“Africans can rely on the Congo Basin forests, which acts as the world’s “second lung” after the Amazon” Kaddu K. Sebunya, President, African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) Members of Parties of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership gathered in Kigali to discuss the problems facing Africa’s rich ecosystem and seed pathways to help solve them. One of these partners was the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), Africa’s largest conservation organization initiating and engaging in wildlife and wild lands projects across the continent for 55 years. According to the AWF President, Mr. Kaddu Sebunya, protecting the Congo Basin Forest, the biggest and diverse on the planet after Amazon is no easy task because the forest is increasingly threatened as development needs of member countries swells. In an interview with PAMACC News on the sidelines of the CBFP meeting, he says development and the protection of our ecosystems need not be mutually exclusive. While striving for growth, Africa must make better choices to minimize its consequences and the net impact on nature’s ecosystem Q We understand the African Wildlife Foundation is one of the international NGO’s that has been fronting activities to protect wildlife and the ecosystem in the Congo Basin region. Can you give an over view of the activities AWF has been carrying out in the field? Let me start by saying that AWF works together with the people of Africa to ensure the wildlife and the wild lands of Africa will endure forever, and we articulate and promote a uniquely African conservation vision and voice for the whole continent. We envision Central Africa’s governments and people as champions for the conservation of the Congo Basin Forest for current and future generations. Our programs in the Congo Basin include supporting the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) in implementing adequate protection and participative management in a portion of the Bili-Uele complex. AWF has been working in the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba landscape in DRC since 2003. We are working with a diverse group of partners on a holistic program to: conserve the MLW landscape through land use planning and protected area management; protect wildlife, including the bonobo and forest elephant; combat climate change through forest protection and REDD+ initiatives; stem the bushmeat trade by strengthening the scout networks on the ground; and enhance the lives of the forest dependent communities through improved agriculture and other enterprises. AWF successfully established two protected areas, the Lomako–Yokokala Faunal Reserve and the Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve, and is working to establish a third. This program is in partnership with CARPE/USAID. In Cameroon, we are working closely with the National Conservation Service in Dja (NCSD) to improve the overall management of the Dja Faunal Reserve (DFR). We signed an MOU with the Ministry of Forest and Fauna (MINFOF) for the conservation reserve we have a full-time technical advisor based in DFR. We are also working with the Service de Conservation to train and equip the rangers with Cyber Tracker to improve anti-poaching and ecological monitoring. All training is followed by technical…

Cleaner fuel to reduce air pollution for more than quarter of a billion people ABUJA, Nigeria (PAMACC News) - Five West African countries have agreed to ban importing Europe’s dirty fuels, a move that will dramatically reduce vehicle emissions and help more than 250 million people breath safer, cleaner air. Together, the countries of Nigeria,Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Cote d’Ivoire agreed on 1 December in Abuja, to introduce strict standards to ensure cleaner, low sulfur diesel fuels and vehicles emissions standards, effectively cutting off Europe’s West Africa market to export its dirty fuels. A report by Public Eye in September this year exposed how European trading companies were exploiting the weak regulatory standards in West African countries, allowing for the export of fuels with sulfur levels up to 300 times higher than is permitted in Europe. Erik Solheim, the head of UN Environment said: “West Africa is sending a strong message that it is no longer accepting dirty fuels from Europe. Their decision to set strict new standards for cleaner, safer fuels and advanced vehicle emission standards shows they are placing the health of their people first.“Their move is an example for countries around the world to follow. Air pollution is killing millions of people every year and we need to ensure that all countries urgently introduce cleaner fuels and vehicles to help reduce the shocking statistics.” Alongside the introduction of the new standards, the West African group has agreed to upgrade the operations of their national refineries, both public and privately owned, to produce fuels of the same standards by 2020. UN Environment has been supporting countries in West Africa to develop policies and standards to stop the practice of importing fuel with dangerously high sulphur levels and introduce cleaner fuels and vehicles.Reducing the emissions of the global fleet is essential for reducing urban air pollution and climate emissions. A combination of low sulfur fuels with advanced vehicles standards can reduce harmful emissions of vehicles by as much as 90 per cent. Nigeria’s Environment Minister Amina J Mohamed said: “For 20 years Nigeria has not been able to address the vehicle pollution crisis due to the poor fuels we have been importing. Today we are taking a huge leap forward – limiting sulphur in fuels from 3000 parts per million to 50 parts per million, this will result in major air quality benefits in our cities and will allow us to set modern vehicle standards.” In The Hague today, Minister Amina J Mohamed will join Minister Lilianne Ploumen, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, to take stock of the progress that is being made in improving the quality of fuels being exported from Dutch ports to West Africa. Minister Ploumen of The Netherlands, where much of the dirty fuels that are being imported to West Africa come from, said: “The recent report from the NGO Public Eye made abundantly clear that coordinated action is needed to stop the practice of exporting dirty fuels to West Africa.…

Abidjan (PAMACC News) - After almost one year of dry spell in Kenya’s Makueni County, rains have finally come down. Now, everything looks green, very green. But residents know, for sure, that this is a very short-lived spectacle, because two days after the downpour subsides, all seasonal rivers will dry up, and in two months, the sun will be burning with vengeance, upon perched thirsty sandy soils. That’s why they have invested in sand-dams, as their magic bullet for harvesting the rain water, and using it for another set of months after every rainy season.The dam is simply a reinforced concrete wall built across a seasonal riverbed. When it rains, the concrete wall gathers sand, which becomes a reservoir for water.As residents in the entire semi arid Eastern Kenya rush to propagate their seeds following the pounding rainfall, women in Songeni village are completely relaxed. One thing they are sure of is that their sand-dam constructed across Tawa River has already captured millions of litres of water, which the entire village will use for domestic purposes and irrigation for the next one year – if it doesn’t rain again.“It is the most appropriate way of harvesting water from seasonal rivers in dryland areas,” Simon Middrell, the founder of Excellent Development, a nonprofit organisation that supports rural, dryland communities to work their way out of poverty told delegates at the 2016 Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) forum in Abidjan.Since February, when it last rained in Makueni, villagers of Songeni have been farming French beans for export, and other crops for domestic consumption using water from their sand-dam.And now, Middrell, whose organisation supported the construction of the sand-dam used by Songeni villagers through a local NGO known as Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF) wants the ‘gospel’ of sand-dam construction in dryland areas spread all over the world, especially in developing countries.However, said Middrell, it cannot be a copy and paste technique. “Sand-dams do not work everywhere. If the place has a lot of clay soil, then the dams are likely going to be silted, and as a result, they will not help the residents,” he warned.It therefore calls for a feasibility study, so as to be sure that the dam will be able to amass sufficient sand, which acts as a cover for water underneath to protect it from evaporation. It also calls for appropriate technicians to construct it, because the intensity of rainfall in dryland areas is likely to break poorly constructed dams.“The sand-dams have numerous advantages,” said Middrell. “They form the best bridges in dryland areas because culverts always break during floods. They recharge ground water, water from the dams is safe for drinking, can be used for domestic purposes and by animals both domestic and wild,” he added.However, Middrell cautioned that without involvement of community members, sand-dam projects are bound to fail because they will lack ownership. “You need to involve the surrounding community, and have them own the project. That way, they will protect it as their property,…

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Over 360,000 women are set to benefit from an energy enterprise subsidy in seven counties in Kenya.The three year Energy and Advocacy for Gender in Kenya (AGEK) project by Practical Action targets women in Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu, Siaya, Nyeri, Murang’a and Kakamega counties.Practical Action programme manager, Lydia Muchiri, says the project aims to empower women economically by linking them to the charcoal briquettes and cookstoves value chain.“The plan is to support women in energy enterprises as a way of mainstreaming gender into the energy sector,” says Muchiri.According to a study by the organization, women are excluded from energy projects, and are not equipped with appropriate technical training, as well as financing.Yet, Kenya has committed to reach the 80 per cent target for energy generation through renewables, argues Muchiri.However, she says, this can be achieved by tapping local energy sources such as charcoal briquette production and establishing energy generating mini grids.“Women can be able to make decisions on energy access if they are empowered,” says Muchiri. “This can help them establish small business and raise their profile as future entrepreneurs.” Practical Action project officer, Jacqueline Kimeu, says access to modern clean energy solutions can help women access credit lines to invest in micro enterprises.This can also reduce pressure on Kenya’s forests where over 80 percent of Kenya’s households rely on energy for domestic use.The project also aims to ensure that implementation of Kenya’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) integrates gender objectives in the process.