Prof Francis Allotey, a physicist, has appealed to African leaders to work hard to improve upon the continent's adaptive capacity to the upsurge in climate variability and change. He said they should sensitize their people to be environmentally conscious to address the hazardous effects of climate change as well as global warming and their attendant consequences on life, natural resources and the continent's development. Prof Allotey was speaking at a public lecture organised by the Spiritan Institute of Philosophy at Ejisu in the Ejisu-Juaben District of the Ashanti Region. It was on the theme "The Environment". He said changes in climate that had been made possible as a result of the high dosage of emissions of man-made carbon dioxide and other green gases into the atmosphere was one of the life-threatening menaces facing most countries in the 21st century. The renowned physicist, who is the Director of the Institute of Mathematical Science of the University of Ghana, enumerated the harmful effects of this development on the African continent, saying for instance the Lake Chad which used to be Africa's third largest fresh water basin had over the years reduced significantly from 25,000 square kilometers to 500 square kilometers The high rate of environmental degradation has also contributed to the repeated drought and floods in Eastern Africa, fall in precipitation in tropical rainforests, decrease in the average rainfall over the Sahel region and receding glaciers and snow caps on Kenya and Kilmanjaro mountains. He predicted that by 2020 between 75 and 250 million people on the continent would be exposed to increase in water stress that would have adverse effects on livelihoods. Dr Gua Tagoe-Darko, Head of the Department of Geography and Rural Development of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), said out of the country's 222 mammal species, 13 were threatened with extinction. Ten out of the nation's 259 bird species and four types of reptiles are also facing extinction due to the depletion of the forest cover. In addition, she said, 22 of over 3,000 plant species are endangered and stressed the need for deliberate effort by policy makers and stakeholders to stem bush fires, timber-logging, surface mining and burning of fossil fuel for transportation and for generation of electricity for industries, homes and commerce. Source: GNA