Africa-Press – Botswana. Climate change has significant implications for occupational health, affecting a wide range of industries and workforce segments.
As climate change affects everyone, it is essential for all to work together to minimise its effectsand strive for a better future for all life on earth.
District environment coordinator from the Department of Environmental Protection, Ms Tuelo Nkwane recently said this at the commemoration of World Day for Safety and Health at the Workplace in Serowe.
She was officiating the commemoration of World Day for Safety under the theme, The Impacts of Climate Change on Occupational Safety and Health.
Ms Nkwane said changes in climate resulted in extreme weather conditions, which were among the reasons behind a global rise in hunger and poor nutrition. “Fisheries, crops, and livestock may be destroyed or become less productive. Heat stress can diminish water and grasslands for grazing, she stated, adding that as global temperatures rose and weather patterns became more unpredictable, the effects on occupational health became increasingly acute.
” Understanding and addressing these challenges is crucial for protecting workers and ensuring safe and healthy working conditions,” she said.
Ms Nkwane noted that Botswana was considered vulnerable to climate change and variability due to its low rainfall as well as the high rate of poverty that affected mostly rural areas.
She said therefore, Botswana, mindful of these challenges, joined other countries to ratify the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the objective of which was to achieve the stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous interference with the climate system.
Ms Nkwane said climate change posed risks to the survival of species on land and in the ocean, which risks increased as temperatures climbed. Forest fires, extreme weather and invasive pests and diseases are among many threats.
Some species will be able to relocate and survive, but others will not, she said, adding that changing weather patterns exacerbated diseases such as malaria and the resultant death, which made it difficult for healthcare systems to cope. Other risks to health include increased hunger and poor nutrition in places where people cannot grow or find sufficient food.
” Something has to be done to reduce climate change. We can take part in helping to limit climate change even at individual level by taking simple actions such as, saving energy at home, walking, cycling or taking public transport instead of driving, wasting less food, reduce, reusing, reducing, recycling, and changing domestic sources of energy”, she said.
Therefore, she said it was therefore imperative that adaptation strategies be developed and implemented. “Employers and policymakers need to develop adaptation strategies that include, modifying work practices, scheduling work at cooler times of the day, as well as ensuring adequate hydration, wearing appropriate clothing and equipment,”she said.
She said regular health monitoring and support for workers dealing with climate-related health issues was essential.
For her part, the general manager of Water Utilities Cooperation (WUC) Serowe branch, Ms Dothodzo Chalashika said safety clothing was important as ‘it lessens the likelihood of injury, illness, and legal issues, and ensures a safe, happy working environment for all’.
DAILYNEWS
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