PAMACC Announcement: Climate Home News is seeking a hungry, tenacious reporter to join our team in London.
Working from our office in Covent Garden, you will bolster CHN’s coverage of the global politics and impacts of climate change. This is a full-time role, reporting to the editor-in-chief.
Climate Home News is an award-winning specialist news site with a mission to bring important climate stories to as large an audience as possible. We are fiercely independent and seek to hold powerful actors to account, while also tracking the politics and actions that will decide the future of our climate. Our coverage of UN climate negotiations is unrivalled.
As a small news website, we prize original reporting above all, constantly looking to break news and cover stories others miss. We are seeking a versatile journalist with the ability to write news, features and analysis and source scoops.
As well as keeping our small newsroom ticking with regular, punchy news articles, you will be expected to help break more detailed stories of political intrigue – like our recent exposé of the story behind the removal of a leading Fijian diplomat – or corporate activity – like the documents we sourced on BP’s plan to drill for oil in Australia.
You should be able to demonstrate a flair for enterprise reporting and building investigations into stories. Data skills and experience using FOI are also advantageous.
Other desirable attributes:
- Knowledge of climate change, international climate politics and diplomacy
- Strong contacts in government, industry or finance in the climate space
- Experience reporting at UN climate conferences
- Languages other than English
- Ability to think creatively about story delivery, visualisation and use of social media to reach our audience
We specialise in reporting climate diplomacy, particularly the UN process. But we do much more than that. Our outlook is internationalist and the successful reporter will demonstrate an ability to source stories from around the world, for a global audience. The job will involve travel to report from climate summits and the frontlines of climate change.
Salary: DOE
All applications are to be completed and submitted by 5pm GMT, Monday, August 6, 2018.
All candidates interested in applying should send a resume, clips and cover letter as one document to CHN’s editor Karl Mathiesen (عنوان البريد الإلكتروني هذا محمي من روبوتات السبام. يجب عليك تفعيل الجافاسكربت لرؤيته.). You cover letter should be no longer than two pages. All candidates must have the right to work and live in the UK. You should be located, or prepared to relocate to London, although we are prepared to consider special cases.
Climate Home News is owned and operated by Climate Change News Ltd. We are an equal employment opportunity employer, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, national origin or citizenship.
KIKUYU, Kenya (PAMACC News) - When David Ngugi rallied his family 18 years ago to plant trees at his seven acre farm in Ondiri village, central Kenya, his peers jeered him for wasting good farming land. Lately, they have joined him – or have been forced to.
Ondiri is about 20 kilometers away from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and is host to the country’s deepest swamp and water catchment which feeds the city’s ever growing population with clean water.
But encroachment, pollution and deforestation over the years is pushing the bog which sits on the edges of Kikuyu town, northwest of the capital,into extinction. It is a threat that has united the Ondiri community like Ngugi, to restore it to its original sheen.
“We are planting trees to save Ondiri swamp and protecting it from illegal water extraction,” says Ngugi, adding that the local municipality is also building a water and sewerage system to prevent effluent from seeping into it.
It is understandable for Ondiri swamp to evoke such emotions. According to Naftali Mungai, an independent environmentalist who has been working with the Ondiri community over the years, the swamp serves as an underground source of Kikuyu springs.
Kikuyu springs, says Mungai, supplies about two per cent of water consumed in the city, adding that out of every 100 people in Nairobi, two drink water from Kikuyu springs.
“It is consumed in rich estates flanking the city,” he said in an interview. “It is even said that part of State House (where Kenya’s President resides) water comes from Kikuyu springs.”
But the importance of Ondiri swamp is not only appreciated by people living in the city. Farmers in Ondiri village have been irrigating their land with water from three rivers, Kabuthi, Nyongara, Rungiri, which flow from it.
Lately however, they are not sure whether this will be possible in the years ahead, as the country continues to struggle with climate related food insecurity and water stress. It sends Ngugi into a reflective mood.
When he was a student at neigbouring Alliance High School some 58 years ago, the swamp was always flooded during dry and wet seasons. These days, he said, it is becoming a wasteland sitting on a 30 acre piece of land.
Tourists used to visit the site attracted by the lush marine vegetation like water lilies, water reeds, and wildlife like waterbucks, African sacred ibis, grey crowned cranes, herons, and hundreds of frog species.
“We could not walk through the center of Ondiri Swamp because it was always flooded. But today people cross it by foot because there is dry land,” he says, adding that as a student they used to takepractical marine biology lessons there.
The pain with which Ngugi recounts the damage that has been done to his heritage oftentimes dissolves into a smile when he talks about the efforts the community is putting in place to conserve the wetland.
Just like this phone call he receives during the interview, where a member of the community is consulting him about the kind of tree species he should plant on his farm flanking the swamp.
For about 10 minutes, he advises the farmer to plant tree species like bamboo, cedar, croton, Meru oak, and prunus Africana, while inviting him to his farm later for further pearls of wisdom.
“The seedlings for these are available at my farm. We are encouraging farmers to plant indigenous trees because they add a beautiful spark to the riparian area,” says Ngugi, who is also the chairman, Ondiri, Nyongara Kabuthi and Rungiri (ONKARU) water resources users association, a CBO there.
Further north from Ngugi’s village, institutions like the Muguga Ecosystem Research Community Association (MERCFA) are troubled by the degradation pressuring Ondiri, also the second deepest swamp in Africa.
They would like to help conserve it, and for a good reason.
According to MERCFA chairman, Simon Kamunde, Ondiri swamp is part of a water catchment that has foundations all the way from the rift valley and has an underground tunnel connecting it to Lake Naivasha.
It is the source of Nairobi river and stretches its reach through the Athi and Tana river basins, forming the riparian system which drains into the Indian ocean.
In April this year, MERCFA, working with the Ondiri community, helped plant 100 tree seedlings.
MERCFA has also helped the community to zone the water catchment into the northern, middle and southern portions, as a way of preparing the wetland for gazettement, or recognition as an important national resource.
“This is to make the community feel they own the ecosystem and also feel they are benefitting from it while getting support from the national government,” says Kamunde.
Prospects of gazettement makes farmers like Ngugi more hopeful that the government may finally begin allocating funds to support the restoration of Ondiri swamp into its previous glory.
According to him, coordinating activities to conserve the wetland has not been easy because of lack of finances, adding that ONKARU officials work as volunteers.
“Financing and sustainability of ONKARU is a major constraint. We are not as effective as we would like to be. Sometimes I use my resources and my pickup truck to distribute seedlings for planting. I do not charge, thanks to God I am able to do that,” says Ngugi.
Thanking God is not be enough to save the endangered wetland. Building proper infrastructure to prevent pollution of the wetland might be, according to Janet Njoroge, a director with the Kikuyu Water Company.
Representing CBOs and water users at the company, she is furious about sneaks who continue to extract water and fodder from the dying swamp. It is easy to see why.
Along the swamp’s edges flanking Kikuyu town, lines of greenhouses have sprung up. At the town’s open air market, traders sell fodder harvested from the swamp and mixed with local napier grass.
From one of the town’s residential areas, raw sewer empties into the swamp. Lately, families have been sinking boreholes at their homesteads to meet the ever declining water supply.
However, says Njoroge, the Kiambu Water and Sewerage Company has been set up to regulate waste disposal within residential areas and supply water with the aim of saving wetlands around Nairobi.
“If we all went home because we feel frustrated for not being supported as we have been promised, no one will care for our wetlands and then everything will collapse,” she says.
Ends
BUJUMBURA, Burundi (PAMACC News) - « L’arbre est le centre de la vie, indispensable pour la vie humaine ». Là, c’est la phrase maîtresse de Jadot Nkurunziza, un jeune burundais, engagé dans la protection de l’environnement.
Il n’a que 24 ans. Et cet attachement à l’arbre lui a valu le surnom de ‘’Giti’’, signifiant ‘’ arbre’’ en Kirundi langue nationale.
Dans cette aventure salutaire pour notre planète, il y a entraîné des milliers d’autres jeunes burundais. Il est à la tête de plus de 6000 jeunes recrutés des quatre coins du pays.
A son actif, plus 50 millions d’arbres déjà plantés dans les 17 provinces sur les 18 que compte le Burundi, donc mis à part Cankuzo, située à l’Est, à plus de 200 km de Bujumbura.
Jadot vient d’initier un projet de planter des fleurs sur les boulevards, les avenues, devant des maisons, …, des centres urbains dont Bujumbura, la capitale burundaise. « Et ce pour les rendre plus attractifs, embellis », glisse-t-il, avec un sourire aux coins de ses lèvres.
L’amour de l’arbre date de longtemps chez ce jeune et est comme un héritage. « C’est à 5 ans que je me suis senti pour la première fois très attaché à l’arbre. J’étais en 2ème année de l’Ecole Primaire. J’étais en grandes vacances chez mon grand-père » raconte-t-il.
Le jeune Nkurunziza apprend qu’il a été étonné de voir l’attachement de son grand-père à l’arbre : « Il passait presque toute la journée à planter des arbres, à entretenir des pépinières. Toute sa propriété s’était transformée presque dans une petite forêt.»
Au bas âge, Jadot l’accompagnait et lui embêtait avec des questions sur l’importance de l’arbre, son utilité : « Il m’expliquait que c’est à base des arbres qu’on fabrique les bancs-pupitres, les chaises, les portes, qu’on a de l’air sain, … Donc, que l’arbre est la source de vie ».
Dès lors, son grand-père est devenu son inspiration, affirme-t-il, sourire aux lèvres. A son retour à Bujumbura, chez son père, Jadot Nkurunziza commence à planter des arbres fruitiers dans l’enclos de son père, au bord de quelques avenues de Nyakabiga, son quartier d’enfance, commune Mukaza au centre de Bujumbura.
C’est à 10 ans, que ce cadet d’une fratrie de cinq enfants s’est joint à d’autres jeunes, certains plus âgés que lui, pour fonder une association dénommée ‘’ Association pour la préservation de l’environnement-ça nous concerne tous’’.
Très vite, grâce à son charisme, à son esprit d’organisation, teint noir, taille élancée, Jadot prend le leadership. « Multiplier, planter et distribuer les nouveaux plants gratuitement », tel est son but ultime. « Un pari en cours d’être gagné », se réjouit M. Nkurunziza, faisant état de 57.263.000 arbres déjà planté, comprenant ici des arbres forestiers, fruitiers, ceux qui cohabitent avec les autres cultures.
« Pour avoir des plants, nous organisons des journées de collecte des graines dans les forêts, d’aménagement et d’installation des pépinières », décrit-t-il, notant que par après, des équipes sont formées pour l’entretien, l’irrigation des pépinières, etc.
Bref, le gros du travail est fait gratuitement et dans les grandes vacances de juillet à sept de chaque année, la cotisation d’un membre étant fixée 0.7 dollars.
Et de dévoiler son rêve : « Nous rêvons que dans quinze ans, le Burundi soit vert.» Pour lui, cela signifie qu’on va planter des arbres, des fleurs dans tout espace non occupé par une maison, des routes, et d’autres infrastructures.
Et pour y arriver, Jadot Nkurunziza a besoin de mobiliser plus de 28 mille dollars par an, une meilleure compréhension publique.
« Tout le monde devait comprendre qu’en plantant un arbre, il contribue au développement du pays, de la planète », lance-t-il, signalant qu’actuellement, ils ont comme défis : le manque du matériel, de moyens de transport des plants d’une province à une autre, etc.
Pour être plus efficace, Jadot Nkurunziza fait ses études universitaires à St Lawrence University en Ouganda, option : Sciences environnementales et changement climatique.
Ses actions en faveur de la protection de l’environnement, lui ont permis d’être décoré. Cas du prix accordé par la Francophonie en 2014 : Prix des jeunes talents du Burundi ; le prix accordé par le Président Nkurunziza lors de la journée International du travail et des travailleurs en 2010, celui octroyé par le Partenariat des forêts du Bassin du Congo en 2015 au Cameroun.
Son engagement, sa détermination dans la protection de l’environnement a permis également à cet orphelin de père à bénéficier des formations en la matière en Chine, Maroc, Arabie Saoudite, Tanzanie, Côté d’Ivoire, etc.
Une clé aussi pour participer dans les grandes rencontres environnementales comme ce fut le cas lors de la COP22 tenue du 07 au 18 novembre 2017, à Marrakech au Maroc.
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Chad are firming up the Action Plan for the Elaboration of the Economic Diversification Strategy of the country which they’ve agreed to hinge on the development of agribusiness; the expansion of the livestock sector with a focus on leather and meat production; and the smooth entry of the country into the knowledge economy.
These were identified as anchor points for the country’s economic diversification strategy during an advisory mission to N’Djamena from 15 to 22 July 2018 by a team of ECA experts that held productive working sessions with the country’s Technical Committee on Economic Diversification under the auspices of the Minister of Economy and Development Planning – Mr. Issa Doubragne. The July mission to Chad comes after a successful scoping mission 4 months ago and tallies squarely with the recommendations of the Douala Consensus of September 2017 that calls on governments and industry captains in Central Africa to swing into the rapid diversification and industrialization of their economies.
The working teams identified renewable energy, especially solar; increasing access to Chad’s rich acquirers to expand irrigation; deepening education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and offering more access to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), as some key enablers of the Strategy.
They concurred that to effectively tease out and implement the pillars of the economic diversification strategies outlined above, efforts should be deployed to create special economic zones, industrial parks and growth clusters along transport corridors.
The working groups evoked the need to establish these factors within a solid framework in which the pursuit of long-term macroeconomic objectives would be articulated.
A consensus was also reached on the need for Chad to devise robust macroeconomic models, develop value-chain and product space analysis as well as economic growth diagnostic studies. These, they concurred, would support project definition, prioritization and investment-targeting, as well as better inform negotiations with international financial institutions.
The ECA team used the mission to underline the need for Chad to approach economic diversification and industrialization in line with the opportunities opened up by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Hence, the need to advance with market integration in Central Africa was recognized as critical to making the country a competitive investment destination. This in itself, would enable Chad to make the most of the trade-induced industrialization catalysts offered by the AfCFTA.
The Chadian and ECA parties also agreed that in its pursuit of economic diversification and industrialization, Chad needs to strengthen policy coherence and thread institutional cohesiveness.
Work in the months ahead is expected to fructify the Action Plan for the Elaboration of the Economic Diversification Strategy into a concrete structural transformation policy instrument for Chad.
KISUMU, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Maurince Otieno has been a fisherman for over 15 years. He inherited this outstanding skill of fishing from his late grandfather George Omollo Otieno who was a renowned fisherman in his time.
For the past several months, Otieno who does his fishing along the shores of Dunga beach in Lake Victoria has been experiencing difficulties in his fishing expedition despite his bloodline skills.
Otieno, currently in his late 40s says he no longer harvests sufficient fish to meet the needs of his immediate and extended family that depends on him.
This has made him a very scared man. He is afraid of what the future holds for him and his family as his only source of income continues to diminish very fast.
“We are doomed. I don’t know how I will support my family now that I hardly have any catch. I am a worried man,” he says as we set out for a fish expedition along the shores of Lake Victoria in Dunga beach.
Ever since the passing on of his father more than 10 years ago, Otieno notes he has been eking out a living out of the turbulence waters of Lake Victoria.
He observes that his father and grandfathers, were all fishermen and they passed the skills of fishing on to their siblings.
But Otieno notes that the tradition that has always been passed down from one generation to another was bound to come to an end in his life time as fishing spots continue to diminish along the shores of Lake Victoria.
“I am certain that my generation will have nothing to pass down to coming generation as it has been our norm and tradition,” stresses Otieno in a low tone with a sense of disappointment.
He notes that his family has been forced to find alternative ways to make a living besides fishing which has been their bloodline.
“I don’t know what is happening to our God given lake, we hardly catch any fish,” narrates Otieno as he jumps into his dilapidated boat.
“You see all these,” he says as he hands me a life jacket and shows me a fleet of abandon boats that were on the verge of rotting, “the owners abandon them here due to declining fish in the lake.”
With disillusionment evident in his hoarse voice, he engages the forward gear to his boat and the engine roars as we begin to drift and gain momentum as the boat accelerates.
I engage a handful of fishermen that we find and their sentiments were similar.
After three hours of fishing with no success, we docked the boat at the shores of Dunga beach.
It was at this beach that I was lucky to bump into a researcher and scientist who according to Otieno has been doing “serious research “of the lake.
Dickson Wallace, the scientist and researcher says she has been conducting research on the lake for over three years.
Wallance notes that the lake was adversely being impacted negatively by the climate change that is common with extreme weather patterns over a period of time.
He attributes extreme weather changes to climate change, which he says was also being experienced not only in Nyanza region of Kenya but also across other neighbouring towns.
To this end, he observes that the rampant variation particularly in temperatures, may have been the cause of declining marine life at Africa’s Largest Lake - Lake Victoria.
“It is no doubt that a significant number of aquatic marine are usually affected by extreme weather conditions caused by climate changes,” he says.
A report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) this year which assessed the extinction risk of 651 freshwater species in Lake Victoria including fish and aquatic plants found that up to 24 percent of these species are being threatened with extinction.
The world nature watchdog cautioned that, "three-quarters (76 percent) of these endemics are at risk of extinction."
Will Darwall, the co-author of the report who heads IUCN's freshwater biodiversity unit said in the report that although "the Lake Victoria Basin is incredibly rich in unique species found nowhere else on Earth, its biodiversity is being decimated."
Apart from climate change, the report attributed this to Industrial and agricultural pollution, invasion of the deadly water hyacinth, over-harvesting of fish and wetland degradation among others.
One of the worst affected fish species is the African Lungfish, according to this report.
As discovered by this report, Kibet Chemiron, a marine expert and fellow at the University of Port Elizabeth in South Africa, confirms the negative effects of climate change on freshwater species in Lake Victoria.
According to Kibet, most aquatic animal species that are used for human consumption are poikilothermic (animals whose internal body temperatures change with the temperature around them) and are usually affected by extreme weather brought by climate change.
Chemiron explains that any changes in habitat temperatures usually influence fish metabolism, growth rate, productivity, seasonal reproduction, and susceptibility to diseases and toxins.
“Fish population may be reducing drastically as a result of these factors emanating from climate change,” he says.
Rose Anyango, a resident who has a mini food joint at the beach says they no longer have access to clean water.
“The dams where we used to access clean water are now filled with mad caused by flooding water,” she states.
This article was made possible thanks to support from InfoNile and Code for Africa.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (PAMACC News) - The Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) has been re-launched in South Africa, with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Royal Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs investing some US$ 9.2 million.
“My hope for the new CDKN is that the impacts will be felt mainly by vulnerable groups that are most impacted by climate change.” said Dr Shehnaaz Moosa, director of the new Dutch-Canadian supported CDKN, which was formally launched by Pamela Moore, Chargé d’Affaires of the High Commission of Canada to South Africa, and Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 21 June.
The launch, which brought together partners new and old, included reflections on the first phase of the programme by former director Sam Bickersteth and highlighted the shift in focus for programme in its new form.
“It’s a really exciting moment to see CDKN move into a new phase which will build on the legacy of eight years of work, and to see it being led from the region to which it is delivering,” said Bickersteth, adding that Shehnaaz Moosa had been a “very steady hand on so much that CDKN has already done,” and an obvious choice to take the programme forward.
CDKN will now focus on providing developing countries with enhanced knowledge resources to support ambitious climate action, as well as boost climate leadership and learning on climate compatible development.
The network’s global and Africa programme is now led from South Africa, with Latin America and Asia regional hubs managed from Ecuador and India. Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Royal Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs will fund CDKN’s new chapter to the value of 9.2 million US$ (12 million Canadian dollars), and it will run from 2018-2021.
Speaking at the launch event in Cape Town, the Special Envoy said: “The Dutch development policy for the first time focuses on the interconnectedness of climate change and root causes of poverty, political instability, conflict and migration. The knowledge and experience of CDKN to support complex policy realities, to work in partnership with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, and to connect human development ambitions and environmental sustainability is a very valuable asset in this strategy.”
Ms Pamela Moore said: “Climate change is a shared global challenge and Canada is committed to working together with partners around the world on climate action. Canada is pleased that a refreshed Climate and Development Knowledge Network is being launched. We are excited to be part of this global partnership for large-scale change that enables vulnerable communities adapt to climate change, mitigate its impacts, and transition to a low-carbon economy.”
CDKN will work to enrich decision-makers’ know-how and help them to accelerate climate action. “The challenge now for us is to navigate the great amount of climate information and find what’s most useful, adapt it and tailor it for developing countries’ needs,” said Dr Moosa. “Climate-vulnerable countries are eager to access and apply knowledge about ‘what works’ in climate-compatible development. That is exactly the challenge that CDKN’s new initiative aims to address.”
Knowledge for implementation
CDKN will be expanding its knowledge-sharing services. It will tailor the wealth of evidence and learning from the first eight years of CDKN and other international climate programmes to produce highly targeted knowledge and tools to support policy design and implementation. This could include best practices for building climate-resilient water infrastructure or approaches for integrating climate information into agricultural planning.
Facilitating climate leadership and learning
CDKN will continue to bring developing countries together to share their experiences on delivering climate action on the ground. It will facilitate South-South learning, helping to connect professionals who face similar climate and development challenges. Through targeted training on climate and development as well as mentoring and skill-building, CDKN aims to strengthen the capability of individuals in government, business, academia and other spheres to navigate the growing body of climate knowledge and experience, and further cultivate a new generation of climate champions.
“While the effects of climate change are increasingly evident in developing countries, the knowledge that is generated by these countries to adapt to change is becoming more relevant by the day. Therefore, we are happy to support CDKN's work to mobilise Southern knowledge and capacities to overcome climate-related development challenges,” said Robert Hofstede, Associate Director for Climate Change at IDRC.
The initiative will focus initially on the Andean countries of Latin America, parts of Africa and South Asia – with the possibility for collaboration with other countries to join its wider learning and exchange activities. From 2018, CDKN is managed by a new alliance led by non-profit organisation SouthSouthNorth, working with Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, South Asia, and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI).
