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Ouverture ce matin au Centre Togolais des Expositions et Foires de Lomé (CETEF) au Togo de la première édition du Salon International des Savoirs Traditionnels et Bioéconomiques en abrégé SISTRA-BIOECO. SISTRA-BIOECO se veut un cadre d’inspirations, et de transfert de connaissances écologiques, technologiques, socioculturelles et sanitaires pour l’innovation et la réinvention du modèle de croissance économique et industriel. Cette première édition est placée sous le thème « Innovation et Promotion du modèle de croissance bioéconomique », ce salon est initié par le Centre Omnithérapeutique Africain (COA). Il a pour entre autres objectifs de contribuer à la vulgarisation et à la valorisation des savoirs traditionnels bioéconomiques et des innovations compatibles à la sauvegarde de la planète, offrir une opportunité d’affaire dans le domaine bioéconomique et technologique, élargir et renforcer les relations d’ affaire entre les différents exposants nationaux et internationaux. Le ministre Togolais de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche, Octave Nicoué Broohm en ouvrant les travaux ce matin, a martelé : »chacun individu sur notre planète doit contribuer à la sauvegarde de notre patrimoine commune de manière responsable « Les participants sont venus d’Allemagne ,d’Amérique ,de la France ,du Niger ,du Ghana ,du Bénin, du Burkina Faso ,du Sénégal et du Togo ainsi que les institutions de formations et de recherches, les sociétés de productions et de transformations, les institutions économiques, politiques et financières, les organismes ou associations de protection de l’environnement, de la culture, des acteurs de la santé, des chercheurs ,inventeurs ,des entrepreneurs ,des industriels. Au total 256 exposants et plusieurs conférences, ateliers et projections seront également animés par d’éminents chercheurs au cours de cette période. Des rencontres d’affaires, des soirées culturelles, des jeux concours meubleront aussi le salon dont l’apothéose est fixée au 31 Août 2016 à Lomé au Togo.Le Centre Omnithérapeutique Africain (COA) est un établissement d´enseignement supérieur à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel, fondé sur la collaboration et l´interdisciplinarité entre chercheurs universitaires, médecins, pharmaciens, agronomes, religieux, juristes, des acteurs de la santé et de l´écologie.
The opening of the Olympic Games in Rio this year witnessed a dramatic twist that brought fresh impetus to its drive to chase impossible dreams and stretching the limits of human ambition. Beneath the glitz and glamour that characterize the Rio Carnival-like atmosphere, this year ceremony showcased the most impossible sounding dream of all – Africa’s Great Green Wall. A Press Release of August 5th,2016, from United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification , UNCCD says in a Film on Africa’s Great Green Wall featured prominently as one of the highlights of the opening with Fernando Meirelles’ documentary on global reforestation efforts. The film in the Great Green Wall struck a chord as a generation-defining initiative aiming to grow an 8000km natural wonder of the world across the entire width of Africa, against all odds. “The film show efforts to restore vast swathes of degraded land in a region called the Sahel and in the process provide food, jobs and a reason to stay for the millions of people living on the frontline of climate change that may be forced to migrate,” the report stated. Once complete, the Wall will be three times the length of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. More importantly, it is expected to promote peace and strengthen resilience in a region long devastated by drought, war and famine. The Sahel region of Africa is one of the world’s most impoverished – a key reason being the degradation of enormous tracts of fertile land, which form the basis of people’s livelihoods here. Persistent drought, food insecurity, and conflicts over dwindling natural resources are some of the many consequences. Continued inaction means an estimated 60 million people could migrate to Europe from Africa’s degraded areas by 2030. According to statistics from UNCCD, about 40 % of Africa is threatened by desertification with increasing loss of aerable land. The Sahel, a semi-arid transitional zone between the Sahara desert and the savannah, is the focus of efforts to build a "Great Green Wall" to hold back the desert and provide jobs and sustainable development for struggling African nations. Meirelles’ film, which features footage from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s Virtual Reality experience unveiled at last year’s Paris Climate Summit, provides a stark warning of the need to restore natural resources, like land. The progress made since the initiative started a decade ago shows that land restoration efforts on a mass scale are both possible and offer hope. Senegal has already planted 12 million trees, Ethiopia has restored 15 million hectares of degraded land and Nigeria has created 20,000 jobs in rural areas. “The Great Green Wall is about far more than just growing trees. It is a mosaic of interventions weaving across the Sahel region that is helping to build community resilience and provide economic opportunity. Already, it is feeding hungry families and malnourished children, putting people back to work and growing peace and security to help communities thrive once more. Most crucially, it provides young people with a genuine alternative…
The Cameroon government is intensifying efforts against illegal forest exploitation in the country with multiplication of heavy sanctions against defaulters. The National Control Brigade for Control Operations of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife has published its register of litigations for the first quarter of 2016. The report reveals that four logging companies (SITAF, SCDC, South & FILS, SOFIE), had their licenses temporarily suspended, 35 others warned, with over 54.2 million FCFA generated as fines from illegal forestry activities. The companies are accused of fraudulent forest exploitation and the non-respect of provisions. Some 10 companies also had their exploitation licenses suspended. They were Horizon Bois, Martial & Cie, Atlas Commercial, FC PATRUD, FC NKADA KPABO de DONGOGO, FC WOUSS, FC HE KEN MBOUMBOU, FC forêt communautaire and FC GIC Ne KIDONG. The figures were presented to the press in Yaounde on August 4, 2016. The register is published at the end of each quarter and signed by Wildlife and Forestry Minister. It presents illegal forest exploitation offences with sanctions meted on erring companies. Two registers have been published this year. It emerged that after consulting with national controllers who records of offence statements and data collected from external services, as well as the opinion of the legal unit of the Ministry. The sanctions were part of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement that binds Cameroon and the European Union, with focus on addressing illegal logging to improve forest governance and promoting trade in legal timber products to EU markets. The Head of the National Control Brigade for Control Operations, Ella Ondoua Ambroise Rodrigue, said the suspensions would be lifted if the logging companies paid fines levied on them. It is not the first time that the sledge hammer of the ministry of forestry and wildlife is falling on defaulters in the forestry sector
By Isaiah EsipisuDAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (PAMACC News) - Government representatives from Africa, civil society organisations and experts in the water sectors are meeting in Dar Es Salaam to draw a roadmap through which leaders will make commitments at the highest level towards achieving a universal and equitable access to water and sanitation for all.The event, dubbed Sixth Africa Water Week (AWW) and convened by the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) in conjunction with the African Union Commission brings together over 1000 participants from 100 different African countries.“In order for Africa to have a universal access to water, then we need goodwill from both governments, and the people,” said H. E. Mwai Kibaki, the immediate former president for Kenya and the UNESCO Special Envoy for Water in Africa. Bai Mass Taal, the AMCOW Executive Secretary assured government representatives that his organisation was committed to improving stakeholder’s awareness of the implementable actions for achieving the set targets and actions.He said that the organisation is also committed to strengthening corporations across countries with shared water resources and building stronger partnership for the implementation of the AMCOW Work Plan and the N’gor Declaration on Water Security and Sanitation.“It is AMCOW's belief that the current funding landscape for the water sector is grossly insufficient to meet the financial deficit and, most importantly, achieve the Sustainable Development Goal number 6,” said Taal.This, he continued, calls for innovative approaches for financing water and sanitation infrastructure taking into consideration the huge challenge facing Africa in the mobilisation of financial resources to achieve the SDG 6 target of ensuring that everyone has access to potable water and sanitation.Her Excellency Rhoda P. Tumusiime, the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission called for a consensus on a common message from the deliberations in Tanzania.“In the spirit of AMCOW’s mandate to promote cooperation, it is important that a key outcome of our deliberations in Dar es Salaam should be consensus on an a single message that will be carried by our Ministers responsible for Water Affairs in Africa to the political leadership of their individual Member States to support the wholesome integration,” she told the conference in a message read on her behalf.“This should be a minimum standard for Africa – of the targets of the Africa Water Vision 2025 and the related African political commitments for achieving water and sanitation goals in Africa into the monitoring framework for the SDGs,” added Tumusiime.
