By Isaiah Esipisu
Nairobi, Kenya (PAMACC News) – African organisations championing against climate change have called on climate deniers to be compelled to finance climate change adaptation in developing countries and as well finance all the pledged Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) by all African countries.
This comes only two days after the Democrats in both United States chambers of Congress introduced a resolution condemning the efforts of fossil-fuel industries among others companies to deliberately cast doubt on science so as to mislead the public about the impact of the fuels on climate change, in an effort to protect their financial interests.
According to the resolution, fossil fuel companies have long known about climate change and the harmful climate effects of their products following numerous peer-reviewed scientific research and investigative reporting.
And yet, directly and through their trade associations, and foundations, the multi-billion dollar companies have developed sophisticated and deceitful campaigns that funded think tanks and front groups, and paid public relations firms to deny, counter, and obfuscate peer-reviewed research.
“This comes at the right time when the world is working towards implementation of the Paris Agreement, and therefore we call on the Republicans to join the Democrats into holding these companies accountable,” said Benson Ireri, the Senior Policy Advisor at Christian Aid.
Ireri’s sentiments were reiterated by Robert Chimambo of the Zambia Climate Change Network (ZCCN) and Mithika Mwenda of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA).
“Over the years, these companies have made super profits from fossil fuel, and therefore, apart from just financing adaptation, they should support Africa’s quest for development using cleaner and sustainable energy,” said Chimambo.
The resolution points out that the companies have “used that misinformation campaign to mislead the public and cast doubt in order to protect their financial interest.
“It is a sign on the wall that 19 senators have to fight so hard against the super rich of the world, who have been misleading the general public for such a long time,” said Gerrit Bogaers, responding to a blog by Greg Laden.
According to the United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA), majority of greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy.
EPA recognizes that the earth's average temperature has risen by 1.5°F over the past century, and is projected to rise another 0.5 to 8.6°F over the next hundred years, noting that small changes in the average temperature of the planet can translate to large and potentially dangerous shifts in climate and weather.
As a result of the slight changes that have already hapenned, Africa has turned out to be the hardest hit by climate change, and now many countries suffer severe droughts that result into starvation and famine, flash floods, landslides among other disasters that have direct impact to health and economies alike.
NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) – Globally, one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, the equivalent of 1.3 billion tons of food per year. In Sub-Saharan Africa – home to over 230 million people suffering from chronic undernourishment – the majority of these losses occur after grains have been harvested, but before they reach the consumer. About 30 per cent of the grains produced on the continent is lost due to inadequate post-harvest management, lack of structured markets, inadequate storage, and limited processing capacity.
With more than 70 per cent of Africans drawing their livelihoods from agriculture, finding sustainable solutions to this problem holds tremendous promise for enhancing inclusive economic growth, food security, and nutrition. Over the last decade, many actors have developed a set of innovative technologies to reduce post-harvest agricultural loss across the value chain – from the farm to the consumer.
A 36-month project to scale up the use of these technologies across Sub-Saharan Africa was launched today in Nairobi. Financed by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and implemented by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the CAD 2.889 million (USD 2.155 million) project will support applied research to bring effective, field-tested innovations for reducing post-harvest loss of soybeans and cowpeas to thousands of smallholder farmers in Mozambique and Burkina Faso.
Speaking at the launch, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA said that the moment has come to roll out these technologies across the continent to ensure that smallholder farmers reap maximum benefit from their investment and hard labour.
“Scaling up of simple technologies like hermetic storage bags can reduce post-harvest losses by up to 50 per cent and significantly increase farmers’ income. The deployment of mechanized threshers will also reduce the drudgery of farming, which is especially important among women who are the majority of farmers in Africa”, added Dr. Kalibata.
With Burkina Faso and Mozambique as pilot countries, the project will help drive these known solutions to scale and could benefit millions of farmers. In the short term, the innovations have the ability to directly benefit the lives of at least 10,000 smallholder farmers and up to 60,000 by 2020 .
Dr. Simon Carter, Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at IDRC, hailed the project as a partnership aimed at increasing food security and farmers’ incomes, and helping build a stronger agricultural sector in Africa. “Reducing post-harvest losses, increasing the quality of produce and improving farmers’ access to markets are key to sustaining the productivity driven transformation of the agricultural sector”, said Dr. Carter.
Reducing these losses is increasingly becoming important as the demand for food increases with population rise; as part of the push to strengthen farmers’ resilience in the face of a changing climate; and to take full advantage of the continent’s food demand, which the World Bank projects will triple from $313 million in 2010 to $1 trillion by 2030.
Soybean and cowpeas were selected for this project as they are a critical secondary food, providing essential affordable proteins as well as calories to the diets of the poor. The market opportunities for both crops are also growing, offering prospects to increase income for those farmers producing a marketable surplus.
By Friday Phiri-Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia is regarded as one of the highly forested countries whose forests cover accounts for about 60% of the total land area estimated at 64 million hectares. The total area of indigenous forest in Zambia is estimated at 44.6 million hectares, covering 60 % of the total land area.
However, Zambia’s deforestation rate is alarmingly high. According to recent data by the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Zambia’s deforestation rate currently stands at between 250 to 300 thousand hectares of land per year.
In fact, Environmental experts have warned that Zambia’s forests risk becoming deserts in the next fifteen years going by the current rate of deforestation.
But why are people cutting trees indiscriminately? In Zambia, there are several reasons: clearing of land for farming is one factor, but logging for timber and cutting trees for firewood and charcoal making rank top on the causes.
A quick analysis of energy sources in Zambia reveals that about 90 percent of the population use charcoal related sources of energy, thereby making charcoal burning a lucrative business venture and major source of livelihood for many people.
A further analysis reveals that the reverse of the above argument is also true where only an estimated 25 percent of the country’s population is connected to electricity. This, compounded by erratic power supply through load shedding, forces even the most affluent communities to resort to charcoal as a source of energy.
Surely, the ground is fertile for a thriving charcoal business. After all, for many rural households, earning a living from farming and selling firewood and charcoal are essential to survival.
Jerome Banda, a farmer in Rufunsa, 150 kilometers east of the capital, Lusaka, has been dealing in charcoal burning for supplementary income to purchase farming inputs, pay school fees and other emergencies as they arise. Living miles away from the city, Banda’s business thrives on demand from the city dwellers who are major consumers of charcoal.
Banda, a father of five, recalls how he was forced to get into mass production of charcoal.
“At the beginning, I used to sell up to five 50 kg bags for a specific problem such as school fees for children or an emergency medical bill”, explains Banda.
“But one day, I was approached by a certain businessman from Lusaka, who told me to produce fifty bags of charcoal for him and the money I earned changed my perspective of the charcoal business such that I almost stopped farming but for my wife”.
Banda’s sentiments represent the realities of the problem of deforestation in Zambia. It is a double edged sword. At one level, Banda clears land for his farming activity while he needs another chunk of forest for his charcoal burning. For Banda and many others, it is about livelihood.
Zambia’s Immediate Past Minister of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Wilbur Simuusa lamented this fact during his recent address to the country’s law making body, the National Assembly.
“Mr. Speaker, Charcoal production is the major driver of deforestation in our country. Cognisant of the fact that charcoal is the major source of livelihood for many of our citizens, and a source of domestic energy for over ninety percent of our population, we need to address the matter with care”.
From the tone of the Minister, it is clear that protecting forests/environment on one hand and facilitating better livelihood for all, represents a serious dilemma for the Zambian government.
Forest management, charcoal production, transportation, retailing and consumption are usually identified as the five key components in the charcoal value chain.
But how involved are the different stakeholders in decision making processes that affect their sources of livelihood?
“From time in memorial, our fore fathers taught us to defend and use forests for our benefit”, laments 65 year old Elena Banda of Nyimba district in Eastern Zambia.
“But our worry is that we see truckloads of timber poles trekking to the city in the name of government but we don’t see any benefit to us. That is why we also cut and burn charcoal for survival, after all government does not care for us”.
Grandma Banda’s blame on government’s alleged sidelining of the local people and lack of proper social support safety nets represents the frustrations of the local people on how they are neglected in the management and usage of local resources.
And the Immediate Past Zambian Minister of Lands acknowledges this poor interface between government and different actors who depend on forests for their livelihood and also at various stages of the charcoal value chain.
“We have realised that dealing with this issue only at policy level is not enough. It is for this reason that the Ministry will in September this year (2013), convene a national charcoal ‘Indaba’-(conference), to analyse the charcoal value chains and together, identify the points of intervention”, says the Minister.
It is the hope of all stakeholders that the Indaba will adequately address the key question of protecting forests on one hand, and facilitating for a better livelihood for all. Key questions surrounding accessibility of reliable clean energy sources by all would also present stakeholders a point of reflection.
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, (PAMACC News) – Dr Mana Boubakari, Technical Director, Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), has said insurgency and its impact are challenges to effective groundwater management in the region.
Boubakari said this at an event on the sideline of the ongoing sixth Africa Water Week in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania on Wednesday.
He said it was sad to note that these challenges were worsened by the population growth in the region following inflow of refugees.
He said no fewer than nine million people live in the region, whose livelihood depended on the depleting lake.
According to him, if the problems of the basin are not addressed more conflicts and violence will erupt in the area.
`` The activities of Boko Haram, effect of climate change, flooding, drought has caused poor yield in farming, displacement of communities, unemployment and poverty.
``The countries in Lake Chad Basin Commission need to sit down together and look at ways of enforcing best practices to maintain and protect the water treasures that we have.’’
Boubakari said the effect of global warming and inefficient management of the watershed had caused the displacement of both pastoralists and fishermen who depended on the water.
He said urgent efforts were needed to scale up access to water in the region since the lake was shrinking daily.
He said appealed to all the nine member-states to ratify the water charter in the basin to enable it meet rising water demand.
Boubakari added that the commission was embarking on a campaign to save the region in line with the LCBC Common Vision 2025, and in the five-year investment plan.
While commending activities of the Multi-National Joint Force, which is fighting the insurgents in the region, the technical director called for more effort to secure the region and its infrastructure.
Prof. Ibrahim Goni, from the University of Maiduguri, also stressed the need to manage the basin saying it is the only source of ground water for the people.
He cited the lack in coordination between institutions managing water resources in the region as a big challenge.
Goni added that deforestation should be discouraged by all to protect the region from continued depletion.
The event, organised by the African Ministers Council on Water, (AMCOW), aspires to lay the building blocks to achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goal on provision of adequate and equitable access to safe water and sanitation for all by 2030.
It equally represents AMCOW’s belief that effective and efficient management of water resources leads to the provision of adequate and equitable access to safe water and sanitation.
The Africa Water Week series began in Tunis, Tunisia in 2008.
