Dakar, Senegal - Climate change is real, and African policy makers should not get caught up in the debate on whether or not it is, according to Jacquehne Frank, an expert on climate change. “You do not need to be a scientist to see the changes,” Frank told PANA here Tuesday.

Frank is the Regional Coordinator for Media Capacity-building project of the Africa Adaption Programme (AAP), a new project under the UNDP, which is geared towards supporting integrated and comprehensive approaches to climate change adaptation in Africa.

“So, what I will like to tell them is: do not get too caught up with the debate about whether or not climate change is real or how much man has to do with it.

'We know that things are changing on the ground. You do not need to be a scientist to see these changes,' she said.

The climate change expert added: “You ask any farmer and he/she will tell you that things are changing. That things are different and rainfall patterns are different and they can no longer be predicted.

“There is more flooding than it used to be. Anybody near the sea will tell you there is erosion. Ask them and they will tell you about rising sea level.”

Frank said natural and man-made factors were responsible for the changes, saying carbon emission from vehicles and aircraft contribute to the greenhouse gas problem. 

“So the question is what can we do to adapt to climate change? Do not get caught up with the debate over whose fault it is and whether it is real or not. It does not really matter,' she said

Pana 21/09/2011