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Chad is among the countries worldwide most vulnerable to climate change. The impacts are all-pervasive. A small group of environmental activists in the Sahelian country is striving to create greater awareness about climate action.

The Swiss Confederation and many Swiss companies have plans to offset their greenhouse gas emissions in partner countries. Development projects can help to achieve this, but following disclosures that emissions certificates sometimes inflate the claimed reductions, there has been growing scepticism about this mechanism.

The diversity of species and ecosystems on our planet is declining rapidly. A new global framework containing clear-cut goals and indicators aims to revitalise efforts to protect and restore biodiversity.

The African continent is rich in flora and fauna, and unique ecosystems. It plays a key role in the conservation of global biodiversity. However, Mariam Mayet, Executive Director of the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), warns that indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers are being driven off their land in order to promote nature conservation.

Millions of people in Central Asia have no access to clean drinking water – and farmers are losing harvests because they are unable to sufficiently irrigate their crops during droughts. One World went on the trail of this transboundary resource in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, looking for ways to use it more sustainably.

Legal expert Dinara Ziganshina liaises between the Central Asian countries to establish an equitable allocation of water – and lays the groundwork for impassioned negotiations.

The many facets of work

The SDC together with the World Meteorological Organization is supporting developing countries in improving their hydrological data by using low-cost open-source technology and innovative solutions developed by local universities.

Global warming has devastating impacts on vulnerable communities for whom the geographic location of their countries and low incomes make adaptation more difficult. It is imperative to link climate action with poverty reduction to avoid undoing progress in development.

The philosopher Ivo Wallimann-Helmer studies the ethics of the climate crisis, focusing primarily on issues of justice. From an ethical viewpoint, it is indisputable that industrial nations like Switzerland have a moral responsibility towards countries in the Global South.

When a disaster strikes, Swiss Humanitarian Aid's rapid response teams are mobilised in Bern, ready for deployment. Concurrently, Switzerland also collaborates with local teams, for example in Latin America, where there is a very high risk of natural disasters.

One million actions for a sustainable future implemented by young people worldwide: this is the ambitious target that the One Million Youth Actions Challenge launched by the SDC is aiming to achieve by end 2022.

Climate change: without adaptation…

The promotion of research as part of Swiss development cooperation has a long tradition. The SDC employs numerous instruments to help develop knowledge for solving global issues in many local contexts.

The sharp increase in climate shocks is threatening the lives of millions of people in the Global South. While these countries contributed least to global warming they are already bearing the biggest brunt. Somalia is a case in point. A broad-based project in which Switzerland is participating demonstrates how humanitarian aid and development cooperation can operate in conjunction to assist the most vulnerable in adapting to the new climate reality.

Efficient humanitarian aid begins even before the onset of a disaster, says Maarten van Aalst, director of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. Early warning systems linked to financing mechanisms are critical for strengthening the resilience of vulnerable groups to climate shocks.

The transition to renewable energy offers tremendous opportunities in the Global South. Koa, a Swiss start-up, uses solar power and digitalisation to help generate additional income from waste in cocoa plantations across Ghana.

A multilateral project with Swiss participation is helping create alternative sources of income for smallholder farmers so they no longer need to depend on clearing forests.

Extreme climate

Forty years ago, one of the most brutal chapters in world history came to a close in Cambodia. A quarter of the country's population had been killed by the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, the economy was destroyed, society was traumatised. Yet, ever since the 1991 peace accords, the Cambodian economy has been growing at a faster pace than most other Asian countries and poverty has been reduced. On the political front, however, the country is increasingly turning into an autocracy.

Data specialist Shaida Badiee considers publicly accessible data to be at the heart of the current data revolution. Her organisation, Open Data Watch, regularly monitors whether governments are making their data freely available to the public.

The livelihoods of many fisherfolk and farmers in the Gulf of Mottama in southern Myanmar are at risk. Fish stocks have drastically declined, there is widespread erosion and arable land is becoming salinised due to flooding. Switzerland is providing support through training programmes, conservation of natural resources and livelihood diversification.

Laos is one of the poorest countries in South-East Asia. But its government has great ambitions. It wants to make Laos 'the battery of Asia'. In addition, a Chinese high-speed rail link is meant to fast-track this poor country into the future. Yet all of this comes at a high price for the population.

The energy consumed by air conditioning is rising rapidly as construction booms in India. That's why Swiss engineers are advising skilled construction professionals, ministries and investors there on energy-efficient building. Their experiences provide the basis for a new national building standard that should eventually become mandatory for millions of planned new buildings, including many for low-income families.

IN DIESEM DOSSIER

Mehr Schweinefleisch und Einkommen, weniger fossile Energie und Belastung der Böden – kein Ding der Unmöglichkeit, sondern das Ziel eines DEZA-Projekts in Kuba. Bauernfamilien erzeugen dort Biogas und Biodiesel für den Eigenbedarf.

Mosambik hat im vergangenen Jahrzehnt einen Wirtschaftsboom, eine Schuldenkrise, politische Spannungen sowie zahlreiche Naturkatastrophen erlebt. Dass Zyklone und Überschwemmungen immer wieder grosse Schäden anrichten, hat mit der Armut und dem Klimawandel zu tun – aber auch mit Korruption.

Obwohl Entwicklungslänger am wenigsten zum Klimawandel beitragen, sind sie am stärksten von dessen Folgen bedroht. Geo-Engineering könnte für sie ein Segen sein – aber auch ein Fluch.

Obwohl Entwicklungslänger am wenigsten zum Klimawandel beitragen, sind sie am stärksten von dessen Folgen bedroht. Geo-Engineering könnte für sie ein Segen sein – aber auch ein Fluch.