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KFPE annual conference 2008
Climate Change and Global Change in Developing and Emerging Countries – Why Should We Be Concerned?

Climate change is a threat to the entire world – and particularly to regions that are already confronting climatic extremes such as extended periods of drought or torrential rainfall.

Against this background, the KFPE chose the impacts of climate change and global change in developing and emerging countries as the theme of its annual conference in 2008. Information conveyed by presentations and discussions at the conference will be incorporated into a status report that is to be compiled by the Commission together with ProClim- (http://www.proclim.ch). The report is intended to illustrate how climate change and global change are reflected in countries that are not members of the OECD, and how their consequences in turn have impacts on Switzerland and other OECD countries.

A complex impact chain
One characteristic of global problems is that their causal chains and impact chains are often not directly linked temporally and spatially, and are influenced by many factors. For instance, greater demand for biofuels in industrialised countries can result in food shortages in countries in the South, and can also put increased pressure on their natural resources as forests are cleared to plant crops that can be processed to make fuel.

The KFPE and ProClim- defined the impacts on health, food security, and availability of water and energy as particularly precarious. These topics took centre stage at the annual conference, which was opened by three presentations (speakers see below) that examined these challenges from different perspectives. The speakers were united in their conviction that no country is exempt from responsibility, given the global dimensions of these challenges, and that common action is the only way to cope with them. Cooperative research efforts are particularly important in this respect, as they strengthen local research capacity and hence better integrate the “South” into an international community capable of taking action.

Incalculable dimensions of influence
It became clear in the workshops that it is often difficult to understand the factors involved in environmental and climatic impact chains and their consequences for health, food supply and other areas. For example, changes in consumer behaviour have consequences for agricultural production: great increases in meat and milk consumption, such as those observed currently in many Asian countries, can have enormous impacts on local water use and on land resources. The resulting bottlenecks can force people to migrate, which may in turn affect Switzerland. There is also a need to clarify where potentials exist, such as the potential for more efficient use of rainwater. Local solutions and research can both contribute in this regard.

Participants in the discussion agreed that the status report should emphasise feedback effects on Switzerland but must also explain Switzerland’s impact on countries in the South – for instance, the fact that tomatoes from Morocco and flowers from Kenya are imported here, but also the fact that Swiss engineering know-how is exported to construct dams or to deal with extreme events.

The status report will build on workshops on specific topics conducted by the KFPE and ProClim-.

Picture 1: Urs Wiesmann, Director CDE (http://www.cde.unibe.ch) , Director NCCR North-South (http://www.north-south.unibe.ch/)

Picutre 2: Karin Boschert, Research Analyst of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU - http://www.wbgu.de)

Picture 3: Rolf Weingartner, Hydrology, University of Berne (http://hydrant.unibe.ch/)


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		KFPE annual conference 2008 Climate Change and Global Change in Developing and Emerging Countries – Why Should We Be Concerned? Climate change is a threat to the entire world – and particularly to regions that are already confronting climatic extremes such as extended periods of drought or torrential rainfall. Against this background, the KFPE chose the impacts of climate change and global change in developing and emerging countries as the theme of its annual conference in 2008. Information conveyed by presentations and discussions at the conference will be incorporated into a status report that is to be compiled by the Commission together with ProClim- (http://www.proclim.ch). The report is intended to illustrate how climate change and global change are reflected in countries that are not members of the OECD, and how their consequences in turn have impacts on Switzerland and other OECD countries. A complex impact chain One characteristic of global problems is that their causal chains and impact chains are often not directly linked temporally and spatially, and are influenced by many factors. For instance, greater demand for biofuels in industrialised countries can result in food shortages in countries in the South, and can also put increased pressure on their natural resources as forests are cleared to plant crops that can be processed to make fuel. The KFPE and ProClim- defined the impacts on health, food security, and availability of water and energy as particularly precarious. These topics took centre stage at the annual conference, which was opened by three presentations (speakers see below) that examined these challenges from different perspectives. The speakers were united in their conviction that no country is exempt from responsibility, given the global dimensions of these challenges, and that common action is the only way to cope with them. Cooperative research efforts are particularly important in this respect, as they strengthen local research capacity and hence better integrate the “South” into an international community capable of taking action. Incalculable dimensions of influence It became clear in the workshops that it is often difficult to understand the factors involved in environmental and climatic impact chains and their consequences for health, food supply and other areas. For example, changes in consumer behaviour have consequences for agricultural production: great increases in meat and milk consumption, such as those observed currently in many Asian countries, can have enormous impacts on local water use and on land resources. The resulting bottlenecks can force people to migrate, which may in turn affect Switzerland. There is also a need to clarify where potentials exist, such as the potential for more efficient use of rainwater. Local solutions and research can both contribute in this regard. Participants in the discussion agreed that the status report should emphasise feedback effects on Switzerland but must also explain Switzerland’s impact on countries in the South – for instance, the fact that tomatoes from Morocco and flowers from Kenya are imported here, but also the fact that Swiss engineering know-how is exported to construct dams or to deal with extreme events. The status report will build on workshops on specific topics conducted by the KFPE and ProClim-. Picture 1: Urs Wiesmann, Director CDE (http://www.cde.unibe.ch) , Director NCCR North-South (http://www.north-south.unibe.ch/) Picutre 2: Karin Boschert, Research Analyst of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU - http://www.wbgu.de) Picture 3: Rolf Weingartner, Hydrology, University of Berne (http://hydrant.unibe.ch/)