Racing against climate change in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- The city of Assela, located 175 kilometers southeast of Addis Ababa, lies at the heart of what is great about Ethiopia. It is home to some of the country's most productive and fertile lands which account for a lion's share of the country's beer, tella (an alcoholic local drink brewed from wheat), and bread wheat.

The city is also the capital of the Arsi zone, which has produced the country's top distance runners and continues to carve out a reputation as its breadbasket of running. After producing marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie and two-time Olympic 10,000m champion Derartu Tulu in the 1990's, the region's unending production line churned out the Bekele brothers (Kenenisa and Tariku), the Dibaba sisters (Tirunesh, Ejegayehou, and Genzebe), and many others.

Its latest products include marathon runners Teyiba Erkesso, Dire Tune, and Askale Tufa- runners who pocketed a combined USD 500,000 for winning marathons in Houston (USA), Boston (USA), and Dubai (UAE) in the last eighteen months. Nearly 40 percent of Ethiopia's squad at the recently-completed World Athletics Championships are born and started running in the zone.

Tulu, the 2001 London Marathon champion, will run the ING New York City Marathon on November 1 for the second time. She finished third in 2005.

Eighteen year old Megerssa Teshome hopes to one day join the illustrious group of athletes who have made the region proud. Born in nearby Mulesa, Teshome went to Assela to complete his high school studies and train everyday with other runners from the region.

"Life in Assela is not easy because I do not have much support," he says. "My parents are farmers and their crops failed this year. If they cannot cultivate crops, they cannot help me or my brothers and sisters properly. They are not starving, but they cannot send me money to survive."

Teshome is one of many young runners who are feeling the affects of climate change in the area that threaten Arsi's reputation as a haven for athletics development. His home is a small ten square meter room he shares with his training partner Sisay Adugna rented monthly for just ETB 100 (USD 8) from a retired government employee. Their prized assets are a couple of shoe trainers, shorts, and track suits; a worn-out mattress and a tattered blanket; a couple of water bottles; a cooking pan; and two serving plates.

"As you can see, we do not have much at the moment," says Adugna as he points to some left-over bread. "When I came to Assela four years ago, we used to make wheat bread and eat it with eggs or milk we could buy for very cheap money. Now, we go to the mill and buy leftovers after they grind wheat. People use this to feed their dogs. But we cannot do anything because it is difficult to afford normal food."

The grinding poverty in which the two runners find themselves in is not something new for thousands of athletes around the country, but Assela's recent history of crop failures certainly is.

"I did not have enough money, but life was not expensive as it is today," Gebrselassie said in Assela during a recent visit to the city. "Bread, milk, and other food stuffs were not difficult to get. Now things have changed."

According to Dedefo Mohammed, a coach with the Molesa youth development athletics project-one one of 25 athletics projects around the country for unearthing the future Ethiopian champions-it is becoming difficult for runners to achieve their true potential without food.

"We have lots of youngsters who want to run," Mohammed said. "But it is becoming more difficult for them to train without proper food and rest. Some of them come to training on an empty stomach. Some have handled it, but many of them give up."

Some attribute the changing trends in Assela to climate change that is affecting many parts of Ethiopia.

According to the Oxford University Center for the Environment's Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI)-the benchmark for measuring the level of susceptibility to climate change-Ethiopia and Bangladesh rank as the two most vulnerable countries in the world to effects of global warming such as crop failure. Ethiopia is particularly vulnerable because of its heavy dependence on agriculture, which employs 80% of its workforce and accounts for more than half of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

A major consequence of the climate change has been increasing temperatures in Assela and surrounding districts. This has not gone unnoticed, at least by the country's elite runners.

"We came here [Assela] to speak about climate change and start a race with Derartu [Tulu]," Gebrselassie said after a climate change run last month organized by Oxfam America. "Then we decided to jog 3km from start to the finish of the race. When we reached the finish line at the stadium, I was sweating more than I do after my longer runs. That surprised me. At the stadium, the weather was too hot. I asked Derartu ‘How can I sweat like this? This is Assela.' But she was sweating too."

Gebrselassie's observation was confirmed by the country's meteorologists.

"In Assela, we see increases in both the average monthly maximum and minimum temperature," says climatologist Tesfaye Gessilla, who works for the National Meteorological Agency (NMA). "Temperature increase is not good for body metabolism. Global warming is a cause for this temperature increase. Since this affects the amount of rainfall, we are seeing crop failures and major problems in diary production. Wheat bread and milk are quite important for the development of athletes."

While young runners in Assela do not feel the effects of the changing weather as much those who return to the city after years of living elsewhere, they are quite aware of the effects of climate change.

"Our teacher told us that if this continues, Assela could be a desert in 20 or 30 years," says Teshome. "At school, we are encouraged to plant trees and save the environment, but I think everyone should do their part."

Teshome's view on climate change is perhaps a reflection of the time he spends in school. But many farmers in the region remain illiterate and unaware of the global factors in their lives.

"Faith is quite important and people go to the church and to a wise man in the village when the rains do not come," says Tadesse Werdofa, a public relations officer of the Arsi zone administration. "When the rains do not come, they plead to God saying, ‘what sin have we committed to deserve this?' But of course, this is not their fault."

As for the runners and the challenges, many of them remain determined to make it.

"The biggest lesson we learn from Haile [Gebrselassie] is that you cannot get anything easily in the world if you want to become a runner," says Adugna. "We may not be eating properly and struggling to train, but I know that I have to be strong and face the challenge."