LUSAKA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Zambia has not been spared by climate change damages in the recent years, Tourism and Natural Resources Deputy Minister Todd Chilembo has said, calling for measures to address the situation.

    When he officiated at the workshop in Lusaka Friday for the study on the economic impacts of climate change, Chilembo said that the effects of climate change could be evidenced by the recent floods that had caused damage to crops and left many people homeless, according to Times of Zambia.

    "Climate change is now a global subject because it is a major cause of many disasters witnessed world over. Zambia has not been spared from these disasters of climate change as it is illustrated by the recent floods that have caused widespread damage to crops and infrastructure," he said

    Chilembo said the natural disasters were an indication of the potential that climate change had, and that if not attended to could disrupt the efforts on the poverty reduction and sustainable development in general.

    He said the floods had drastically reduced the lands productive capacity in the affected areas in Zambia and that it would take a long time to normalize the situation.

    Chilembo said the government through his ministry was participating in the clean development mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto protocol which allowed industrialized countries with green house gases (GHG) reduction commitments to invest in emission reduction projects in developing countries.

    He said through the CMD Zambia would benefit from projects that would contribute to sustainable development on one hand while reducing the GHG at the same time.

    The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) country representative Aeneas Chuma said according to the Fourth Synthesis Report of the Inter-governmental Panel on climate change, 95 percent of the climate changes were man-made.

    He said in a statement read by his deputy that the negative impact of climate change would be greatest on the developing countries and the poor that have had least to do with creating the problem.