On the frontline of climate change: Cocoa, coffee and culture in Colombia
Media briefing: Monday 26 March 2012, 2.15-2:45pm, ExCel Centre, London
Colombia has much at stake in a changing climate: cocoa, coffee and cultural heritage, for a
start. Claudia Martinez, Colombia Country Leader for the Climate and Development
Knowledge Network (CDKN) will brief the media on the threats from increased flooding and
sea level rise to Colombia's coffee, cocoa and sugar industries and the world-famous
cultural heritage of the city of Cartagena. She'll highlight CDKN's leading-edge work with
partner institutions to brace Colombians for climate-related disasters and to seize
opportunities in a changing climate.
CDKN is a five-year programme that is supporting Colombia and other developing countries
to undertake climate compatible development. Colombia’s story demonstrates the impacts of
climate extremes on lives and livelihoods today – and indicates how climate impacts in
Colombia are likely to reach beyond borders thanks to our globalised economy.
The mighty Magdalena River provides the setting for Ms Martinez’ ‘virtual tour’ of Colombia
in a changing climate: from its headwaters, which nourish the country’s agricultural ‘bread
basket’, to the mouth of the Magdalena River in historic Cartagena city.
The upper basin, or Alto Cauca region, yields millions of dollars' worth of cocoa, coffee, fruit
and sugar exports every year - some of which ends up on British tables. The agricultural
industry provides jobs for thousands of Colombian farmers and labourers. They depend not
only on price stability in global markets but also on a predictable climate to make a living.
Now, it seems they cannot count on a predictable climate any longer.
In 2010-11, heavy rainfall associated with La Niña swelled the Magdalena River,
destroying crops, infrastructure and homes across the basin. Economic losses totalled 2
percent of Colombia’s GDP. Colombia’s so-called ‘winter emergency’ affected more than
1.9 million people and wiped out more than 280,000 homes. Although this was a one-off
weather event, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) expects that
climate change will bring more climate extremes to Latin America during the 21st century.
Scientists say there’s a reasonable chance (see note) that heavy rainfall will become
more frequent in the region between now and 2100.
It's not just extreme weather that could affect the pockets of Colombian farmers-- and the
provenance of Britons’ morning coffee. Average temperatures in the Alto Cauca region are
projected to creep gradually upward in the coming decades. There's a real question as to
whether Alto Cauca will retain the cool, moist conditions that are needed for coffee-growing.
Fitting the scientific parts of the puzzle - which crops are likely to thrive in which zones? with the socioeconomic parts - how can even the poorest households plan for change? - is
the task of CDKN with its partner institutions Centre for International Tropical Agriculture
(CIAT), CENICAFE (National Institute of Coffee Research), Universidad del Cauca and
Universidad del Valle as well as Instituto de Hidrologia, Meteorologia y Estudios
Ambientales (IDEAM). Ms Martinez will describe how the organisations are marrying
climatic, agronomic and socioeconomic approaches to create roadmaps for the future, here
in the land of sugar and coffee.
“It’s always the poor who suffer the most from climate change,” says Ms Martinez, “so we
are looking at ways to reduce risks for them and make their futures more secure. But we
also live in a global economy where Colombia is the world’s third largest coffee exporter and
the Alta Cauca región produces 90 percent of the country’s coffee. That means climate
change could affect Colombia’s exports – and what’s available to consumers worldwide.”
Downstream, at the mouth of the Magdalena River in Cartagena city, heavy rainfall and a
swollen river carry similar risks to lives and property as they do in the Alto Cauca. But here,
the ancient heart of the town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is threatened by coastal
erosion and encroaching sea water, too.
Ms Martinez will explore how forward-thinking civic leaders in Cartagena are putting climate
change resilience at the heart of city planning. They are producing an adaptation plan that
will include both ‘hard’ measures such as preventing development in areas endangered by
sea level rise and flodding, and ‘soft’ measures such as mangrove restoration. It’s an
integrated approach that can offer lessons to coastal cities the world over.
Please join us for this short briefing from Colombia, on the frontline of climate change, and to
learn more about the work of the Climate and Development Knowledge Network.
-
ENDS –
Contact: Mairi Dupar, Global Public Affairs Coordinator, CDKN; email:
mairi.dupar@odi.org.uk; tel: +44 (0) 7921 088475.
The briefing will take place at 2.15pm on Monday 26 March at the Planet Under Pressure
Conference: Press Conference Room, Excel Centre East, London E16 1XL.
Claudia Martinez Zuleta formerly served for four years as the Deputy Minister of
Environment of Colombia, and was subsequently chosen as Vice President for Social and
Environmental Development at the Andean Development Bank (CAF). She is the founder
and director of E3 – Ecology, Economics and Ethics. E3 is an advisory service company
working to support public and private corporations in the promotion and application of
principles of ecology, economy and ethics. She is a member of the board of the Centre for
International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Tropenbos International and the Yale University
Environmental Leadership Council.
Ms. Martinez will be available for interview during and after the press conference, and will be
reachable in the UK until Thursday 29th March.
EDITORS NOTES:
About the Climate and Development Knowledge Network
The Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) supports decision makers in
designing and delivering climate compatible development. It does this by
combining research, advisory services and knowledge sharing in support of locally owned
and managed policy processes. CDKN works in partnership with decision
makers in the public, private and non-governmental sectors nationally, regionally and
globally.
CDKN is managed by an alliance of six organisations that brings together a wide range of
expertise and experience: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the Overseas Development
Institute (ODI), Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano, SouthSouthNorth, LEAD (International
and Pakistan) and INTRAC.
CDKN is a five-year programme supported by the UK’s Department for International
Development (DFID) and the Netherland Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Please visit
www.cdkn.org for more information.
About the Magdalena River Basin
The Magdalena river basin covers 274,000 km2, almost a fourth of Colombia’s territory. It is
home to two-thirds of Colombia’s population. The basin produces 86% of the gross domestic
product (GDP), generates 75% of the country’s agricultural production and is the source of
more than 90% of the country’s coffee production. Colombia is the world’s third largest
coffee producer after Brazil and Vietnam; and it is the second largest producer of the high
quality arabica beans. Bloomberg reported on Colombia’s low coffee production in 2009 and
2011 due to adverse weather conditions, which affected international prices and caused
headaches for global retailers (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-24/colombiacoffee-crop-may-miss-forecasts-after-bad-weather.html) The last year’s crop was down to
8.5 million bags, more than ten percent below expected production levels
(http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/economy/20679-colombia-coffee-productionlikely-flat-in-2011-12-growers.html ) As well as causing floods and making coffee berries
drop from their branches, the torrential rains hastened the spread of a damaging fungus in
the coffee crop.
About the IPCC SREX report
The IPCC Special Report: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance
Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) is released in full on 27 March 2012. The Summary for
Policymakers is available on http://ipcc-wg2.gov/SREX The Report’s scientific authors have
reviewed the available evidence on climate change impacts worldwide and models for
projected impacts in the remainder of the 21st century. They find with medium confidence
(defined as ‘about a five out of ten chance’) that extreme rainfall is likely to become more
frequent in the Amazon subregion, including Colombia, over the course of the century. A
‘one in 20 years’ extreme rainfall event, as experienced at the end of the 20th century, will
become a ‘one in 10 years’ event by 2050, assuming the world continues on current
emissions pathways.