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 (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). 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.

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…

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.

Patrick Makuluni is a lecturer in the Mining Department of the University of Malawi, the Polytechnic and he is participating in a scientific research known as ‘Hidden Crisis’, under a project aimed at Unlocking the Potential of Groundwater for the benefit of the poor (UpGro).Makuluni holds MSc in Mineral Exploration and Mining Geology from Curtin University in Australia and BSc in Civil Engineering from University of Malawi, the Polytechnic. Recently, the scientist published a paper showing how to recognise where sediments (the exact piece of rock) are coming from by using the geometrical properties of the sediments as opposed to the more expensive methods that have been used previously. PAMACC News reporter Isaiah Esipisu interviewed Makuluni during the recently concluded 41st Water Engineering and Development Center (WEDC) conference at the Engerton University, in Kenya’s Nakuru County. Below are the excerpts:Q. How did you know about the UpGro project, and how did you join the team?I was recruited by the Principal Investigator for the Hidden Crisis Project, Professor, Eng. Theresa Mkandawire. By then, September 2017, I was just coming into Malawi from Australia where I was doing my MSc in Mineral Exploration and Mining Geology. This was after data collection of phase one of the UpGro project had just been completed. Q. In which UpGro study are you working on in Malawi? I am the team leader for the physical science team of the phase two of the Hidden Crisis Project in Malawi. The study project seeks to completely understand failures of water points and how to keep water flowing from boreholes to reduce waste and thus improve water services for Africa’s poorest communities.Q. What are the early findings of the study?Some of the early findings of the study include the following: Functionality of boreholes in Malawi has been affected by theft and vandalism. This comes in because of lack of proper security principles from the borehole users and other factors beyond their control. Poor water quality in some boreholes has also led people to stop using such boreholes and look for alternative sources. Most boreholes have failed due to poor or lack of proper maintenance. This has been due to several factors including poverty, lack of proper management to raise funds for maintenance among other reasons.Poor downhole conditions also leads to frequent borehole breakdowns and poor water quality which both affect the borehole functionality. Some or most of the boreholes have silted up which reduces their capacity to cater for the communities. Political issues from the government and within the communities also affect borehole functionality. Q. What new lessons have you learned through this study?This study has taught me a lot of lessons. Firstly, I have learned how to be a good team leader in the field and in the offices. Being in the field (remote areas) is not an easy thing and more to that, making sure that every member of the team is happy with all the activities was not an easy thing. I have also learned to…