Programme

Venue: CSIR ICC (Emerald)

As the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) ends in Baku, Azerbaijan, this session brings together leading scientists, science advisers and activists to explain the causes and human-life, socio-economic and environmental impacts of natural and man-made disasters. The real-time case-studies are floods and forest fires.

August 2024 saw a global weekly burn increase 64% higher than any previous week since Wildfire Information Systems’ records began in 2012. This dramatic rise was mostly driven by severe wildfires in Africa, where approximately 22 million hectares burned in a week, accounting for around 80% of the global burned area. To put this into perspective, global burn peaks are around 15 million hectares. August 2024 surged to nearly 30 million. In just one week, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo have lost 6% and 2.5% of their total land area to fire.

Extreme heat waves are already five-times more likely today than they were 150 years ago. How this ‘fire-climate loop’ is expected to exacerbate as the planet warms will be highlighted, particularly in Southern Africa (Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia & Zimbabwe). Unique insights into fire mitigation strategies in Canada, where record 2023 fires have continued into 2024, will also be given. In the first half of 2023 alone, a record 9.5 million hectares of Canadian land was burned, an area equivalent to three times the size of Rwanda.

Flood damage has also quadrupled since 2000, affecting nearly one third of the world’s population, more than any other peril. Fires aside, deforestation by logging and land clearing with 15 billion trees felled annually is a major root cause of flooding. From hurricane Helene killing over 200 people in America to 12000 people confirmed dead and 10000 still missing after dams burst in Libya, or the 2022 Kwa-Zulu Natal flash floods that killed over 300 people, speakers argue that global attention to the harms caused by these local, national and regional flood events can be little more than a postcode lottery.

This expert panel and audience debate aims to not only expose the problems, but to examine the solutions. For example, the crucial role of more globally-balanced science reporting of catastrophic weather-related events and their unparalleled human, financial and environmental damage on a scale never before recorded, will be critiqued. Equally, a key component of this session is to expose the limitations of today’s earth observation sciences and risk-management strategies. From conservation technologies to enviro-tech start-ups, SFSA delegates will be given unrivalled insights into next generation satellite and ground-sensor technologies for better detection and response.

This timely panel discussion serves as an important mitigation network meeting point and a platform for the signing of a Cooperation Agreement between representatives of the Governments of Quebec and South Africa.

Host
Prof. Rémi Quirion, Chief Scientist of Quebec and President of the International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA)

Moderator
Elna Schütz, Freelance Science Editor; Member, South African Science Journalists’ Association (SASJA)

Speakers

• Prof. Rémi Quirion, Chief Scientist of Quebec and President of the International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA)
• Prof. Gerome Singh, Academy of Sciences of South Africa (ASSAf)
• Dr Prudentia Zikalala, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)