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Executive Director Andrew Hewett
Oxfam News – June 2007
From the Executive Director
The tipping point has been reached in the climate change debate. No longer is the question whether climate change is occurring or whether human activity is the major reason for it occurring — the critical issues are now what can be done to reverse the trends and how best to respond to the changes already evident.
People living in poverty in developing countries are the hardest hit by climate change. They are likely to find their already vulnerable livelihoods made even more insecure, be affected by shifts in disease patterns and by the increasing number and severity of natural disasters and face even greater hardships in accessing water.
Coming to grips with climate change and its implications, challenges our agency in a variety of ways. We need to reconsider our analysis of poverty and injustice to take environmental factors more thoroughly into account. We need to invest more in disaster preparedness. We’re working with other development organisations and environment groups for changes in government policies. Global solutions are needed for this global problem.
And increasingly we’re working with local communities to strengthen their resilience in the face of climate change. Our work to introduce rice growing communities to the potential benefits of the System of Rice Intensification — a more productive and resource-efficient method, which conserves precious resources like water — is one example.
When speaking to donors, I often talk about the need for our agency to be nimble and responsive. The challenges posed by climate change are yet another example of how true this is.
Andrew Hewett
Executive Director