The Government of Kenya announced today a ban on the use, manufacture and import of all plastic bags, to take effect in six months. This announcement comes just three weeks after the UN declared a “war on plastic” through its new Clean Seas initiative, which has already secured commitments to address major plastic pollution from 10 governments.
Some 100 million plastic bags are handed out every year in Kenya by supermarkets alone. Long identified as a major cause of environmental damage and health problems, they kill birds, fish and other animals that mistake them for food, damage agricultural land, pollute tourist sites and provide breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that carry malaria and dengue fever.
“Kenya is taking decisive action to remove an ugly stain on its outstanding natural beauty,” said Erik Solheim, UN Environment’s Executive Director. “Plastic waste also causes immeasurable damage to fragile ecosystems -- both on land and at sea -- and this decision is a major breakthrough in our global effort to turn the tide on plastic.
“Kenya should be commended for its environmental leadership. It's a great example that I hope will inspire others, and help drive further commitments to the Clean Seas campaign.”
Plastic bags are the number one challenge for urban waste disposal in Kenya, particularly in the poorest communities where access to disposal systems and healthcare is limited.
They also contribute to the 8 million tonnes of plastic that leak into the ocean every year. At current rates by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish, wreaking havoc on marine fisheries, wildlife and tourism.
Kenya today is the 11th country to take action in support of the UN Environment campaign. In Africa, Rwanda and Morocco have already banned plastic bags and other countries are set to announce measures in the coming weeks.
Further afield, Indonesia has committed to slash marine litter by 70%, Canada has added microbeads (tiny particles of plastic) to its list of toxic substances, and the UK and the US have banned microbeads in cosmetics.
ABUJA, Nigeria (PAMACC News) - Nigeria's biosafety regulatory agency has began wide ranging analysis of suspected Genetically Modified (GM) products in the country, the Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr Rufus Ebegba has said.
In line with the NBMA's resolve to ensure the safety of Nigerians, Ebegba revealed that the agency’s scientists had selected products suspected to contain genetically modified ingredients from some superstores in the country.
“The analysis followed a three-month GMO survey conducted by the agency which, among other findings, showed the presence of products containing genetically modified ingredients in superstores across the country" Ebegba said.
According to him, “some of the products have labels showing ingredients contained therein while others do not. Hence, the need to carry out an indepth analysis to ascertain the true type of genetic materials and their make-up, and to ensure that it is safe for Nigerians to consume.’’
In a separate interview, Miss Amedu Josephine, Head of the GMO Analysis Laboratory said: “We do have some foods on our shelves that are GM Foods. Our work is to ensure that it is actually GMO and to find out the genetic component that describes the GM material. We also have to be sure that the sequence that has been inserted is not one that will be detrimental to the health of Nigerians."
“This is why we want to be sure that everything that is genetically modified within the borders of Nigeria is safe for public consumption,” Miss Amedu added
According to Amedu, the agency has been diligent in the discharge of its duties. “I urge Nigerians to have faith in the ability of the agency’s scientists to protect and safeguard their health,” she said.
It may be recalled that the agency acquired a state-of-the-art GMO analysis laboratory in 2016 as part of its resolve to diligently carry out testing of products.
Jury still out on GMOs in Nigeria
In the face of the acquisition of state-of-the-art GMO analysis facilities and assurances by the regulatory agency, a cross section of the Nigerian civil society are still up in arms against in the introduction of GMOs in the country.
At a stakeholders meeting on Promoting Biosafety in Nigeria held recently in Benin City, South-South Nigeria, the stakeholders led by by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and the Nigerian Bar Association (Edo State chapter) analysed critical issues and concerns of Nigerians on GMOs and the Nigerian Biosafety Management Act of 2015 which, according to them, did not take into account the concerns of local farmers and critical stakeholders, contrary to the provisions of the African Union's Model Law on Biosafety and the Cartagena Protocol.
On this count, the stakeholders unanimously agreed that the Act in its current form lacks the legal safeguards to protect Nigerians's food culture, environment, ecosystems and human health.
The non-state actors also expressed dismay over the Biosafety Agency's refusal to take into account, the objections and critical concerns submitted by key NGOs supported by over 100 groups, bordering on health, environmental, socio-economic, technical and administrative concerns before issuing permits to Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited on behalf of Monsanto Company, based in St-Louis, Missouri, USA, for commercial release and placing on market of genetically modified cotton and for the confined field trial of two maize events.
Wondering why institutions that are created to protect the Nigerian environment and biosafety are actually hand-in-gloves with corporations that are trying to flood the country with exotic and risky products and merchandise, Nnimmo Bassey of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation called for a local and national paradigm-shift towards food sovereignty based on local contextual considerations, promotion of small-scale farmers, pastoralists and fisher-folk which have defined indigenous agriculture based on human rights and sustainable natural resource use.
"The mythical benefits of GMOs have ben debunked by many experts. For instance a report issued by over 400 scientists and development practitioners from developed and developing countries, under the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), concluded that small scale farmers should be supported as modern biotechnology would have very limited contribution to the feeding of the world in the foreseeable future" Bassey says.
Chairman of the Benin branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Barr Ede Asenoguan declared that there are several fault-lines in the permissive NBMA Act requiring that the entire Act be urgently reviewed and the GMO permits issued withdrawn. According to the Benin-based Lawyer, "the constitution of the Board of NBMA makes the agency open to conflict of interests as already seen in the case of a board member (National Bioetechnology Development Agency) teaming up with commercial interests to apply for and receive permits to introduce GMOs into Nigeria."
Barr Chima Williams, President of the Green Alliance of Nigeria is of the view that promoters of GMO and their allies have deliberately ignored the importance and the peculiarities of Nigerian culture, environment and agriculture in their aggressive attempts to impose their products and merchandise on Nigeria . "Rather than promoting agroecology, which works in harmony with nature, they have become tied to the apron-strings of speculators and neo-colonial powers whose objective is to exploit, subjugate and destroy food production systems in Nigeria while promoting monoculture and use of toxic agro-chemicals" Williams added.
At the end of the meeting, the stakeholders called for concerted actions aimed at tackling the inadequate level of information and awareness on food sovereignty issues in the media which shuts out critical stakeholders, deepening public ignorance and inhibiting contributions to solutions.
For now, the relationship between the biosafety regulatory agency and the civil society groups in Nigeria remains largely that of a cat and mouse and the possibility of finding a common ground appears elusive.
ABUJA, Nigeria (PAMACC News) - As the environmental activists seek for investment in green energy, the Federal Government of Nigeria has already announced that it will consolidate and allocate coal sites across the country to “serious minded players in the power sector” in a drive to meet the country's increasing energy deficit.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this during a visit to the Abuja Steel Mills Limited, Minna, North Central Nigeria.
According to Fayemi, the ministry is considering the power sector as its priority area that needs coal to address electricity deficit in the country.
“We are not saying that we will not give coal to others that need coals for the production of steel or relevant manufacturing works, but right now power sector needs coal,” he said.
He said that the management of Abuja Steel Mill had requested for coal for the production of steel, adding that the ministry would support local steel manufacturers that could solve steel deficit.
“Our work as a ministry is to facilitate companies that have taken it upon themselves to manufacture steel locally, rather than importing substandard steel with our hard earned Forex.”
He expressed appreciation to the management of the company for employing 450 Nigerians and providing healthcare facilities, adding that the company should train its local engineers to perform or take over its expatriate tasks. He also urged the company to continue to maintain its standard of production to gain adequate market and bridge steel importation gap.
Dr Fayemi said the ministry would encourage the Ministry of Works, Power and Housing to link the company to construction giants in the country to patronise their products. He promised to liaise with Nigerian Customs Service on scrap metals being exported on a daily basis, as scarcity of the material had hiked prices of steel produced locally.
However, he promised to solve some of the requests presented by the company, adding that it should also fulfill the ministry’s requirements to move the country forward.
Using coal to boost steel production
Mr Richpal Singh, Executive Director and Advisor of the company, urged the minister to make coal sites available to the company to boost steel production. Singh said availability of coal would enable the company to produce 6.8 million tonnes required for local consumption.
He said the scrap metals being sold at the rate of N50,000 per tonne now sold at N250,000, as the materials were being exported due to high exchange rate.
He said one of the company’s challenges was scarcity of scrap metals being used for the production of steel, as Nigerians were now making brisk business with some Chinese firms to package and export them.
The company produces 150,000 tonnes yearly and is currently the highest steel producer in the country. All the local steel companies in Nigeria are producing 2.5 million tonnes annually and Nigeria requires 6.8 tonnes of steel every year. The company is an Indian organisation with other seven subsidiaries in steel, chemical and energy production.
Coal and Nigeria's NDCs
In October 2015, it would be recalled that Nigeria submitted its climate pledge to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as part of its commitment to the process leading to the COP21 Paris Agreement. The Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) identified measures like working towards ending gas flaring and other fossil-based energy forms by 2030, working towards Off-grid solar PV of 13GW (13,000MW), deployment of efficient gas generators, and 2% per year energy efficiency (30% by 2030).
The climate pledge reckoned that under a business-as-usual growth scenario, consistent with strong economic growth of 5% per year, Nigeria’s emissions are expected to grow to around 900 million tonnes per year in 2030, which translates to around 3.4 tonnes per person.
However with food insecurity, poor access to energy and high unemployment presently constituting principal constraints on economic development and about 40% of the population living below the poverty line of US$1.25, coupled with the recent sharp decline in world oil prices putting enormous pressure on the federal government’s budget, which continues to depend significantly on export revenues, it is increasingly becoming difficult for Nigeria to honor its climate pledge as conveyed by the NDCs.
The recent recourse to coal as a panacea to energy deficit runs contrary to the focal emphasis of Nigeria's climate plan which aspired to achieve economic and social development by growing the economy 5% per year, improving standard of living, electricity access for all under a mitigation objective of 20% unconditional reduction in emissions and a 45% conditional reduction from business as usual.
KIRINYAGA, Kenya (PAMACC News) - The agriculture sector suffers some of the worst impacts of climate change. That is a statement you hear all the time, and that Africa – being a developing region – is quite vulnerable.
In fact, the Food and Agricultre Organisation reports that droughts and floods are the biggest natural disasters that Africa faces, resulting in trillions of shillings in loss and damage. Between 2003 and 2013 for instance, droughts affected 27 countries in Sub- Saharan Africa, destabilising the lives of nearly 150 million people.
These droughts cost the region an estimated 23.6 billion dollars, which translates to about 2.2 trillion shillings. This is according to a report on the impact of natural disasters on global economies, which reveals that the agriculture sector is the most impacted.
But what you don’t hear often is that although the sector is the most vulnerable, the agriculture sector is a key contributor to climate change, accounting for 17% of total emissions directly through agricultural activities and an additional 14% through land use changes.
“Climate change is going to reduce crop production by up to 40% if global warming continues. But you see the agriculture sector is plagues with inefficiencies that lead to ecological degradation,” says Dr. Richard Munang, the head of the climate change unit at the United Nations Environment Programme.
When the Paris Agreement was adopted in November 2015, it gave countries the option to decide the steps they would take to reduce their carbon footprint. Most countries, including Kenya, provided a plan that put agriculture in the centre of emission reduction, through adoption of eco-friendly farming methods. While there have been several campaigns calling for farmers to adopt climate smart agriculture, some farmers are going a step further and seeking access to the carbon market.
“Our environment is destroyed. The soil is not fertile anymore. So we as the farmers in this village of Togonye have decided to fix that by growing more trees,” Albert Mureithi says.
Togonye in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, is one of the catchment areas for the Mwea rice farms. But years of environmental degradation have destroyed the catchment, and eucalyptus trees have replaced most indigenous trees. The trees were cut down for fuel and also make room for agricultural land. The farmers have now come together to start a project they call Kirinyaga Carbons, through which they will rehabilitate their environment to improve their yields and earn carbon credits.
“There are several components of the project and also the climate smart agriculture. For instance there is integrated pest management, soil fertility management, water management and crop rotation,” says Edward Ngare, the designer of the Kirinyaga Carbons project.
The farmers in Togonya grow mostly coffee and horticultural produce and rely heavily on irrigation - drawing their water from River Kiie. But the degradation around the catchment area and the current drought has made irrigation extremely difficult.
Water levels have run dangerously low, leading to frequent conflicts among the communities that depend on that water. The river empties into River Nyamindi, which is one of the two rivers that feed the Mwea Irrigation Scheme. But the drought has seen Nyamindi’s flow drop to just one cubic litres per second, compared to a normal flow of six cubic litres.
As part of this rehabilitation project, each farmer in the group is required to plant trees on at least 10% of the land, as well as a fodder crop that will provide some ground cover for the soil.
They work together with some scientists from the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation, who say that it will take about 4 years to fully rehabilitate the area. But once that is done, they have set their eyes on the European market for their horticultural produce, where they hope to earn carbon credits at the rate of five dollars per tonne of carbon dioxide.
“For the consumer in Europe to get the produce from here, it has to be air lifted. So in that airlifting, there is carbon that is emitted by the plane. When the consumer is preparing the food, the energy they use to cook also emits some carbon. And in total, the emissions from Europe are higher compared to here. So what we want is, instead of the airline and the consumer offsetting their emissions with other projects in other countries, why don't they offset with us instead since they bought the produce from us?” Edward says.
A carbon credit is a permit that allows a country to emit a certain amount of greenhouse gases, and then if the emissions are below the set quota, they can sell the excess to a big emitting country. Kenya is a very low carbon emitter and developed a policy on carbon trading in 2013.
In 2014, agriculture became the first sector to benefit from carbon trading in Kenya, when a project involving 60,000 farmers in Western Kenya earned the world's first carbon credits on sustainable agricultural land management. The project involved increasing organic soil matter, thereby cutting emissions by 24,788 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to emissions from 5,164 vehicles in a year. Farmers' yields also increased by 20%.
Two communities in Mombasa are also earning carbon credits by protecting Mangrove forests, which provide breeding grounds for a lot of fish species. The two communities have managed to plant at least 6,500 seedlings, cutting emissions by at least 3000 tonnes annually, earning one million shillings from the credits.
The carbon market globally is worth an estimated 144 billion dollars, but Africa only gets 3% of that market. Kenya’s carbon emissions about 21.47 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, representing just 0.06% of global emissions.
