ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (PAMACC News) - There is a significant disconnect between global policy optimism on the benefits of REDD+ and local realities, experts said Thursday at the start of a two-day talkson “Market policy versus market mechanisms in the implementation of the Paris Agreement”.“REDD+ is alive but not well” Dr. Adeniyi Kashwan of the University of Connecticut told a cross-section of climate change experts in Addis Ababa.As climate change continues to threaten mankind, the world depends in part on forests to diminish its devastating effects.“Forests cover 30% of the world’s land surface and are also one of the world’s best methods of storing carbon, absorbing 2.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and storing billions more” said Dr. Wallace Anacho, an environmentalist.According to scientists, deforestation rates have increased significantly in Africa in the last decades jeopardizing the efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change. One initiative to stop deforestation is Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and (forest) Degradation commonly referred to as REDD+. About 29 African countries are involved in the REDD+ project.“The basic idea of REDD+ is that, you pay countries and indigenous populations to plant and protect forests” said Dr. Yetibitu Moges of the Ethiopian Ministry of environment, forest and climate change.The payment usually comes in form of credits referred to as carbon credits and it is expected to provide an alternative way of life to indigenous populations that hitherto relied on forest products to survive.That is what is supposed to happen but experts are now worried that since the initiation of REDD+ by the United Nations, rights of some local communities have been abused.“The future is not as bright as expected. In many countries we are seeing rights abuses. Here, we are talking about right to land, right to forests, right to take things out of the forest not just timber but vegetable food, non-timber forest products that people rely on for survival” said Dr. Adeniyi adding that bans on forest exploitation have in many cases proved detrimental to local communities.“In enforcing these bans we see the use of military force, police and rangers often going into the forest with sophisticated ammunition to harass and terrorize communities. We have seen these in many African countries sometimes resulting in the loss of lives”.The theory that you exclude indigenous communities from using the forest and then give them alternative means to survive has in many cases not materialized on the field, Dr. Adeniyi said. “The carbon credit is often shared between consultants, sometimes foreign consultants and governments and a little bit offered to communities. So what is given to communities, if at all anything is given to them from REDD+ benefits is nothing compared to what they are losing. These benefits cannot sustain livelihoods that indigenous people have developed over time”In spite of the shortcomings, there is a common agreement that REDD+ remains one of the most effective ways of protecting forests. At the Addis Ababa talks, experts were unanimous that there needs to be checks and…

PAMACC, Abuja - NIGERIA Between February and March 2017, three students of Queens College Lagos; Vivian Osuinyi, Bithia Itula and Praise Sodipo, died from consuming water from a contaminated water tank in the school.The story made headlines as a result of the magnitude of the issue and the effect of negligence on water pollution.These issues were further compounded with reports of persons dying and getting illnesses from consuming water from unsafe sources.There have been reports of deaths from cholera cases and from other water-borne diseases in parts of the country.Although Nigeria has made considerable progress in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector, access to high-quality, reliable, and sustainable services remains low.According to the 2017 WASH Poverty Diagnostic by the World Bank, Nigeria needs to invest three times its current investment to improve the decaying WASH sector and also to meet the Sustainable Development Goal six on water and sanitation by 2030.The report offers an overview of poverty in Nigeria, considers the relationship between poverty and WASH, explores demographic patterns influencing access to WASH, and analyzes the relationship between WASH and child health outcomes.Experts say the 2018 World Water Day with the theme, 'Nature for Water' is an opportunity to explore nature-based solutions to the water challenges in the 21st century.According to the UN Water Website, damaged ecosystems affect the quantity and quality of water available for human consumption, with 2.1 billion people globally living without safe drinking water at home; affecting their health, education and livelihoods.The SDG six commits the world to ensuring that everyone has access to safe water by 2030, and includes targets on protecting the natural environment and reducing pollution.In Nigeria for instance, stakeholders have, on many occasions, called for adequate funding of policies on water resources to achieve greater socio-economic developments.Mr Hassan Bdliya, Chairman, Global Water Partnership in Nigeria, said apart from funding, Nigeria needed to understand that water was a resource that could finish if not properly used in line with the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).He said the IWRM emphasised the need to use water, putting in consideration sustainability, equity and reduce conflict that might come from poor use of water resources..Bdliya said stakeholders were fond of developing water resources without following guidelines or principles and they somewhat ended up creating problems.Corroborating this view, Mr Michael Ale, President, Association of Waterwell Drilling Rig Owners and Practitioners (AWDROP), said 85 per cent of Nigerians depend on underground sources which are overburdened and usually contaminated.Ale stressed the need for the Federal and state governments to address pollution of water sources by illegal drilling activities in the country, saying failure to do so could lead to more outbreaks of water-borne diseases in the country.He said the water situation in the country was a time bomb, which needed to be addressed, adding that so long as drilling was done indiscriminately, its benefit may be lost.At a two-day retreat on Revitalisation of Nigeria's Water and Sanitation (WASH) Sector, recently, participants recommended that the President, Muhammadu Buhari…

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - The Cameroon government says it is intensifying efforts to protect wetlands. An inventory conducted recently by the ministry of environment shows that of the hundreds of wetlands existing, the country can boast of six wetlands of international importance. These, according to the Minister of environment, Hele Pierre, include the flood plain of Waza Logone, the wetlands of the Bakassi Peninsula, part of the Ntem and Sanaga Rivers, the crater lake of Barombi-Mbo and Lake Chad. Speaking at a workshop in Yaounde recently, Hele Pierre said heavy sanctions will be taken against people who encroach into wetland areas in violation of the law.He recalled that wetlands are no go areas for human habitation and potentially disastrous for the population.Environment experts say Wetlands are ecosystems with depth of not more than six metres and where water is the most determinant factor and constitute a potentially dangerous zone for habitation.The minister stated that by adhering to the Convention on wetland protection, Cameroon is manifesting its willingness to manage the wetlands for the wellbeing of the population. This was marked by the creation of the National Ramsar Committee and the national focal point to deal specifically with issues of wetlands. In addition, and projecting the importance Cameroon attaches to wetlands, a Network of Parliamentarians on wetlands was created while several integrated management project such as the Ebogo Ramsar site, Cameroon’s portion of Lake Chad and the Bakassi Peninsula are being elaborated officials said.“We need to give the wetland ecosystem the importance and value it deserves,” says Prudence Galega, secretary general in the ministry of environment and nature protection.She also disclosed that since November 2008, Cameroon is a member of the Conference of Committee – the highest decision making organ of the Ramsar Convention. Galega acknowledged however, that in spite of the progress made, the government still needs to put in much for the population to directly feel the impact of the results recorded so far.Government recommended the elaboration of a national policy on wetlands as one of the priorities for the said objective to be attained. "To succeed in drawing benefits from wetlands by the population, we must ensure the respect of environmental norms in their exploitation," Helé told his collaborators and other stake holders working in the domain of nature protection, preservation and conservation. Public administrations, NGOs and development partners were also urged to adopt a multi-sectoral approach in the management of ecosystems. The government called on people recovering wetlands for construction purposes in the Yaounde VI council area to desist from such practices which are not ecologically friendly. The Minister of the Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development, Hele Pierre, who led a delegation on a field visit to wetlands in the Simbock neighbourhood condemned the uncontrolled occupation of wetland areas by the population. The field assessment of the marshy area was to mark the 21st edition of the World Wetlands Day in Cameroon. The commemoration was celebrated under the theme “Wetlands for a sustainable urban…

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - It will take more than policy change for Africa to shift from the fuel to the renewable energy economy, scientists have warned. Prof. James Nyang’aya, of the University of Nairobi, says governments must be ready to invest in clean innovation and technology, if the continent is to make the next growth leap. “It is not an easy replacement process,” says Prof. Nyang’aya. “Renewable energy must be accompanied by devices that are able to function with new power sources.”Experts at an April UN summit in Nairobi singled out the transport sector as the most urgent economic engine that needs to shift from ‘dirty’ to ‘clean’ fuel. According to the report, hybrid electric vehicles, continued use of old vehicles is one of the leading contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, using over a quarter of the world’s energy. It recommends the adoption of light duty vehicle fleets by African governments. “The push all over the world is about making renewable energy as efficiently accessible as fossil fuels,” says Prof. Nyang’aya. “Africa should find out what works economically and environmentally.” However, East Africa has made headways in ensuring its vehicle fleet uses petroleum products that are of very high standards, says Wanjiku Manyara, of the Petroleum Institute of East Africa. According to her, the region imports fuel products with less than 50 ppm, adding that: “The East African Community is the only one outside the AU that was able to enforce and harmonize regional standards that met the international threshold.” But a growing number of experts prefer innovation to ride along policy change, if Africa is to achieve the green mile. Jane Akumu of UN Environment says governments should build bigger lanes to enable people to walk and cycle. At the same time, walkways should be lined with fruit trees to protect pedestrians with shade and even provide edibles. “There is a lot of advancement in terms of the fuel economy,” says Akumu while wondering: “Why is Africa not taking advantage of where the world is moving?”