YAOUNDE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - A coalition of civil society in Cameroon known as “Cameroon Climate Change Working Group” is pushing for the adoption of climate change legislation in the country as a viable tool to promote and ensure climate justice.
The Climate Change working Group says bringing attention to the growing abuse of agro-giants in vulnerable communities, including how big companies are influencing governments’ environment policies and threatening to undermine the wellbeing of these communities especially in rural areas are potentially devastating and far-reaching for both the people and the environment.
The civil society say they are set to lobby members of parliament and senate to push for the establishment of a bill that will put laws in place to make climate change a high-priority for the current government and future governments to come.
“We are identifying priority areas for legislative initiative for climate change and also looking at some quality legislative response to climate change,” noted Eugene Nforngwa of Bio-resource and Development Centre at the opening of a one day interested partners’ reflection on climate legislation in Cameroon.
The workshop held under the coordination of Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, PACJA-Cameroon held on July 7, 2017 at Centre Jean XIII Mvolye in Yaounde.
According to Augustin Njamnshi of the Cameroon chapter of PACJA, the world will be tackling climate change on many fronts, and by creating a national and international legal framework for action, development actors can at least ensure there are structures in place to support this fight.
“In close collaboration with local law makers, experts and civil society stakeholders are seeking to provide hands-on assistance to create climate legislation in particular and other climate policy frameworks whether this is an overarching climate law or an amendment to existing legislation that effectively protects human rights and livelihood,” Augustine Njamnshi said.
He noted that in many African countries people still relied heavily on the immediate environment for their livelihood and have subsequently become particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
“We need safeguards to ensure that legislative responses are pro-poor, equitable and the results of a transparent, participatory and inclusive process. An insufficient of domestic legal expertise and resources may further hinder the development adequate legislation,” Njamnshi noted.
The experts recalled that a Presidential decree of 2009 established the National Climate Change Observatory (ONACC) as a national legal implementing body of climate change policies.
The structure places under the Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development that supervises and ensure the overall co-ordination of climate change activities and policies within the country.
Accordingly the organs has as responsibilities to establish relevant climate indicators for monitoring environmental policy carry out prospective analyses to provide a vision on climate change, provide weather and climate data to all sectors concerned and to develop annual climate balance of Cameroon.
It also has as role to educate and promote studies on the identification of indicators, impacts and risks of climate change, collect, and provide policy makers, national and international organisations information on climate change in Cameroon and initiate activities to promote awareness on and provide information to prevent climate change, serve as operational instrument in the context of other activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions among others.
Unfortunately the above structure is still to go fully operational, translating the absence of a strong political drive backed by legislation.
Cameroon like many other countries in the world need a tailored approach, reflecting the specific needs and circumstances of jurisdiction, they noted.
KRIBI, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Michael Wakam stood beside a palm tree in a bushy area in Kribi in the South region of Cameroon and looked dejectedly at the farm land in front of him that was once his.
“It starts from here right over there where you see that palm tree. From there, you move to the right extending to the middle of that building right up to where were are standing” he said showing a vast piece of land which he claimed was grabbed from him by a Chinese company commercial cultivation of rice and cassava.
“We agreed that the land will end right there in the middle of that tree but I came and discovered that they have extended to this level. They have encroached my land almost by one hectare. This is wrong and illegal” he said boiling with anger.
Michael’s story is familiar across Cameroon where locals continue to dispute land with International companies especially Chinese companies.
In September 2015, neighbouring communities of the Lokoundjé and Kribi II subdivisions living close to the farms of Hévéa du Cameroun (Hévécam), a sister company of Chinese group Sinochem International addressed a memorandum to the Cameroonian government in which they accused the company of the of grabbing farming lands, stepping beyond the limits of some of its land concessions. A situation which, according to them, deprived them of a livelihood generally provided by agricultural activities on the lands under dispute.
“Government remained mute to our complaints and the land grabbing continued. This is 2017, two years after the memorandum and nothing has changed” said Michae. “We suspect that they bribed government officials to stay quiet” he added.
Company officials denied the allegations and stressed that the land was acquired from the indigenes in strict respect of the Cameroonian law.
“What always happens is that, villagers usually get excited and confused when this companies come with huge sums of money to buy and develop their land. They only realized that they did not bargain well when the companies start operating” said Nelson Ndi, a Cameroonian working with Camco, a Chinese company that deals in agricultural and construction machinery.
According to two studies carried out separately by Land Matrix, the global watchdog on large scale land acquisitions, and Deborah Brautigam, Director of China Africa Research Initiative at John Hopkins University in the USA, Cameroon is one of the top 10 African countries that have sold the most lands to Chinese agricultural investments.
With 10,120 hectares of lands sold to the Chinese company Shaanxi Land Reclamation General Corporation (operating under the name IKO), to farm maize and rice in the Center region of the country (Nanga Ebola and Ndjoré), Cameroon, Ethiopia and Mozambique have some of the most important Chinese investments in agriculture on the Continent. Cameroon however comes far behind Zimbabwe that sold 100,000 hectares to the Chinese company CWE to farm maize.
Way Forward
“We are thinking of organizing a solid resistance to these land grabbers and demonstrate our resolve to keep our lands. We do not care what happens” said Michael. A move that will certainly end up in violence and probably loss of lives.
The Cameroon Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mining and Arts (CCIMA) has proposed a more sustainable measure to settle the crisis which will possibly not please strong opponents of land grabbing by agro-industrial companies.
The President of the Chamber Christophe Eken, has exhorted the government to carry out a “land reform, to facilitate access to land ownership for investors, especially in the agro-industrial sector”. For businessmen, this reform is to be considered as a “priority”, if the government wants to “increase the competitiveness of the Cameroonian economy”.
Government is yet to react. The request comes in a context marked by civil society organisations blowing the whistle on the land grabbing operated by agro-industrial units, a practice which according to these NGOs, challenges the survival of neighboring communities.
KRIBI, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Michael Wakam stood beside a palm tree in a bushy area in Kribi in the South region of Cameroon and looked dejectedly at the farm land in front of him that was once his.
“It starts from here right over there where you see that palm tree. From there, you move to the right extending to the middle of that building right up to where were are standing” he said showing a vast piece of land which he claimed was grabbed from him by a Chinese company commercial cultivation of rice and cassava.
“We agreed that the land will end right there in the middle of that tree but I came and discovered that they have extended to this level. They have encroached my land almost by one hectare. This is wrong and illegal” he said boiling with anger.
Michael’s story is familiar across Cameroon where locals continue to dispute land with International companies especially Chinese companies.
In September 2015, neighbouring communities of the Lokoundjé and Kribi II subdivisions living close to the farms of Hévéa du Cameroun (Hévécam), a sister company of Chinese group Sinochem International addressed a memorandum to the Cameroonian government in which they accused the company of the of grabbing farming lands, stepping beyond the limits of some of its land concessions. A situation which, according to them, deprived them of a livelihood generally provided by agricultural activities on the lands under dispute.
“Government remained mute to our complaints and the land grabbing continued. This is 2017, two years after the memorandum and nothing has changed” said Michae. “We suspect that they bribed government officials to stay quiet” he added.
Company officials denied the allegations and stressed that the land was acquired from the indigenes in strict respect of the Cameroonian law.
“What always happens is that, villagers usually get excited and confused when this companies come with huge sums of money to buy and develop their land. They only realized that they did not bargain well when the companies start operating” said Nelson Ndi, a Cameroonian working with Camco, a Chinese company that deals in agricultural and construction machinery.
According to two studies carried out separately by Land Matrix, the global watchdog on large scale land acquisitions, and Deborah Brautigam, Director of China Africa Research Initiative at John Hopkins University in the USA, Cameroon is one of the top 10 African countries that have sold the most lands to Chinese agricultural investments.
With 10,120 hectares of lands sold to the Chinese company Shaanxi Land Reclamation General Corporation (operating under the name IKO), to farm maize and rice in the Center region of the country (Nanga Ebola and Ndjoré), Cameroon, Ethiopia and Mozambique have some of the most important Chinese investments in agriculture on the Continent. Cameroon however comes far behind Zimbabwe that sold 100,000 hectares to the Chinese company CWE to farm maize.
Way Forward
“We are thinking of organizing a solid resistance to these land grabbers and demonstrate our resolve to keep our lands. We do not care what happens” said Michael. A move that will certainly end up in violence and probably loss of lives.
The Cameroon Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mining and Arts (CCIMA) has proposed a more sustainable measure to settle the crisis which will possibly not please strong opponents of land grabbing by agro-industrial companies.
The President of the Chamber Christophe Eken, has exhorted the government to carry out a “land reform, to facilitate access to land ownership for investors, especially in the agro-industrial sector”. For businessmen, this reform is to be considered as a “priority”, if the government wants to “increase the competitiveness of the Cameroonian economy”.
Government is yet to react. The request comes in a context marked by civil society organisations blowing the whistle on the land grabbing operated by agro-industrial units, a practice which according to these NGOs, challenges the survival of neighboring communities.
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (PAMACC News) – Climate change is now a threat to major international trade routes, including ports, straits and roads and could disrupt global food supplies and increase food prices, according to a recent study.
The study points out that just under 25 percent of all food eaten in the world including staple crops are traded on international markets.
About 54 of the global trade in soybeans, cereals and fertilizers passes through at least one maritime chokepoint, according to a report, Chokepoints and vulnerabilities in Global Food Trade, released on 27th June by Chatham House, a British think-tank.
The report identifies fourteen chokepoints critical to global food security, eight of which are maritime including the Panama Canal, Suez Canal, and the Turkish Straits. Three inland chokepoints include the US inland waterways and Brazil’s road network; and three coastal chokepoints include the Black Sea ports and US Gulf Coast ports on which all traded goods pass through.
Trade and chokepoints are vulnerable to the risk of weather and climate, political and institutional; and conflict and security, making it critical for governments to invest in "climate-resilient" infrastructure as well as taking other precautionary measures such as diversifying food production and stocks.
Responses taken by governments to alleviate the risks often have short term, national interests which can exacerbate the global problem and undermine systemic resilience, the report notes.
“Meanwhile, climate change is going to make things worse by increasing the frequency of extreme weather events, fuelling conflict, and damaging already-weakened infrastructure,” Laura Wellesley, one of the study's authors said in a statement. “We need a new, collaborative approach to mapping and mitigating the growing threat we all face.”
Global food security depends upon trade in four staple crops – maize, wheat, rice and soybean production of which is concentrated in a handful of exporting ‘breadbasket’ regions. For example, the US exports 30% of the world’s maize supply, and 29% of its soy; while Brazil is the largest exporter of soy globally (32%) and accounts for 48% of China’s soy imports. In total, nearly 25% of all food for direct human consumption is traded on international markets and this is increasing.
The global cereals trade - which is what the report focuses on - was worth $132bn in 2015. According to the report, climate change is likely to aggravate socioeconomic and political risks.
Extreme weather events and more frequent harvest failures are expected to increase human displacement, indirectly amplifying the risks of inter-group violent conflict and civil war by exacerbating conflict drivers such as poverty, economic shocks and localized resource scarcity.
As coastlines and maritime borders are redrawn by rising sea levels, the risk of territorial disputes may increase, the study found, noting that climate-induced food supply shortages may prompt the more regular imposition of unilateral trade measures. One preliminary analysis found that a global agricultural production shock that would have been defined as a one-in-100-year event in 1951–2010 could become a one-in-30-year occurrence by 2040, increasing the risk of export bans and food price crises.
“The risks are growing as we all trade more with each other and as climate change takes hold,” Wellesley said. “The oil industry has been mapping this sort of risk for years but it has been woefully overlooked in discussions of food security.”
Past events such as floods in Brazil and the Southern United States and the export ban on wheat from the Black Sea countries that contributed in part to the Arab Spring, point to the sort of disruptions that can occur when chokepoints are closed, said Wellesley.
African countries, which are also major food importers are impacted by the risk on major trade routes. The African continent annually spends more than $50 billion in food imports. For example, the report says over a third of grain imports for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) – the most food-import dependent region in the world – pass through at least one maritime chokepoint for which there is no alternative route.
Historical links between food insecurity and political/social instability make the region’s extreme exposure to chokepoint risk a particular cause for concern.
Low-income net-food importers in sub-Saharan Africa, including Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Sudan are also exposed.
The report recommended that governments urgently strengthen global rules and cooperation – by limiting export controls, and sharing information; and invest in climate resistant infrastructure.
