NYAKACH, Kenya (PAMACC News) - For 25 year old Jacinta Akoth Ocholla from a village in Nyakach sub-county, Kisumu County of South Western Kenya, the small kerosene tin lamp before her, is just, but a painful reminder of a dark past. What she wants to forget is the poor lighting she grew up in; cost and pollution.She used this lamp for her studies, and just last month, Solar Now BV, a clean energy company, installed a strip of solar panels and 7 lamps on the roof of their village house. And now the painful story of kerosene is almost a forgotten one. Solar Now operates renewable energy projects across East Africa with about 50 branch distribution networks in Uganda alone.And when she was asked to display kerosene tin lantern recently - for visitors who wanted to compare its light and that of the solar lamps in their house, - Akoth quickly lost the warm spark on her face. It was visible.This, equally affected her 70-year old mother, Regina Ocholla who was more than ready to demonstrate the good things about the one month they had used solar. She enjoyed a momentary happiness reading a verse from her old bible for the visitors. Both, mother and daughter, felt kerosene tin lantern was a reminder of a dark past.“For the time I have lived I didn't know that one day we will have light at night in this home. Today, for the last one month we have light in this house, day and night,” she said.Even though some of the homesteads in the area including the Ochollas, are connected to government Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) programme, this system has been seen as unreliable.“The new solar system, besides delivering clean lighting, is reliable and sufficient than the government line, which, out of the seven days of the week, lasts only three days forcing us to switch to the kerosene option,” Akoth added.Both of them however, shared positive messages about the solar system. About five people in that family charge their mobile telephones using the system. Now, it is even an income earner for the family. “We charge other peoples' phones here too but at Ksh10 per person. The money we get is used to buy some of the basic items like sugar,” she added.Mrs. Ocholla said, the solar lighting is a blessing to the family. Besides being in the process of addressing the health issues associated with the small kerosene tin lamp, the family has been able to avoid the paraffin costs.“We used roughly Ksh800 or even up to Ksh1000 every month for paraffin alone, but that's now history,” said Mrs. Ocholla. The family used to buy kerosene worthy Ksh20 every day to service four kerosene lamps, locally known as nyangile.Compared to the cost of paraffin for a year that goes to around Ksh12,000 a year and the cost of indoor pollution that comes with the toxic spewing lamp, with an initial deposit of Ksh42, 850 and monthly instalments of Ksh8,…

PAMACC NewsCoalition of women organisations attending the ongoing 3rd United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA-3) today urged the global assembly to prioritise the protection of women human rights and environmental defenders.The women groups under the umbrella of the Women’s Major Group (WMG) made the call at a side event on the challenges facing women’s environmental rights defenders.“Since the effects of pollution outlive all of us, we want a fast-response civil society advisory committee and the strengthening of UNEP’s safeguards and human rights policies if really we are to leave no one behind,” the women groups said.Identifying 2017 as the deadliest year for women’s environmental rights defenders, the women called for increased protection of their rights to indigenous land and resource ownership as they face increased crackdowns, violence, threats, intimidation and murder by state and non-state actors. The Women’s rights group also paid tributes to women who lost their lives this year while highlighting the important role of women rights defenders in creating a pollution-free future. Helen Hakena, Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency, Papua New Guinea said, “We have suffered a 20-year war, which has had a terrible impact on Women. “62% of the men confessed to having raped women. Even though the war has ended, women still face immense aggression from the conflict of resources on our land, where an international mining company operated the largest open pit mine in the world,” she said. “The Panguna mine has destroyed and polluted our land, forest, rivers and food sources, and seeps all profits away, Nehan added” Priscilla Achakpa of the Women’s Major Group revealed that about 200 women’s environmental rights defenders have been assassinated within the past 12 months, mostly killed over land and forest conflicts. “Only last week, we lost Elisa Badayos from the Philippines. But these conflicts are greatly aggravated by pollution,” Achakpa said “Pollution is not incidental but a deliberate and inevitable consequence of a profit-oriented economy of mass production of harmful plastics, pesticides, and fossil fuels,” Priscilla Achakpa added.Apart from this, the WMG chief said Nigerian women are exposed to hazardous chemicals every day. “Samples of human breast milk obtained from Nigeria were found to have high levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants. A study found over 15,000 metric tonnes of pesticides per year were imported into the country between 1983 -1990,” Achakpa said. In Kenya, some 5000 people are exposed to Mercury pollution in Artisanal Small-scale Gold Mining sites. “Mercury is banned under the Minamata Convention, negotiated here at UNEP but in the impoverished community that I’m working with they don’t have much option,” says Griffins Ochieng from the Centre for Environmental Justice and Development (CEJAD), a Kenya based NGO.“Mining gold and mixing it with mercury is the only knowledge they have and the main source of income. Communities do not have access to information about the hazards of using mercury. We need our government to stop mercury trade,” Ochieng added.

PAMACC News (NAIROBI, Kenya) Environmental degradation has emerged as a major challenge of the 21st century, threatening communities and increasing poverty. Societies across the globe have continued to suffer from a persistently unfavourable environmental degradation leading to historical climate change disasters especially among vulnearble communties, experts say. In a fragile global context, innovative ideas are needed more than ever to protect and conserve the environment and fight against the effects of climate change says Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UN Environment. It is against this backdrop that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), organised a competition to select the best promising innovative environment projects by young people across the globe. Six projects were finally selected and the winners presented at the ongoing UN Environment general assembly December 5, 2017. The six winners dubbed « Young Champions of the Earth » according to UNEP officials are talented individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 with promising ideas to protect or restore the environment. A press release from UNEP notes that the Young Champions were selected by way of an online public vote and the deliberation of a global jury. The six winners selected from over 600 applicants are, Kaya Dorey from Canada, Eritai Kabetwei- Kiribati, Adam Dixon – UK, Liliana Pazmillo - Ecuador, Omer Badokhon - Yemen and Mariama Mamane from Burkina – Faso. Each of the six winners will receive USD 15,000 in seed funding, mentoring, training to help them realize their environmental ambitions. In a discussion at the award event, the 2017 Young Champions of the Earth shared their innovative ideas geared at creating positive environmental impact. Panelist at the event highlighted the role of global youth in sustainable development and, more specifically, the ways and means to empower youth in decision making processes and harness their creativity to effect change and fight against growing poverty and youth unemployment.. Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment and Ellie Goulding, UN Environment's newest Goodwill Ambassador, joined the conversation with emphasis on what it means to be an environmentalist in 2017. According to UNEP, the selection was very competitive with shortlisted applicants subjected to an online public vote before being considered by a global Jury comprising VICE Media Founder, Suroosh Alvi; She Leads Africa Co-founder, Yasmin Belo-Osagie; UN Environment Head, Erik Solheim; Covestro CEO, Patrick Thomas; and UN Youth Envoy, Jayathma Wickramanayake. Apart from receiving seed-funding, the winners will also get intensive training, tailored mentorship and global publicity to help them bring their big ideas to life. Among the winning projects is that of Mariama Mamane from Burkina Faso who wants to address the energy deficit in Africa and the devastating degradation of cropland caused by chemical fertilizers. Her project, “JACIGREEN", offers an innovative eco-solution to the problem of water hyacinth, which, she says without controlled management, can be devastating for the environment. Water hyacinth she says is an invasive alien species that grows very rapidly in the waterways of the Niger River. Although not inherently harmful, initially purifying the waterway in…

.PAMACC News (NAIROBI, Kenya) The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) has reiterated its commitment to exploring solution pathways to a cleaner and safer African environment, but the organisation requires the necessary resources to walk the talk. The President of AMCEN and Gabonese Minister of Forest, Sea and Environment, Pacome Moubelet Boubeya, told environment journalists at the ongoing UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya December 5, 2017 that the organisation cannot play its role fully without the much needed finance and urged its member-states to clear their outstanding commitments to the conference. Many of the AMCEN member-states have not been paying their annual contributions to the organisation, it was disclosed «We know much is expected from AMCEN and we have a clear plan of action to drive our assigned role but we also need funds to do this, « says Pacome.The President said the organisation was aware of the numerous environment and climate change challenges faced by African countries, promising to make sure they get the necessary support from AMCEN. « Our mandate to accompany African governments, institutions provide advocacy for environmental protection in Africa, ensure that basic human needs are met adequately and in a sustainable manner is very clear, » Pacome explained. He however added that many obstacles lie ahead of the implementation phase of AMCEN action plan, calling on the different governments to work in tandem with the organisation for the interest of Africa. «Africa is rich, endowed with resources. We just need to believe in ourselves and work together to get what we want, » he said. Accordingly, the measures adopted by AMCEN in seeking solutions to environmental concerns in Africa have consistently been participatory and consultative since its inception.The President lauded the achievements of the organisation so far. « The existence of AMCEN today impacts on the manner in which environmental issues are being handled in the region. It has among others contributed to strengthening Africa’s participation and active involvement both in global negotiations and in international agreements on the environment, » he noted. Accordingly regular sessions of AMCEN have been convened every second year since its inception to discuss environmental and development issues. It should be recalled that the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) was established in December 1985, following a conference of African ministers of environment held in Cairo, Egypt. Its mandate accordingly is to provide advocacy for environmental protection in Africa, ensure that basic human needs are met adequately and in a sustainable manner and that social and economic development is realized at all levels. The method adopted by AMCEN in seeking solutions to environmental concerns in Africa has been participatory involving the different stakeholders. The President said they have also been very active at the UN general assembly of high-level policy makers and global experts on environmental management. At the opening of one of the high level sessions, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta lauded the global leadership of sustainable management of the environment. “Working together in the fight against…