An International Rural Youth Summit took place recently at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where various researchers, non-profit organisations, and young scholars were invited to discuss how the role of the youth may help fight against climate change. This theme was aimed at making various tools or systems available to young people, in order for them to orientate programmes in their own communities that can simultaneously combat climate change.

Imvithi Rural Youth Development Foundation (IRYDF) organised the climate change summit, and explained that various factors are working against global warming. Youth development in rural and disadvantaged communities is still lacking the correct resources, in terms of the establishment of economic development initiatives. Research has been conducted by IRYDF that indicates tourism, arts and agriculture are the main areas that can impact greatly on the lives of young people with regards to increasing their finances.

Thulisile Mbhense, a facilitator at Lima, said that there is a common problem shared amongst many young people. Optimistic youth leave their rural areas to move into the cities in hope of finding employment opportunities but do not realise that there are so many prospects available to them back home. “Overcrowding then develops in urban areas with a large number of unemployed youth searching for work,” added Thulisile.

The Community Work Programme (CWP) which is implemented by Teba Development and Lima Rural Development, with funding from the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), focuses specifically on employment creation for youth in identified poverty nodes across South Africa. Work opportunities are provided in agriculture, construction, education as well as home based care. The CWP provides participants with portable skills and allows them to be involved in developing the rural economy.

“CWP has implemented several on-going clean-up campaigns where the youth have been paid to look after their townships. CWP also provides the youth with technical expertise on starting and maintaining their own homestead and community gardens, which in turn, helps the youth increase the food security levels,” said Thulisile.

It is important that funding now be provided to organisations that operate at grass root level, to ensure that these organisations encourage the youth to get involved in agriculture and increase food security knowledge amongst their communities. Increasing the levels of home grown food in this country goes beyond increasing the percentage of employed citizens; more vegetation helps with decreasing the levels of carbon in the air- the primary gas contributor to global warming.

Dr Mxolisi Shongwe, from the South African Weather Service, mentioned at the summit that future climate projections indicate a continuation of the already observed warming across the whole country, with maximum warming rates expected over inland areas and weaker along coastal regions.

"It is projected that parts of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mpumalanga will experience an increase in rainfalls in future; while the Western Cape, Limpopo and Northern Cape are expected to become drier. In most provinces, particularly those which receive most of their rainfall during summer months, rainfall extremes (droughts and floods) are expected to occur more frequently than previously" he said.

“More people in rural and urban areas need to learn how to produce their own food as well as be equipped with the knowledge of how to handle unpredictable weather patterns that may destroy crop production,” said Dr Rob Fincham from the UKZN department of environmental science.

People need to stop fighting against climate change and start living with it; safeguard techniques need to be put in place to avoid a nationwide decrease in yields. Therefore, members and delegates at the summit have encouraged young individuals in rural and urban areas to begin practising agricultural techniques as part of their livelihood.