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 énergétiquesIl 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 etReprésentante 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…

ABIDJAN, Cote d'Ivoire (PAMACC News) - Early intervention and strong political will to fight against environmental harzards have helped Ivory Coast avert what would have been a damaging toxic dumping tragedy, says a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) audit report.The audit report presented today at the Bamako COP 2 assembly in Abidjan, lauded the timely intervention of the Ivorian government with measures to mitigate what would have been the worst environmental disaster in the country.“It is reassuring to see that with early intervention and strong political will, a disaster like the chemical contamination incident in Côte d’Ivoire can be mitigated over time,” UN Environment Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw said.“This independent and scientific environmental audit of the sites gives us access to a vault of best practices and pitfalls of the disaster response, and allows us to learn from a tragedy like this,” he added.The UNEP regional director for Africa Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo noted that though there was general lethargy in most African countries to implement the Bamako Convention on preventing Africa from becoming the dumping ground for toxic waster, the example from Ivory Coast shows that innovative pathways can bring lasting solutions once there is a clear political will."We are proud of the measures put in place by the government of Ivory Coast to fight against toxic waste dumping and environmental pollution," she noted. It should be recalled that national and international civil society organisations decried the illegal dumping of toxic waste in and around Abidjan, Ivory Coast, six years ago, by a multinational company, Trafigura.Different organisations had published reports including documentation of various illnesses people in the areas where such dumping were taking place have been suffering from as a result of the dumping of toxic waste in their communities.But the good news is that the Ivorian government reacted promptly to ward off what experts say would have been the worst environmental disaster in the entire West Africa.The UN Environment thus conducted an independent audit of the sites affected by the 2006 waste dumping from the Probo Koala in various parts of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.According to the audit, multiple innovative actions were put in place just on time by the government.The audit noted that in reality on 19 August 2006 the Probo Koala, chartered by shipping firm Trafigura, offloaded 528 cubic metres of liquid waste in the port of Abidjan. The waste was then transferred onto tanker trucks operated by a local contractor and dumped in 12 different locations around Abidjan.Hours after the dumping, residents reported being overwhelmed by a strong smell and experiencing detrimental health effects such as respiratory difficulties and skin irritations.As a precautionary measure, the Ivorian government ordered the closure of schools in affected areas and the destruction of fruits and vegetables grown near dumping sites.Livestock raised in proximity to some sites was also culled while fishing was banned in the bays of the Ébrié Lagoon.In other measures the government provided medical assistance and facilities to over 100.000 people affected just weeks immediately following the…

2018 Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism The Kurt Schork Memorial Fund (KSMF) is now accepting submissions for its 2018 awards in international journalism. Since its inception in 2002, the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund has sought to support those journalists Kurt most admired, the freelancers and local reporters whose work is often poorly paid, mostly unsung and all too often fraught with danger. Today, the three annual awards, for freelance and local journalism and, since 2017, for news fixers, are recognized worldwide as a mark of excellence and have an established track record for brave reporting on conflict, corruption and injustice. The 17th annual call for awards is therefore now split into three categories: a Local Reporter award that recognizes the often over-looked work of journalists in developing nations or countries in transition who write about events in their homeland. a Freelance award for those journalists who travel to the world’s conflict zones, usually at great personal risk, to witness and report the impact and consequences of events. A News Fixer award rewarding local journalists and/or experts, hired by a visiting foreign reporter or news organization, whose guidance and local knowledge materially benefited the content, impact and reach of the stories submitted. Each award is for $5,000 and will be presented at a prestigious ceremony in London in late October or November 2017. Since 2009, the awards ceremony has been hosted at the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s main offices in Canary Wharf, London. The deadline for entries is midnight (GMT) on Wednesday, May 31. If you would like to apply, or make a nomination for the newly introduced News Fixer award, please visit the 2018 entry form page which provides definitions for each of the award categories and will guide you through the application process. Some of the main detail is also included below: 2018 Submission criteria Three separate articles must be submitted, including when journalists are nominating fixers for the new award. The submitted articles must have been published between June 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018. Accepted media: any print-based medium, such as newspapers and magazines, or established online publications. Blogs, personal websites and social media pages or channels are not accepted. Articles can encompass war reporting, human rights issues, cross-border troubles, corruption or other controversial matters impacting on people’s lives. Judges will be looking for professionalism, high journalistic standards, and evidence of dedication and courage in obtaining the story. Because of problems with scanned entries and failed links in previous years, we require that each article be provided as a text file – MS Word (.doc or .docx) or similar text format (.rtf), or a PDF of a text file. You may supply a URL link to your article(s), or a scan (as a PDF or JPG file) as supporting evidence of the publication context, but your entry will be disqualified if you do not also submit the required text files. The awards panel will take into account nominations for fixers who have received more than one recommendation…

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (PAMACC News) - Africa could see its energy shortfall significantly improved with the launch of a map showing the continents rich resource potentials and opportunities for investors in especially renewable energy exploitation. The new Atlas launched today January 30th,2018 in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire,by the UN Environment and African Development Bank shows energy exploitation hot spots in the continent and some opportunities up for grabs for investors in the sector. Prepared in cooperation with the Environment Pulse Institute, United States Geological Survey and George Mason University, the Atlas consolidates the information on the energy landscape in Africa. It provides information in the form of detailed ‘before and after’ images, charts, maps and other satellite data from 54 countries through visuals detailing the challenges and opportunities in providing Africa’s population with access to reliable, affordable and modern energy services. “The Atlas makes a strong case that investments in green energy infrastructure can bolster Africa’s economic development and bring it closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo, Director and Regional Representative, UN Environment, Africa Office. “It is an important policy guide for African governments as they strive to catalyze national development by making use of their energy resources,” she added. The Atlas shows both the potential and the fragility of the continent’s energy resources which are at the heart of Africa’s socio-economic development. It highlights some success stories of sustainable energy development around the continent, but it also puts the spotlight on major environmental challenges associated with energy infrastructure development. The report accompanying the launch notes that Africa is endowed with enormous renewable and non-renewable resources that can be tapped by investors to boost economic development and fight against poverty. Investments in green energy infrastructure can bolster Africa’s economic development and bring it closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals , the report says. Energy consumption in Africa is the lowest in the world, and per capita consumption has barely changed since 2000 shows.Some useful findings contained in the Atlas include; that the poorest African households spend 20 times more per unit of energy than wealthy households when connected to the grid. It also revealed that Africa has the world’s lowest per capita energy consumption: with 16 per cent of the world’s population (1.18 billion people out of 7.35 billion) it consumes about 3.3 per cent of global primary energy. With current trends, it will take Africa until 2080 to achieve full access to electricity. Of all energy sources, Africa consumes most oil (42 per cent of its total energy consumption) followed by gas (28 per cent), coal (22 per cent), hydro (6 per cent), renewable energy (1 per cent) and nuclear (1 per cent). Africa is the world’s seventh largest coal producer and accounts for 94 per cent of Africa’s coal production. Africa’s renewable energy resources are diverse, unevenly distributed and enormous in quantity — almost unlimited solar potential (10 TW), abundant hydro (350 GW), wind (110 GW) and geothermal energy sources (15 GW). Nearly…