ACCRA, Ghana (PAMACC News) - Ghana is poised to be a leader in the global movement to halt land degradation and deforestation which contribute to climate change and affects livelihoods.
The Ghana Dedicated Grant Mechanism (Ghana-DGM) project targets 52 communities within forest and transitional zones in the Brong Ahafo and Western regions. These local constituents will be empowered and supported with knowledge and financing to take steps to reorient their way of living to be sustainable, resilient and climate smart.
The project launch in the Brong Ahafo regional capital, Sunyani, received wide reception from interest groups, especially women, who are confident the initiative will help replenish the lost natural resources for the future generation.
Madam Akua Yeboah, a representative of queenmothers in the target areas, expressed gratitude for the intervention and appreciated the engagement of women in the project planning and implementation.
According to her, the local people are excited at the exposure to knowledge on the causes and impacts of extreme weather conditions.
“We the women are ready to throw in the needed support to make the Ghana DGM work to help improve our farms, livelihoods and marriages,” she said, adding that an enhanced livelihood leads to good marriages which help build good families.
The DGM Intervention
Unsustainable use of fuel wood, illegal logging and mining, uncontrolled wildfires, expansion of cocoa farms and other infrastructure development are factors militating against sustainable lands, forests and water bodies.
For a tropical country like Ghana, the reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere involves reducing deforestation, reforestation, and exploring affordable and sustainable alternatives to fuel wood.
Through the World Bank, the Climate Investment Fund is providing $5.5million to implement Ghana’s DGM over a five year period. Similar projects are being implemented in other countries including Mexico, Indonesia, Burkina Faso, Peru, Brazil and the Congo.
The core goal of the Ghana-DGM is to challenge the target communities to learn more about climate change and how it impacts their daily livelihoods.
“We believe that these very local communities are uniquely placed to help solve the degradation of lands and forests and improve it for their own benefit as well as for the benefit of Ghana,” said project team leader, Dr. Nyaneba Nkrumah.
She observed the daily decisions of these communities impact the forests, soils and water bodies, whilst the local people are also the first to feel the effects of unsustainable practices and climate change.
The project therefore seeks to help the communities to solve the problem by giving them the knowledge and the financing to be able to do so.
“We can make all the policies we want but unless local communities help; they have a part to understand how climate change affects their livelihoods and they can put it to practice what is needed to ensure sustainability in the forest zone, sustainability of the soils and water bodies in a long time to come,” said Dr. Nkrumah.
National Policy and Environmental Protection
Foresters have noted that the shade provided by one healthy matured tree is equivalent to ten room-size airconditioners running 20hours a day.
Local actors under the Ghana-DGM are ready to take advantage of the project to promote sustainable and climate smart practices.
Isaac Gyamfi of project partners, Solidaridad, believes strengthening the knowledge and skills about nature in the local communities will lead to building climate resilient communities that use smart ways to farm and cook.
Nana Oboaman Bofotia Boa Amponsem II of the Sunyani Traditional Council lauded the project, but cautioned political leadership to cease hypocritical utterances and rather act right to protect the environment.
“The environment and economies are destroyed by political leadership,” he observed. “They are building their political parties instead of the nation”.
The chief expects the legal department of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to wield prosecutorial powers to effectively enforce laws on the environment.
The Ghana DGM is expected to foster synergies to drive the implementation of the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the United Nations Convention Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which has targets for climate mitigation and adaptation.
PAMACC, Abidjan-COTE D'IVOIRE
La consommation énergétique de l’Afrique est plus faible que celle de tous les autres continents et la consommation par habitant n'a pratiquement pas changé depuis l’an 2000 comme l’indique l’Atlas des Ressources en Energie de l’Afrique, un rapport publié conjointement par l'ONU Environnement et la Banque Africaine de Développement.
La production énergétique actuelle en Afrique ne répond pas à la demande du marché. Environ un tiers de la population africaine n'a toujours pas accès à l'électricité et 53% de la population dépend de la biomasse pour la cuisine, le chauffage et le séchage. L’énergie nécessaire à deux utilisations d’une bouilloire électrique par une famille britannique correspond à plus de cinq fois l'électricité consommée par un Malien en une année.
Préparé en collaboration avec l’Environment Pulse Institute, le United States Geological Survey et l'Université George Mason, l'Atlas consolide les informations disponibles sur le paysage énergétique en Afrique.
Au cœur du développement d’infrastructures énergétiques
Il fournit ces informations sous forme d'images, de cartes, et d'autres données satellitaires sur les 54 pays africains à travers des visuels détaillant les défis et les opportunités de fournir à la population des services énergétiques fiables, abordables et modernes.
« L'Atlas démontre que l’investissement dans des infrastructures d'énergie verte peut soutenir le développement économique de l'Afrique et favoriser la réalisation des Objectifs de Développement Durable. Il s'agit donc d'un guide important pour les gouvernements africains qui s’évertuent à catalyser leur développement national en utilisant leurs ressources énergétiques propres », a déclaré Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo, Directrice Régionale et
Représentante pour l’Afrique de l'ONU Environnement.
L'Atlas met en avant à la fois le potentiel et la fragilité des ressources énergétiques de l’Afrique qui sont au cœur du développement socio-économique du continent. Il met en lumière quelques exemples de réussite en matière de développement du secteur de l'énergie durable sur le continent, mais aussi les principaux défis environnementaux associés au développement d’infrastructures énergétiques.
L'Atlas aborde les échecs ainsi que les bonnes pratiques de la gestion des déchets dangereux et de la pollution associée aux explorations pétrolières et gazières dans divers pays africains. Il propose également des recommandations sur les opportunités à saisir grâce à l'implication du secteur privé et à la mise en place de partenariats dans le domaine la gestion durable des déchets du secteur de l'énergie.
Un aperçu complet des ressources énergétiques
« L'Atlas fournit un aperçu complet des ressources énergétiques de l'Afrique. Un accent particulier est mis sur les défis liés aux changements climatiques et à la pollution, notamment la pollution atmosphérique, qui entravent la réalisation des ODD », selon Amadou Hott, Vice-Président chargé de l’électricité, de l'énergie, du climat et de la croissance verte à la Banque Africaine de Développement.
Les réserves de charbon, de gaz naturel et de pétrole représentent respectivement 3,6%, 7,5% et 7,6% des réserves mondiales. Une population croissante, une industrialisation soutenue et une urbanisation grandissante signifient une augmentation de la demande en énergie en Afrique.
Seule une fraction minime du potentiel énergétique existant est actuellement exploitée causant un énorme retard du continent dans le secteur de l’industrie en raison d'un accès limité et peu fiable à l'énergie.
Conclusions et préoccupations relevées
Les Principales conclusions et préoccupations relevées par l'Atlas indiquent que la consommation énergétique par habitant en Afrique est la plus faible au monde : bien qu’elle compte 16% de la population mondiale (1,18 milliard de personnes sur 7,35 milliards), la consommation énergétique s’élève à environ 3,3% de l'énergie primaire sur le plan mondial; au rythme actuel, l'Afrique n’atteindra pas l’objectif de l’accès à l’énergie pour tous avant 2080; et de toutes les sources d'énergie existantes, l'Afrique consomme principalement du pétrole (42% de sa consommation totale d'énergie), suivi du gaz (28%), du charbon (22%), de l'hydroélectricité (6%), des énergies renouvelables (1%) et du nucléaire (1%).
Les autres conclusions et préoccupations sont que l'Afrique du Sud est le septième plus grand producteur de charbon au monde et représente 94 % de la production de charbon en Afrique; les ressources énergétiques renouvelables de l'Afrique sont diverses, inégalement réparties et en quantité énormes : son potentiel solaire est quasi illimité (10 TW), l’hydroélectricité est abondante (350 GW), sans oublier l’énergie éolienne (110 GW) et les sources d'énergie géothermique (15 GW); près de 60% des réfrigérateurs utilisés dans les centres de santé en Afrique ne bénéficient pas d’une alimentation en électricité fiable, compromettant le stockage des vaccins et des médicaments : la moitié des vaccins sont perdus en raison du manque de réfrigération; et l'énergie issue de la biomasse représente plus de 30 % de l'énergie consommée en Afrique et plus de 80 % dans de nombreux pays d'Afrique subsaharienne. La pollution intérieure due à la cuisson utilisant la biomasse - une tâche généralement accomplie par les femmes - fera bientôt plus de victimes que le paludisme et le VIH / SIDA réunis.
L'Atlas a également souligné que les ressources énergétique de l'Afrique subsaharienne non découvertes mais techniquement accessibles sont estimées à environ 115,34 milliards de barils de pétrole et 21,05 billions de mètres cubes de gaz; et les femmes souffrent davantage de la pauvreté énergétique que les hommes.
PAMACC, Abidjan, COTE D'IVOIRE
The Africa regional director of United Nations Environment, Julliette Biao Koudenoukpo has called on African countries that have ratified the Bamako Convention to work in synergy with the private sector to better reinforce and drive actions against toxic waste dumping in the continent.
She noted that waste dumping in Africa has become a major concern necessitating synergy of actions, innovations and strong political will for more positive results.
« There is need to strengthen cooperation between the public and private sector, with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of the actions on ground, » she said in an interview on the sidelines of COP2 meeting to the Bamako convention in Abidjan-Ivory Coast January 31st, 2018.
The director enjoined state actors to deepen cooperation with civil society organisations and business partners as part of a broader effort to raise the profile in the fight against toxic waste dumping, poverty and promoting green growth.
She lauded some countries like Ivory Coast that are already heightening efforts to increase the political priority accorded to sound management of chemicals and other waste dumping.
Other UN officials also shared the view of strong partnerships and cooperation to better push the Bamako convention and ensure its effective implementation on the ground by countries that have already ratified the treaty.
“Strengthening synergies between all the different development stakeholders will certainly give a boost to the effective application of the Bamako convention,” says UN Environment Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw said.
He also highlighted the different challenges countries face protecting the planet's critical ecosystems from contamination by hazardous chemicals and waste and the need for joined support and innovative strategies to overcome them.
"At this critical stage it is important for development stakeholders to commit to providing financial support to help countries address these important challenges,” Ibrahim Thiaw said.
Countries were also called to mainstream sound chemicals management in national agendas, create an integrated chemicals and wastes focal area, and expanding engagement with the private sector.
The youths were challenged to lead efforts at preventing Africa from becoming a dumping ground for toxic waste because environmental issues are concern for the future and better livelihood.
“The youths must make their voices heard and front actions on the ground. They are called to increasingly show commitment to get things change for the better because environmental issues are concerns for the future and for improved livelihood,” says Julliette Biao.
She recalled that African nations have long been at the center of incidents involving hazardous waste dumping and that it was time to bring this unfortunate situation to an end.
Important toxic waste dump incidents include the leaking barrels of toxic waste in Koko, Nigeria in 1988 and the Probo Koala scandal in Cote d’Ivoire in 2006, to the current piles of e-waste threatening the health of West African communities.
In an effort to prevent incidents such as ‘Koko’ and ‘Probo Koala’ from happening again, and to reinforce existing international treaties surrounding the shipment and disposal of hazardous waste as established in the Basel Convention and Bamako Convention African states meeting at the second Conference of the Parties (COP2) to the Bamako Convention are expected to come up with strong binding resolutions.
While pursuing the objectives of the Convention,UNEP officials say COP 2 provides the opportunity for the different stakeholders to ensure the continent rids itself of hazardous wastes and contribute to the achievement of a pollution-free planet.
« The ministers during the high level talks agreed that the time for a new momentum for Africa to rid itself of hazardous waste and contribute to achieving a pollution free planet is now, » Julliette said.
So far only 25 African countries have ratified the Bamako Convention treaty. The new President of the COP2 to the Bamako Convention appealed to the other countries in the continent that are still dragging their feet to ratify and join the struggle.
« We strongly hope countries that are yet to ratify will do so and join in the fight, » says Anne Desiree Ouloto, the new President of COP2 and minister for Public Health,Environment and Sustainable Development of Ivory Coast.
PAMACC in Abidjan, COTE D'IVOIRE
The Second Conference of the Parties to the Bamako Convention (also known COP 2) began this morning in Abidjan, the capital city of Cote d'Ivoire.
The conference will hold from 30th January to 1st February 2018 under the theme: "The Bamako Convention: a platform for a pollution-free Africa."
"COP 2 aspires to provide a platform to discuss ways and means of ensuring that the continent rids itself of hazardous wastes and contribute to the achievement of a pollution-free planet", says Mme Aida Keita M'bo, President of the COP and Malian Minister for Environment, Sanitation and Sustainable Development.
Host Minister and Ivoirian Minister for Public Health, Environment and Sustainable Development, Mme Anne Désirée Ouloto urged her colleagues to work torwards a COP 2 outcome that will "prevent Africa from becoming a dumping ground for toxic wastes through an effective implementation of the Bamako Convention”.
"The importation of hazardous waste into Africa is a crime against humanity and we must commit to prompt action aimed at overcoming barriers to effective management and minimization of waste in Africa through increased knowledge on waste scenarios in order to prevent harm to health and environment,” Mme Ouloto added.
"We have a collective responsibility to safeguard communities from the environmental and health consequences of hazardous waste dumping," said Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Executive Director of UN Environment.
"Africa is not the dustbin of the world" Thiaw added while reinstating UN Environment's commitment to a pollution-free world.
From Basel to Bamako Convention
The Bamako Convention is a treaty of African nations prohibiting the importation of any hazardous (including radioactive) waste into Africa.
The convention which came into force in 1998 is a response to Article 11 of the Basel convention which encourages parties to enter into bilateral, multilateral and regional agreements on Hazardous Waste to help achieve the objectives of the convention.
African Nations established the Bamako Convention in 1991 to complement the Basel Convention.
The Convention, which came into force in 1998, is aimed at protecting the health of populations and the environment of African countries through a ban on the import of all hazardous and radioactive wastes.
It also prohibits the dumping or incineration of hazardous wastes in oceans and inland waters, and promotes the minimization and control of trans-boundary movements of hazardous wastes within the African continent.
The Convention also aims to improve and ensure ecologically rational management and handling of hazardous waste within Africa, as well as the cooperation between African nations.
OPINION
Corruption and climate change are arguably the defining challenges facing the worldtoday. Both problems - and their solutions - are interlinked. In particular, corruption is one of the driving forces behind deforestation and forest degradation, a major cause of climate change (according to the UN, deforestation and forest degradation account for around17 cent of carbon emissions worldwide).
Interventions to reduce deforestation and forest degradation therefore have totake corruption risks into account.There have to be robust anti-corruption mechanisms and sound governance systems in placeto ensure thatforests are preserved transparently and accountably.
The United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism, seeks to conserve forests in developing countries.
Although Kenya’s work on REDD+ began in 2008, little progress has been made in implementing it to conserve the country’s forests.
In 2013, a corruption risk assessment for REDD+ in Kenya prescribeda range of recommendations for different stakeholders. As a result, the Kenya Task Force on Anti-Corruption for REDD+ was established, and operated between 2014 and 2015.Aiming to enhance dialogue among different stakeholdersabout the relationshipbetween REDD+ and corruption, it brought together national actors working on forest governance, anti-corruption and transparency.
Until recently, corruption and governance were not major parts of conversations in relation to forest conservation. As a result, many REDD+stakeholders in Kenya and the world over had a limitedunderstanding of theconnection between corruption and REDD+ - corruption is almost always a significant factor in the illegal exploitation of forest areas and thus threatens initiatives such as REDD+. The majority of countries that are heavily forested and benefiting from REDD+ are also those where corruption is perceived to be high and corruption is often endemic in the forestry sector of these countries. A new report from Transparency International Kenya found that the taskforce managed to quicklyfill the knowledge gapthrough consultation and information sharing.
The taskforce achieved significant milestones, notably bringing the anti-corruption and transparency agenda into the centre of REDD+ processes.
Additionally, the taskforce brought together an unusually diverse blend of stakeholders in a country with numerous tensions between government institutions, civil society and indigenous communities. This collaboration enabled progressive dialogue about corruption and governance to take place in various parts of the forestry sector.
The taskforce, however, seems to have largely focused on national actors, leaving behind county-level stakeholders who are vital in the management of forests. Kenya has a highlydevolved system of governance, meaning that county governments hold considerable responsibility for forest and natural resource governance.
The taskforce encountered other significant challenges, such as resource constraints and significant staff turnover at some of its member organisations. Coupled with a lack of proper documentation of the taskforce’s work, this made it challenging for successor projects to quickly integrate and push on with the work. While these challenges did not prevent the taskforce from achieving significant milestones, they are serious considerations that should be taken into account when establishing other multi-stakeholder approaches.
Kenya’s approach to addressing these challenges in the forestry sector is worth strengthening andreplicating.Kenya is at a crucialstage of developing its framework for REDD+ implementation and the task force has immense potential to make REDD+ successful in the country.
Its founders, including the REDD+ Coordinating Office, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, and Transparency International Kenya,should consider reviving the initiative while addressing the challenges faced during its initial lifespan, including admitting county-level stakeholders.
Read the assessment report on Kenya’s Task Force on Anti-Corruption for REDD+.
Psamson Nzioki leads the Climate Governance Integrity Programme at Transparency International Kenya.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (PAMACC News) - Citizens of Africa have been urged to take advantage of investment opportunities that accompany climate action to earn some money and lift their people from poverty.
Secretary-General of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), Mithika Mwenda, has noted that the renewable energy revolution currently being witnessed in the world provides affordable access to energy to people who would otherwise not have access.
He noted that renewable energy has also aided in the reduction of emissions, thus contributing to the attainment of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ambitions of countries.
“We are witnessing renewable energy revolution and in Africa and the rest of the world, this is an explosive sector,” observed Mithika. “We need to take advantage of the investment opportunities coming with climate action; there are a lot of resources in this to help address poverty”.
At the COP21 climate talks which produced the Paris Agreement, the G7 committed to allocate US$10 billion into the African Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI).
Though there are concerns with delivering the promise, the Initiative, in its current design, will help cure chronic energy poverty by supporting decentralized, modern, off-grid and people-owned energy systems not only for lighting, but also cooking, driving smallholder agribusiness and charging mobile phones.
Mithika added that green energy has helped save lives by reducing indoor pollution.
Fossil fuel vs. renewable energy economies
Mithika Mwenda was addressing an event on low-carbon and climate-resilient development, held on the sidelines of the 2018 African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Most African countries do not contribute any significant amount of greenhouse gases but there are commitments in their NDCs to ensure that their development pathways are carbon neutral.
In a climate-constrained world, investment in fossil fuel-based energy sources no longer makes sense.
But Africa faces the dilemma of whether to rapidly revert to renewable energy, have a mix of both fossil fuels and renewables, or ignore the global call and continue in the unsustainable model of development pursued by industrialized countries which brought the climate crisis.
What is evident, though, is the fact that the global community has shifted.
This shift should make African countries re-think their priority energy sources and investment in oil and in some instances coal, as it may not make economic sense in the long-run.
The Addis Ababa side-event, attended by climate actors from across the continent, is organized strategically to get African leaders to focus attention on climate change issues.
As the first Pan African convention after the COP23, the event offered an opportunity to exchange ideas and reflect on Africa’s victories during the Bonn Climate Change Conference, with a view of charting a collective path towards subsequent Global Dialogue processes on the subject.
“This gives us the platform to develop common African narratives that will have impact on the global stage,” said James Murombedzi, Officer-in-Charge of the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
Moving along the development pathway
Climate change is no longer discussed as a limited environmental or scientific matter but as a development issue.
African civil society therefore looks forward to leaders moving from the rhetoric to taking real action on the ground.
“The momentum for the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the NDCs is picking up, but the question is: are we moving with that pace in Africa?” queried Mithika.
Some countries on the continent have developed very effective policy and legal frameworks to facilitate the implementation in the areas of transparency, adaptation, loss and damage, among others.
But there are others stuck on bureaucracies to push the climate agenda forward.
“We need to think broader about what is the impact of climate change on development. What does it mean for agriculture? What does it mean for energy, for infrastructure? So we are really talking about development,” said Mithika.
He believes that the ClimDev-Africa programme can rally the African continent around in mobilizing action and “we need to ensure that critical centres that support the livelihoods of the African people and which are weather sensitive like agriculture are created”.
The Climate for Development in Africa (ClimDev-Africa) Programme is an initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), established to create a solid foundation for Africa’s response to climate change.
