CHAD: RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE DEMARCHE RE.

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000040 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/C STATE FOR S/USSES STATE FOR OES - NELSON, KASTENBERG, LARSEN NSC FOR GAVIN ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KGHG SENV PREL PGOV SU CD SUBJECT: CHAD: RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE DEMARCHE RE. JANUARY 31 COPENHAGEN ACCORD DEADLINE REF: STATE 3080 ¶1. (SBU) DCM and Democracy/Development Officer met January 21 with Sandjima Dounia, Secretary General of the Chadian Ministry of Environment, to deliver points in reftel on the desirability of Chad's associating itself with the Copenhagen Accord on climate change. Sandjima made clear that Chad "looked forward to signing up" (tient a s'inscrire) to the Accord with the UNFCCC Secretariat, but he did not make promises that this would be done by the January 31 deadline. ¶2. (SBU) Sandjima recalled that Chad was enormously concerned about environmental degradation. For this reason, it had sent a very large delegation to Copenhagen, including not only President Deby and reps of the Prime Minister's office, but also the Ministers of Environment, Energy, Planning and Foreign Affairs, along with many others. President Deby's intervention had focused on the disappearance of Lake Chad, the effects of deforestation and desertification on the nation, and climate change. Chad had a national plan containing descriptions of projects necessary to address these problems, and it sought financial assistance from international partners with specific projects. ¶3. (SBU) Sandjima stressed that "the world would be at risk" unless the international community coordinated its response to climate change. We noted that significant new funding mechanisms would be available, provided that the Copenhagen Accords were adopted on schedule. We also indicated, per reftel, that the most vulnerable countries, which might well include Chad, would be prioritized for assistance. Sandjima invited us to look at the projects in Chad's national plan with a view to offering advice on funding mechanisms for them. ¶4. (SBU) Chad's proposed projects, described in the National Program for Adaptation to Climate change, include a priority listing and presentation of ten projects totaling $14.2 million. As s the case with other African states located jus south of the Sahara and the semi-arid region knwn as the Sahel, Cha has suffered some of the most dramatic effects of climate change in terms of rduced rainfall and concomitant reduction in amouts of surface water. The highest-rnking project in Chad's national program focuses on maximizing the use of remaining surface and subsurface water resources. The national plan also places a high priority on developing crop varieties that are better suited to current climate patterns, preservation of soil fertility, development of pasture and animal feed reserves for the segment of the population dependent on livestock, and capacity-building for government offices responsible for climate prediction. ¶5. (U) Minimize considered. NIGRO