Charities deliver projects in sub-Saharan Africa through investment from Scottish Government fund
More than 70,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa now have access to clean, safe drinking water thanks to a Scottish international fund to tackle climate change.
Projects in Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Rwanda have all benefited from the Scottish Government’s Climate Justice Fund, which is delivered through Scottish charities working in developing nations.
The fund will invest £3m annually over the next five years, on top of £6m investment between 2012 and 2016.
Other initiatives that have been supported by the fund are providing 110,000 people with training in climate change and water rights issues, establishing irrigation services for more than 11,000 people, and setting up 217 village committees to manage local resources.
Climate change is disproportionately having an adverse effect on those who have done the very least to cause it
One of the charities working with the government is Tearfund Scotland.
Director Lynne Paterson said: "In our work with some of the poorest and most vulnerable people around the world, we see that climate change is disproportionately having an adverse effect on those who have done the very least to cause it.
“We view this as an issue of justice, and one which we believe is rightly at the heart of the Scottish Government's response. Thanks to the Climate Justice Fund, Tearfund Scotland has been able to work through our partner organisations to equip tens of thousands of individuals to adapt to the effects of climate change, and tens of thousands more to access clean and safe water.
“This work is saving lives and restoring hope where it is needed most.”
Climate change secretary Roseanna Cunningham told the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech she hoped other developed countries would now follow Scotland’s lead.
She said: “It’s unacceptable that the damaging effects of climate change are being felt in developing nations. With increasingly unpredictable weather leading to more frequent floods and droughts wiping out harvests, people have been left struggling to feed their families.
“I am proud to say that our efforts through Scotland’s innovative Climate Justice Fund are helping vulnerable communities tackle the challenge of climate change.
“The concept of climate justice, which links human rights and development, provides a new and progressive policy platform for a sustainable climate agenda.
“Scotland is a progressive country with ambitious climate change targets, and as a good global citizen we want to play our part tackling the challenges of climate change. We are also keen to work with other countries in this vital global effort.”
