PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (PAMACC News) - The Rivers State Government in South-south Nigeria has set up a task force to investigate the disturbing black soot that has filled the atmosphere, following complaints by Port Harcourt city resident.The task force, which will be backed by technical experts will liaise with major stakeholders to resolve the environmental challenges posed by the black soot.Shortly after an Executive Council meeting, the Commissioner of Information, Dr Austin Tam-George told journalists that the resolution to form the task force was arrived at by the Commissioner of Environment, Professor Roseline Konya, following the preliminary results of Ministerial Investigations, and complaints from city resident. Residents who spoke to PAMACC News Agency said that their vehicles and washed clothes are now dotted by the substance just as some people have reportedly fallen ill possibly due to the effect of the spots. Another affected resident, Mr. Chris Okpala has threatened to sue the state government over the issue.Emmanuel Gawa, a resident in the city said that the soot was first observed in October 2016 adding that it has become a major source of environmental scare for the residents. In the meantime, the state branch of the Nigerian Medical Association has advised residents to close their windows and doors, mop the floor of their houses and possibly wear face masks.Adewale Ojo, an environmentalist observed that the soot falls more at nights and early hours of the morning. The source of the soot in the Niger Delta is believed to be from gas flares, burning of illegal refineries, crude oil, burning of oil spills by incompetent contractors and the burning of sundry wastes. Such soot has been highly linked to cancer and other deadly respiratory infections.Members of the task force to investigate the origin and the health impact of the black soot include the Commissioner of Environment, Professor Roseline Konya, the Commissioner of Special Duties, Emeka Onowu and the Commissioner of Information.

KIGALI, Rwanda (PAMACC News) - African Union Commission has embarked on continent-wide training program to equip various government environmental experts with knowledge on guidelines of how to benefit from Africa Union grants for earth observation.The Coordinator of the Global Monitoring Environment and Security in Africa under AU, Dr Tidiane Ouattara said the training, which kicked off in Kigali, Rwanda involving environmental experts from the Eastern Africa region including the Indian Ocean Islands is the first in a series organized by the African Union Commission (AUC) to be conducted in five regions of the continent.“We are meeting in Kigali with delegates from the Eastern Africa and Indian Ocean Islands to provide them with information on grants for the Global Monitoring Environment and Security in Africa (GMES & Africa) initiative.The GMES & Africa is a cooperation initiative between Africa and Europe in earth observation. First launched in 2007, the initiative avails an opportunity for Africa to utilize Europe’s earth observation services. The initiative seeks to promote development of local capacities, institutional, human and technical resources for sustainable development in Africa.The earth observation initiative aims to provide sustainable, reliable, and timely space-derived environmental and security information to the public and policy-makers at national, regional and continental levels. Dr Tidiane Ouattara said, the initiative has nine thematic areas but aseries of consultation with stakeholders led to prioritization of three themes under two services which are Water & Natural Resources and Marine & Coastal Areas to be implemented in the first phase. GMES & Africa is a €30 million program with the EU providing €29.5 million while the AU will contribute €0.5 million. The coordinator noted that, €17.5 million is earmarked for grants and another part of the money will be paid to European institutions for their technical support and the reminder used for coordination of the program. The coordination unit advised participants that to access the grants, institutions should work together to gain more credibility. The projects accessing the grant are also required to have at least 20% in funds or other necessary materials for executing their projects.Grants will be awardedafter rigorous evaluationsusing AUC procurement procedures, to institutions that will act as regional outlets on the identified applications. Applicants encouragedto access the grants include academic, public and private institutions in the area of earth observation. Among the participants at the meeting is Dr Gaspard Rwanyizire, the Director of the Centre for Geographical Information System (CGIS) at the University of Rwanda. CGIS deals with disaster management and maps by analyzing and advice on land.“As far as Rwanda is concerned, these grants can support to solve problems related to disaster management through innovative technologies, underlined Dr Rwanyizire. “The negative effects of climate change in the region can also be addressed.”After the meeting in Kigali this weekend, the AU training team is scheduled to travel to other different regions of Africa. The West Africa region meeting will be in Dakar from 22 to 23 February; North Africa in Egypt from 27 to 28 February; Central Africa in…

BERTOUA, Cameroon (PAMACC News)—As night falls, scores of timber trucks line up at a weighing station outside the city center here, one of the last rituals before the long road trip to the port city of Douala, nearly 600km away.Every day, trucks like these, with logs of timber stream through bumpy earth roads onto the highway at the dead of night; and head to Douala, from where they are shipped to foreign markets.“The East region is very rich in timber,” says Andre Lepot, a resident in Batouri, a town that has become known for timber exploitation, more than anything else. “We have seen this happen since we were kids.”Timber is Cameroon’s second most important export commodity after crude oil. In the past decades, logging has increased, attracting Chinese, Lebanese, French, and other foreign companies.The country is one of the leading exporters of tropical timber to the European Union. “We have observed a surge in timber trade activities with the increased presence of foreign timber business operators especially from China and Indonesia in the sector,” says Bernard Njonga, coordinator of the Local Development Initiatives Support Service, an NGO in Cameroon.“Cameroon’s forest has continued to be logged to feed the country’s growing timber market.”Logging in Cameroon is shrouded in illegality. Illegal timber exploitation is severe and getting worse in the country, say officials and environmental protection workers.“Without being an expert, I can say that before exploiters fell only large trees,” says ZeVina, a resident of Ebolowa in the South region, another timber exploitation center. “But today we see timber of all dimensions transported away in trucks.”Ze describes Cameroon's timber sector as anarchic. Both legal and illegal exploiters are involved in unlawful activities, particularly harvesting timber below the legal size, and outside designated concessions, he says. Weak legal systems and deteriorating control mechanisms are fueling an unprecedented frenzy of illegal logging and wildlife trade that is fast depleting the nation's natural forest resources, PAMACC News found.“Illegal forest exploitation and logging business in the country has been compounded by ineffective and discriminatory law enforcement,” says Njonga. “This betrays the sincerity of the government in forest governance reforms.”In the East and South regions, vast expanses of forests now lay bare, one of the main consequences of rampant and illegal exploitation. According to Global Forest Watch, an online forest monitoring platform, Cameroon lost 657,000 hectares of forest between 2001 and 2014, with the annual rate of loss rising over the period to around 141,000 hectares in 2014.“The government does not respect its laws and many forest malpractices go unpunished,” Augustine Njamnshi, board member of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, PACJA told PAMACC News in an interview.“When laws are not implemented or are implemented selectively, then there is injustice, and this weakens the legal system in the country.” Dr. Joseph ArmatheAmougou, the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change Focal Point for Cameroon admits that the non-respect of forestry laws has to a large extent weakened forest governance reforms.“Cameroon is a state of law, and so…

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) – As Kenyans brace for another bout with drought, a new study released in Nairobi found that local agrodealers could play a pivotal role in helping farmers adapt to climate change.The study established that agrodealers assistance is severely limited by a shortage of certified crop seed stocks and financing options.Kenya Markets Trust, through its implementing partner in crop seed, Agri Experience, commissioned a study to interview 438 agro-dealers across eight counties.The study, which was carried out by Bayesian Consulting Group, found farmer demand for certified seed regularly exhausted stocks at the agro-dealer shops, particularly for non-maize seed. The lack of seed for crops other than maize impedes efforts to fight climate change through crop diversification."What this report shows is that as growing conditions become more challenging, the fight for food security in Kenya may be won or lost with rural agro-dealers," said Anastasia Mbatia, a seed distribution specialist at Agri Experience. "While we are glad to hear farmer demand for certified seed is rising rapidly, it is frustrating to learn that many agro-dealers lack both the quantity and variety of seeds Kenyan farmers need to avoid drought-induced devastation."For example, 51 per cent of the agro-dealers interviewed said they cannot keep up with farmer demand for certified seed. Meanwhile, 18 per cent lack the financing to increase stocks, even though potential sales would easily cover the credit. Moreover, agro-dealers often lacked certified seed for crops other than maize. As many agriculture experts note, improved varieties of crops like beans, sorghum and millet would be far better choices than maize when climate forecasts like those for early 2017 warn of unreliable rains."It's frustrating that crop breeders have developed varieties that could protect Kenyan farmers from drought, yet too often seeds for these crops simply are not easily accessible for farmers," said Noel Templer, a research manager at Agri Experience.He added, "But at least we have a strong network of agro-dealers in Kenya that appears receptive to expanding its seed offerings. What agrodealers need is the financial support and the seed quantities to help them do it."The analysts travelled to 438 rural agro-dealerships in eight counties spanning various regions of the country, namely: Murang'a (Central), Taita-Taveta (Coast); Meru (Upper Eastern); Nakuru (Central Rift), Kericho (South Rift); Trans-Nzoia (North Rift); Bungoma (Western) and Kisii (Nyanza).They surveyed agro-dealers about a wide range of issues that affected their businesses, including education levels, supplier relationships, gender, business costs, sales trends, and use of information and communications technology.The analysts found that over 80 per cent of Kenya's agro-dealership owners have a college, graduate or post graduate level education. Therefore, they have the expertise to steer farmers to seed and inputs that can help them adapt to shifts in growing conditions. About 76 per cent of the agro-dealers said they work to educate farmers about both seed choices and farming practices that can boost yields.A key positive finding from the study is that between 2014 and 2015, agrodealers posted an 85 per cent increase in…