Mr. Chair, we have been talking a bit tonight about what the causes were for the situation in Mali, an overview of a year ago with the coup, of course, and then a perfect storm that allowed for some of the extremists to intervene.
However, one of the things we have to consider is that we are also dealing with environmental issues here, and I would like comments from the member on this. We know, from people having studied failed states and weak states, that it is because of many different aspects. One of the concerns in the Sahel area is that there is drought, severe drought, not just drought that has happened recently. Many have observed this has been because of climate change.
It is one thing to look at what is happening right now with the intervention of extremists in Mali, but it is also another thing to understand that there is an issue around climate change, the fact that the climate has really devastated this area and that we need to do more to help people there adapt to climate change.
I would like to hear his thoughts about the fact that there is the environmental aspect to this, as well as the human aspect, and what we should be doing to ensure people can withstand and adapt to climate change, so that they are not as vulnerable from outside variables and, in this case, from outside extremists.