Myanmar, the endless drama of a country which is the second most affected by climate disasters in the world: a third of the population lives on aid

BERGAMO – Extreme temperatures, cyclones, floods, landslides, fires. And therefore death, hunger and lack of water, poverty, epidemics and migrations. Myanmar is the second country in the world most subject to extreme weather events linked to climate change, while the effects of the latter add up to the consequences of political instability and armed clashes, to the economic crisis, to the effects of the pandemic. In the last 20 years, 11,000 climatic disasters have followed one another in the world, causing the death of over 475,000 people and the poorest and most vulnerable countries are still paying the worst consequences, still today unprepared to face and react to such catastrophes.

The photographic exhibition. The impact of climate change on the environment and on the population of Myanmar is told by the photographic exhibition “Seeds of hope. Voices and faces from Myanmar” by Gianfranco Ferraro, curated by Sandro Iovine, which can be visited until 1 May at the Palazzo Ex Ateneo, in Piazza Giuliano, in Bergamo. The exhibition is part of the calendar of Bergamo-Brescia Italian capital of culture initiatives and has obtained the patronage of the AICS – Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. At the inauguration, in addition to the photographer Gianfranco Ferraro, the curator Sandro Iovine, the president of CESVI Gloria Zavatta, Massimo Pasquali for AICS, Sylvie Wabbes Candotti Resilience Advisor, Strategic Advocacy team, Emergency and Resilience Office of FAO, the mayor Giorgio Gori for the Municipality of Bergamo.

An alarm that concerns the whole planet. The exhibition does not tell a “distant” problem, but an alarm that concerns the whole planet. “In recent years, our side of the world has also suffered the real effects of the climate emergency: rivers have dried up, glaciers have melted, fires have destroyed forests and fields, while tornadoes, rains and hailstorms have caused damage to structures and environments. Faced with the awareness that the planet is ‘a single home to be preserved’, it should be remembered that it is always the poorest who suffer the most devastating consequences», declared Gloria Zavatta, president of the CESVI Foundation.

Extreme climatic events in Italy. In Italy in 2022 alone there were 310 extreme climatic events, 55% more in one year, with a toll of at least 29 deaths. The most significant increases involved droughts, hailstorms, tornadoes and floods. «We have been dealing with the climate emergency all over the world for almost 40 years, at the moment we have active projects to support populations affected by the effects of climate change in various countries, including Myanmar.

Interventions in the Horn of Africa. In the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya, affected by extreme drought and strong food insecurity, we support mothers and children with nutritional programs, farmers and breeders through training on sustainable and efficient agriculture and breeding practices. In Zimbabwe we intervene with innovative and sustainable agricultural projects to guarantee correct and efficient exploitation of the land and offer the populations self-sufficiency and income from their crops. In Pakistan, plagued by floods, we are present with disaster preparedness and emergency interventions related to hygiene and health,” added Zavatta.

Changes with powerful accelerations. «Climate change, with its short and long-term effects that are manifesting themselves with a powerful acceleration over the years, has forcefully imposed itself on international reflection, which has materialized in the action program of the 2030 Agenda. The action of the ‘AICS aims to support partner countries in reducing the vulnerability of their human and natural systems to the impacts of climate change, improving their adaptive capacity and reducing their exposure to risks deriving from climatic factors”, said Massimo Pasquali, AICS contact person for projects promoted in Myanmar. «In relation to this general reference framework, the Agency carries out development cooperation initiatives in partnership with Civil Society Organizations according to the principle of subsidiarity sanctioned in the institutive law.

All that depends on the climate. “The climate crisis affects and threatens everyone, everywhere and across all sectors, and even more so Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and climate-dependent agri-food systems. Small-scale farmers, pastoralists, fishermen, forest dwellers, food workers and their families, over 2.5 billion people, are key to achieving sustainable development,” said Sylvie Wabbes Candotti for FAO.

The protection of agri-food systems. “Agri-food systems urgently need to transform from being a problem driving climate change to becoming a major climate solution, while ensuring food security and well-being for all. And today the CESVI project in Myanmar is a demonstrative example of climate action that requires greater investments in climate-resilient agri-food value chains led by local actors and generating multiple benefits in terms of food, income, work and livelihoods » concluded Wabbes Candotti.