MIDRAND, South Africa (PAMACC News) - Legislators at the Pan African Parliament are eager to pursue industrialised countries, whose activities have resulted in excess emission of greenhouse gasses that have led to global warming, but the African civil society on climate change has a different message.
Latest research findings in Kenya for example, show that temperatures have risen in all the country’s 21 semi arid counties with five of them surpassing the 1.5 °C mark in the past 50 years. This, according to the study, has led to sharp reduction in livestock population, impacting heavily on livelihoods.
Paris Agreement on climate change calls for international interventions to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.
“The changing climatic conditions is a problem all over Africa, and the first thing we must do, is accept that there is a problem that must be tackled immediately before pursuing those who caused it,” said Augustine Njamnshi, a board member of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), which brings together over 1000 African climate related civil society organisations.
“If a man puts your house on fire, will you start by pursuing the man, or will you try and put out the fire, then follow up with the arsonist thereafter?” asked Njamnshi during a training workshop for African Members of Parliament in Midrand, South Africa.
The Kenyan study, which was conducted by scientists from the Kenya Markets Trust (KMT), commissioned by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Canada and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) – through a project known as Pathways to Resilience in Semi-arid Economies (PRISE) reveals that cattle population has reduced by over 26% between 1977 and 2016.
“Our projections show that the temperatures are going to increase even further in the coming years, and the impact is likely going to be more devastating,” said Dr Mohammed Said, one of the PRISE researchers.
During the MPs training in Midrand, the lead trainer, Stephen Mutimba pointed out that African continent, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, is exposed to climate variability and extremes at frequencies which exceed normal thresholds, and that such events could significantly erode gains already made in poverty reduction.
There is therefore need for different countries to devise coping mechanisms so as to save livelihoods.
Mutimba said that governments can only prepare for disasters that may result from the extreme weather events only if they have access to adequate climate information.
“Climate information and services are key resources for governments and communities to prepare for these changes and when well integrated into policy and practice, they can help reverse this trend and enhance cross-sectoral climate resilient development,” he told the legislators.
According to Mithika Mwenda, the PACJA Secretary General, there is urgent need for legislators to work hand in hand with the civil society and researchers for climate adaptation and in advancing the climate discourse at the global level.
“We all need to embrace the Talanoa dialogue,” said Mithika. ‘Talanoa’ is a traditional word used in Fiji and across the Pacific to reflect a process of inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue. The purpose of Talanoa is to share stories, build empathy and to make wise decisions for the collective good. The process of Talanoa involves the sharing of ideas, skills and experience through storytelling.
Amongin Jacquiline, the Chairperson of the PAP Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Natural resources and Environment agreed with Mithika, saying that the Talanoa dialogue will help in stock taking of the achievements so far, as well as the challenges, which should inform the way Africa should engage in global climate negotiations.
Studies have shown that Africa is highly vulnerable to climate change, especially in water, agriculture, forestry, and coastal development sectors.
World Food Programme estimates that about 650 million people live in arid or semi-arid areas where floods and droughts impact lives and productivity.
In the arable land areas within the Sub-Saharan Africa region, scientists say that there will be a decrease of 19% in maize yields, and 68% for bean yields. As a result, severe child stunting (leading to higher mortality risk) could increase by 31%–55% across the region by 2050 due to climate change.
“The earlier we start tackling the challenge of climate change, the better for our continent,” said Njamnshi.
The one day training was organised by the Africa Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) in collaboration with PACJA to enhance MPs' knowledge and understanding of the potential application of Climate Information Sercice policies in development planning with the aim of catalyzing the uptake and use of climate services by vulnerable communities.
MIDRAND, South Africa (PAMACC News) - Legislators at the Pan African Parliament are eager to pursue industrialised countries, whose activities have resulted in excess emission of greenhouse gasses that have led to global warming, but the African civil society on climate change has a different message.
Latest research findings in Kenya for example, show that temperatures have risen in all the country’s 21 semi arid counties with five of them surpassing the 1.5 °C mark in the past 50 years. This, according to the study, has led to sharp reduction in livestock population, impacting heavily on livelihoods.
Paris Agreement on climate change calls for international interventions to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.
“The changing climatic conditions is a problem all over Africa, and the first thing we must do, is accept that there is a problem that must be tackled immediately before pursuing those who caused it,” said Augustine Njamnshi, a board member of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), which brings together over 1000 African climate related civil society organisations.
“If a man puts your house on fire, will you start by pursuing the man, or will you try and put out the fire, then follow up with the arsonist thereafter?” asked Njamnshi during a training workshop for African Members of Parliament in Midrand, South Africa.
The Kenyan study, which was conducted by scientists from the Kenya Markets Trust (KMT), commissioned by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Canada and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) – through a project known as Pathways to Resilience in Semi-arid Economies (PRISE) reveals that cattle population has reduced by over 26% between 1977 and 2016.
“Our projections show that the temperatures are going to increase even further in the coming years, and the impact is likely going to be more devastating,” said Dr Mohammed Said, one of the PRISE researchers.
During the MPs training in Midrand, the lead trainer, Stephen Mutimba pointed out that African continent, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, is exposed to climate variability and extremes at frequencies which exceed normal thresholds, and that such events could significantly erode gains already made in poverty reduction.
There is therefore need for different countries to devise coping mechanisms so as to save livelihoods.
Mutimba said that governments can only prepare for disasters that may result from the extreme weather events only if they have access to adequate climate information.
“Climate information and services are key resources for governments and communities to prepare for these changes and when well integrated into policy and practice, they can help reverse this trend and enhance cross-sectoral climate resilient development,” he told the legislators.
According to Mithika Mwenda, the PACJA Secretary General, there is urgent need for legislators to work hand in hand with the civil society and researchers for climate adaptation and in advancing the climate discourse at the global level.
“We all need to embrace the Talanoa dialogue,” said Mithika. ‘Talanoa’ is a traditional word used in Fiji and across the Pacific to reflect a process of inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue. The purpose of Talanoa is to share stories, build empathy and to make wise decisions for the collective good. The process of Talanoa involves the sharing of ideas, skills and experience through storytelling.
Amongin Jacquiline, the Chairperson of the PAP Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Natural resources and Environment agreed with Mithika, saying that the Talanoa dialogue will help in stock taking of the achievements so far, as well as the challenges, which should inform the way Africa should engage in global climate negotiations.
Studies have shown that Africa is highly vulnerable to climate change, especially in water, agriculture, forestry, and coastal development sectors.
World Food Programme estimates that about 650 million people live in arid or semi-arid areas where floods and droughts impact lives and productivity.
In the arable land areas within the Sub-Saharan Africa region, scientists say that there will be a decrease of 19% in maize yields, and 68% for bean yields. As a result, severe child stunting (leading to higher mortality risk) could increase by 31%–55% across the region by 2050 due to climate change.
“The earlier we start tackling the challenge of climate change, the better for our continent,” said Njamnshi.
The one day training was organised by the Africa Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) in collaboration with PACJA to enhance MPs' knowledge and understanding of the potential application of Climate Information Sercice policies in development planning with the aim of catalyzing the uptake and use of climate services by vulnerable communities.
NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Thousands of farmers in six African countries now enjoy improved security and quality of their food supply, courtesy of Food Africa programme.
The 20,000 farmers in Kenya, Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal and Uganda have not only had improved the security and quality of their food supply, but their activities have changed the fortunes of other 200,000 people in their communities.
“FoodAfrica has been an extremely interesting and rewarding programme,” said Mila Sell, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Institute Finland.
She said her team has worked directly with people at different levels, ranging from academics, policy makers, through to farmers, and they’ve given us immediate feedback.
“Through collaboration with these excellent partners, we have witnessed encouraging results. This initiative has definitely increased their knowledge and abilities on sustainable production of healthy and safe food. However, there is still a lot to be done to reach the Zero Hunger Sustainable Development Goal in Africa. The work must continue,” Sell said.
“An important achievement of the 2012-2018 programme’s work on innovative extension approaches was engaging volunteer farmer trainers to help increase the reach and sustainability of agricultural extension services,” said Dr Steven Franzel, an agricultural economist at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
As a result, Franzel revealed, 85 organizations across four countries adopted the volunteer farmer trainer approach, or modified the approach they were using, in part due to exposure to FoodAfrica’s research.
“These organizations’ volunteer farmer trainers, in turn, work with several hundred thousand farmers,” he said.
Mercy Nyambura of World Agroforestry Centre, said the programme has enabled scientists to network soil laboratories across Africa and in the world.
“This will allow us to test our soils so that we recommend which seeds, fertilisers and other measures can be used for improved production of food on the continent,” Ms Nyambura said.
FoodAfrica Programme, funded by the Government of Finland, works from solid research to effective action, and has enhanced sustainable food production, food safety and nutrition, and market access and agricultural extension.
“The research component of the programme has seen the production of 300 publications and training materials targeting farmers, agricultural extension workers, academia and policy makers,” Franzel said.
The programme has also enabled 31 people from the six countries to obtain Masters and PhD degrees, highlighting the importance of building national capacity to ensure sustainability of food security.
Among several other activities, the research included learning how to reduce the risk of aflatoxins in crops and milk, increase the profitability of dairy production through improved management and create new methods to improve soil properties.
“Through improved post-harvest methods, including drying, and using traditional fermenting methods, farmers reduced aflatoxin contamination by 80 per cent,” Franzel said.
Researchers mapped micronutrients in soils, providing information to policy makers and recommendations for farmers on how to improve the quality of their soils.
FoodAfrica is implemented by the University of Helsinki, Häme University of Applied Science, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE) and four CGIAR centres: Bioversity International, International Food Policy Research Institute, International Livestock Research Institute and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
DJA, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - The Dja Conservation Complex in Cameroon globally recognized for its importance in biodiversity is increasingly in danger. Reports by the African Wildlife Foundation says the Dja and its wildlife face an uncertain future with rampant poaching, timber exploitation, the expansion of industries like mining and forestry and a lack of adequate support.
The government says it is hence working in partnership with other stakeholders to reinforce protection of the forest and its surrounding rich resources.
It is against this backdrop that the government, through the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT) recently signed a partnership convention with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to handle environmental aspects of the Integrated Development and Planning Programme of the Dja Mining Loop and the Adjacent Border Area (PADI DJA).
Mining operations are expected to take place in the Dja Faunal Reserve which spans across the South and East Regions, thus protecting the important animal and plant species therein becomes imperative, officials say.
Hanson Njiforti, Director of WWF-Cameroon Country Office Programme who signed for his institution pointed on the need to reduce the human and environmental impact of any development project in the area.
According to Hanson Njiforti the convention will give WWF a legal framework to exercise in protecting the Dja. “We sometimes neglect the impact of some of our activities on the environment. A project carried out without considering the impact on the environment can cost us a lot more,” he said, noting that the convention was a good step in the right direction.
WWF Cameroon is expected to provide its assistance, technical expertise and support to PADI DJA, with the principal objective of ameliorating the living conditions of the affected population. WWF Cameroon will also have the task of promoting good governance in the execution of the project and put in place transparency mechanisms to guarantee proper usage of resources allocated to the project among others.
Blondeau Talatala, Coordinator of PADI DJA said they are handling all concerns in view of the future exploitation of the Mbalam iron ore and other similar mining projects in the area.
The Dja reserve was created in 1950, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Since 1992, the reserve has been managed by ECOFAC, the European Union’s Central African Forestry Ecosystems programme.
Covering an area of more than 500,000 hectares, the reserve has important populations of chimpanzees, gorillas, elephants and buffalo. It is thought to contain some of the highest levels of biodiversity compared to any other forest in Africa.
But the Dja reserve has also long been the source of conflict with local communities who are angered at their exclusion from the reserve and the imposition of strict anti-hunting bans.
