LWR Communities Adapt
to Climate Change
Psalm 96:1, 11-12: “Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth . . . Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy.”
As Lutherans we believe in responsible stewardship of all resources entrusted to our care. There is no greater resource than the Earth, which we as God’s stewards are called to tend and protect (Gen. 1:26-28, Ps. 8:3-9). Throughout the places where Lutheran World Relief works, climates and weather patterns are changing — threatening farmers, families and all who live on the growing edges of society. Such suffering calls for compassionate response that protects our world’s resources for all generations.
Although the effects of climate change are felt around the globe, not all communities are equally well equipped to respond and adapt to climate-based challenges. Sadly, it is primarily the world’s developing nations, those that contribute least to the production of greenhouse gases, which bear the heaviest burden of climate change.1 Although natural disasters related to climate change strike both developed and developing countries, in terms of loss of human life, 97% of natural disaster damage arises in developing countries.2
The environmental challenges that climate change present, including drought, flooding, heat waves, bushfires and increased storm activity, can be disrupting for even wealthy, resilient communities; for those whose subsistence is already precarious, the consequences are truly devastating. The disruption of crop growth cycles damages livelihoods and nutrition. Changes in the range and seasonality of infectious diseases expose previously unaffected populations to diseases like malaria and dengue fever and can worsen the incidence of infections in areas already affected. LWR’s work helps equip our partner communities to respond and adapt to the impacts of global climate change, bolstering their resiliency to environmental stresses.
LWR Projects Address Climate Change
LWR’s projects around the world aim to improve peoples’ lives and resiliency to climate change by increasing sustainable access to water, food security, reducing risks to disaster, and preventing and treating malaria.
In the semi-arid Makueni district of Kenya, for example, partner organizations work with LWR to secure accessible potable and irrigation water. The project provides food and economic stability to those in need by improving crop production through environmentally-friendly water harvesting and soil preservation techniques. The development of efficient water catchment systems also helps secure community water supplies against fluctuations in rainfall that can result from changes in climate.
The malaria prevention and treatment measures that LWR and our partners implement in rural communities in Tanzania, Uganda and Mali aim to protect the health of over 1.6 million people from a disease whose severity is predicted to worsen due to climate change. Environmental factors such as higher temperatures and heavier rainfall influence the prevalence of infection by promoting the breeding of insect carriers and encouraging their spread to new habitats. Increasing temperatures are of particular concern in the highlands of Tanzania, where even a slight increase can affect the habitability of these cooler regions for mosquitoes.
In the Andes, LWR has trained partners in Bolivia and Peru to develop community risk management and disaster preparedness plans. LWR’s partners are working in these communities with farmers whose harvests have been affected by increasing frequency of hailstorms, frost, and other climatic events, to introduce more resistant crops and to adapt to changing environmental conditions. In Nicaragua, LWR is working with schools to train students and faculty in disaster early warning systems. And in El Salvador, LWR and a partner are preparing farmers to be flash flood monitors. By measuring how much rain falls in a period of time, using a simple graduated beaker, they can predict if flash flooding is likely and are then able to warn communities downstream, so they have time to evacuate people to higher ground. This same project is also building retaining walls to stabilize slopes and prevent mudslides from damaging homes and schools.
LWR’s projects in Asia similarly focus on mitigating the risk of climate change on vulnerable communities. In Indonesia and the Philippines, for example, LWR works with local communities by planning strategies that reduce the likelihood of economic losses due to events such as floods, droughts, and earthquakes. When LWR responded to the 2004 tsunami, our rebuilding efforts included the identification of safer locations for homes and the construction of elevated houses that can withstand the increasing impact of annual monsoon rains and flooding. In India and Sri Lanka, LWR is working with communities to increase and secure their incomes through alternative agriculture and vocational training projects. These initiatives provide year-round food security to families who are adversely affected by fluctuating climate conditions.
Advocate
Lutheran World Relief works with U.S. policymakers to address the affects of climate change on the communities we work in around the world. Join our e-advocacy list to learn about how you too can advocate on behalf of those seeing the effects of climate change in the developing world. Click here sign up for more information.
