EXPLAINING CLIMATE CHANGE TO RURAL DWELLERS

How do one explain to a rural dweller who lives a routine lifestyle that an increase in global temperature (also known as climate change) can affect him/her; that their daily activites and natural events can help or destroy their environment.

For a rural community that have just one water stream that serves as drinking water, washing spot, swimming pool, refuse bin dump (as water falls pushes away the refuse dumps) etc, how can you tell these rural people to stop most of these activities when there is no alternative provision made available to them.

Again, how can we explain to them to stop destroying the forest: that is to stop cutting down trees for farming purposes; stop bush burning for hunting reasons (and these activities have been there since the days of their fore-fathers).  What language or explanation can you use to convince them of the impending danger that their ways of life can bring to them

Rural communities especially in African nations are highly neglected and deprived of developmental attention. They have been violated, abused and disappointed by those who use them as mere numbers to fulfill their political intention.
As a result, all they have is their way of life which now threatens their sustainability as a community because of climate change.

I could not answer the questions asked by the rural dwellers about what they should turn to if they must sacrifce their vicious circle lifestyle because asking them to stop bathing and washing clothes in the river will mean providing them with pipe borne water. In fact, the wind of change should blow across the rural communities through developmental packages and programs as that will form as the best explanation and answer to the questions of the rural dwellers on climate change.

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