Senegal: Rural women advocate for climate justice ahead of COP28 Summit

Senegalese rural women staged a demonstration, calling for climate justice on Saturday in Dakar, asserting that they continue to endure the adverse impacts of climate change.

"Rural women are mobilizing today because the climate crisis is at a crossroads of an environmental, health, you know what I mean, the COVID-19 pandemic, social and economic crisis," said Khady Camara, organizer of the march. 

Climate change poses significant threats to agriculture in Senegal, where only 7% of cultivated land is irrigated, rendering the country's agriculture highly reliant on rainfall.

The protest precedes the upcoming COP28 summit scheduled to take place in Dubai, starting November 30th.

"Fighting climate change is very difficult, and requires human, material and financial resources that the women don't have. That's why they're here today to remind the decision-makers who will be attending the next Convention of the Parties in Dubai that last year, at COP27, they were promised a green fund to support the fight against climate change," defended Mouhamadou Lamine Seck, environmental lawyer. 

The agricultural sector has had to undergo substantial changes, with the groundnut industry, historically a cornerstone of the Senegalese economy, experiencing a severe crisis.

This crisis prompted a shift to the cultivation of cereals like millet, rice, and corn, along with the production of fruits, vegetables, and manioc.

Notably, this marks the third demonstration organized by Senegalese women advocating for climate justice.