base that is anchored to the port. It is built of sustainably sourced wood, and its gently sloping roof is layered with solar panels and greenery. The solar panels make the building self-sufficient in power, and the roof plants help absorb water when it rains – the sponge concept again.
That got me thinking: how could such architecture be used in my own country? Many of the solutions are low-tech and not challenging to implement. We can build more houses with sustainably sourced timber if we manage our forests responsibly. Solar panels for electricity make sense in a country where the sun shines so much of the time. And the nature-based solutions I saw in Rotterdam – walls and roofs planted with vegetation, and water parks – could be easily integrated into the urban architecture of Dakar and other cities.
I also learned how other cities responded to challenges such as extreme heat. In India, cities like Hyderabad are painting roofs white to reflect heat. This solution can lower indoor temperatures by several degrees; therefore could be implemented in Senegal.
Spending time with other young people and the international team at the GCA made me appreciate how useful it is to share knowledge. Climate change is a global problem, and we can all learn from each other.
I returned to Senegal inspired by what I saw and learned at the GCA. Senegal can be a powerhouse in Africa if we effectively tackle the most significant threat we face. Starting afresh in Senegal, we can do things differently and better. And it will be a youth lead change that will strive for a brighter Africa. That is what gives me hope for a climate-smart and more prosperous future – not only in Senegal, but across the continent that is our home.
Ibrahima Sall is a Young Global Leader for the Global Center on Adaptation.
The ideas presented in this article aim to inspire adaptation action – they are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Global Center on Adaptation.
