A/78/167 impacts. Certain groups of persons with albinism are especially vulnerable to climate related health impacts, such as children and individu als with albinism who have other existing health conditions. 39. Climate change is also worsening mental health. 43 Beyond the mental health consequences precipitated by sudden, traumatic climate impacts, such as extreme weather events, the gradual loss of natural environments and changing ways of life may cause individuals to experience “ecological grief” and “ecological anxiety”. 44,45 Persons with albinism who are also members of Indigenous communities 46 may be especially likely to experience ecological grief; moreover, in some Indigenous communities, the prevalence of albinism is estimated to be as high as 1 in 28 persons. 47 The loss of local or traditional ecological knowledge, such as the ability to know or predict seasonal weather patterns, has been suggested as a key mechanism of ecological grief. 48 Ecological grief and ecological anxiety are new concepts and further research is needed to understand how persons with albinism specifically experience their effects. VI. Impact on other areas of life A. Livelihoods 40. The livelihoods of an estimated 2.5 billion people depend on agriculture, with small-scale farmers, herders and fishers generating more than half of all global agricultural production. 49 Most the world’s poorest people are also those living in rural areas that rely on agricultural livelihoods. 50 Climate change is disproportionately affecting the livelihoods of these people and displacing agriculture -dependent communities in many populations around the world. In submissions received f rom Malawi and the United Republic of Tanzania it was described how droughts and unpredictable weather patterns have precipitated food insecurity for persons with albinism, forcing them to farm for longer hours under blistering sun and in unbearable heat. In Zimbabwe, 78 per cent of persons with albinism who were interviewed by a local civil society organization said that they worked as street vendors, meaning that __________________ 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 12/23 WHO, Mental health and climate change: policy brief (Geneva, 2022). The impacts of climate change on the environment is becoming a lived experience for more and more people worldwide. “Ecological grief” and “ecological anxiety” are two relatively new concepts to describe the psychological and emotional consequences of anticipated or actu al environmental changes. Ecological grief is the emotional response to loss, degradation and destruction of the natural world, including ecosystems, species and habitats, and associated way of life. Ecological anxiety refers to the psychological distress, fear and unease that individuals experience in response to the threats and uncertainties associated with environmental change, in particular perceptions of environmental or climate doom. Other terms have also been used in the literature to refer to these or related concepts, such as “solastalgia”. Hannah Comtesse and others, “Ecological grief as a response to environmental change: a mental health risk or functional response?”, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18, No. 2 (January 2021), p. 734. An Indigenous community is a group of people who share a cultural and historical connection to a specific geographic area or region. Members of Indigenous communities often derive their sense of self and their group identity from their relationship with the land. This includes the land’s physical characteristics, its usage and the knowledge associated with it. Ikponwosa Ero and others, People with Albinism Worldwide. Ashlee Cunsolo and Neville R. Ellis, “Ecological grief as a mental health response to climate change-related loss”, Nature Climate Change, vol. 8, No. 4 (April 2018), pp. 275–281. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “Increasing the resilience of agricultural livelihoods” (Rome, 2016). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, The Future of Food and Agriculture: Trends and Challenges (Rome, 2017). 23-13701