Biography:

Salif Diop has been working at the United Nations and in particular at UNEP's Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA) as a Senior Officer for nearly 16 years. He is a water specialist with extensive experience in various aspects of coastal oceanography, freshwater assessment, aquatic and marine issues, sustainable management, and development. He holds from University Louis Pasteur/Strasbourg/France, a 3rd cycle doctorate he defended in 1978 and a state doctorate he defended in 1986. He had spent a 1-year sabbatical as a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences of the University of Miami/USA, Division of Biological and Living Resources in 1986/87. He is a member of various expert and working groups, including numerous scientific and research institutions. He has more than 40 referred publications with 6 books as main author and co-author and has been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize Certificate - IPCC 2007. Other 120 publications can be added to his own list as technical documents, research work, monographs, thesis, abstracts, and book reviews. He is a University Professor, Member of the National Academy of Sciences and Techniques of Senegal since February 2006, Member of the African Academy of Sciences (ASS) since December 2009 and Member of The World Academy of Sciences for the Advancement of Sciences in the Developing Countries (TWAS) since October 2010. For more details, including recent publications, kindly consult the following website of Professor Salif DIOP: http://www.esalifdiop.org

Abstract:

"Climate Change and its Impacts in Africa: Sea Level Rise and Desertification"

Based on the 4th and 5th IPCC reports, following changes are likely to happen before the end of the century with:

• An increase in temperature of 2 to 4 degrees Celsius or more;
• A decrease in rainfall of up to 20% and a rise in sea level that could eliminate
agricultural land and move millions of people from their lands;
• A climate change and variability that will affect negatively rain fed agricultural productivity in many parts of the Africa as a whole with more or less important variances following several places and localities;
• Various other changes and modifications that are likely to happen considering a great variability of our climate, including extreme aridity in some cases, flooding in others.

As a large percentage of Africa's urban population lives in coastal cities and the majority of the industries, economic activities and other assets in most African countries are located within the coastal zone, urbanization appears to be one of the biggest challenges Africa is facing today. It is estimated that in excess of 150 million people live within 1 meter of high tide level, and 250 million within 5 meters of high tide, because of this high population densities (and often inadequate urban planning) coastal cities in developing regions are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise in concert with other impacts of climate change (World Bank, 2012).

It has become clear that the risks associated with increasing urbanization under various climate change scenarios need to be seriously assessed, and well designed 'adaptable cities' are required, particularly in coastal zones where cities will need to be prepared for the possibilities of storm surges and coastal flooding. With a likely increased frequency of extreme weather events predicted in many coastal cities, effective sanitation, drainage and emergency preparedness is essential, with clear evacuation plans and well-developed medical support networks. In a nutshell, there will be a need to better understand and plan for the likely local impacts of climate change, including to be prepared for coastal inundation due to sea level rise and storm surge and for more frequent or intense severe storms, cyclones, hail events and floods.

Hence the need for African governments:

• To establish adaptation policies for population and development security for these areas which are already under several stressors from climate change such as coastal erosion, coastal flooding from storm surges, ecosystem degradation - wetlands, mangroves, coral reef, soil salinization - delta areas, construction of buildings on wetlands.
• To design and implement adaptation options such as cost effective coastal protection measures, resilient infrastructures and utilities, coastal and marine spatial planning, regulations/legislation and controls for marine pollution and sustainable development.