link-3202025

extreme climatic events. But for nature to be properly effective, biodiversity ̶ which consists of all species interacting with each other and their environment ̶ must be intact and fully functional. In the Congo rainforest, for example, healthy populations of forest elephants, which disperse seeds and shape the forest undergrowth, and insects, which are vital to pollination, are both essential if the forest is to properly facilitate climate through the carbon cycle. To keep global warming to an absolute minimum, we must anchor and safeguard the natural systems that still exist, in conjunction with reducing greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible. These are the most immediate and effective climate actions we have at our disposal. Today, with the global population now reaching eight billion, the impact of extreme weather on people is far greater than it was 90 years ago, when only two billion people inhabited the planet. Over this same timescale, our use of natural resources has quadrupled. This has reduced nature's productivity and its ability to regulate climate, and reduced our resilience to climatic events. In 2022, for example, Malawi experienced extreme rainfall. Over previous decades, naturally occurring miombo woodland - with its protective and soil binding functions - has been decimated through agriculture and charcoal production. This exacerbated the impact of unusually heavy rains and led to devastating floods, which displaced over 150,000 people. Africa has the world's lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions, but is one of the hardest hit continents in terms of climate change impacts. Africa's poorest communities are often powerless in the face of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, while the famine and the livelihood insecurity that ensue are frequently catastrophic. If we are going to find ways to mitigate these catastrophes, we first have to look after the very system that regulates them, which is nature. While Malawi’s floods created devastating consequences for communities, had some of its existing protected areas not been effectively managed and restored, these floods could have seen even more catastrophic impacts.