Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
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Month: juin 2022

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Dans la ville de Lambaréné à l’ouest du Gabon, trois présumés trafiquants de faune sauvage viennent de tombé dans les mailles de police judiciaire. Ils ont été interpellés en possession d’environ 81 kg d’ivoire. Ce butin avait été volé dans le magasin de stockage des pièces d’ivoire saisies du tribunal de première instance de Lambaréné.     

La dernière opération de lutte contre le trafic de la faune sauvage dans la ville de Lambaréné à l’ouest du Gabon, a été un succès. Dans la journée du 23 Juin 2022, un trio de présumés trafiquants de faune a été interpellé. Tous de nationalité gabonaise, les suspects s’apprêtaient à vendre 6 défenses entières d’éléphants ainsi que 17 morceaux de pointes d’ivoire et une peau de panthère minutieusement stockés dans des valises et sacs de voyage, lorsqu’ils ont été appréhendés. Le poids total de la prise avoisine 81 kg d’ivoire.

Chose curieuse, les pièces d’ivoire étaient marquées et proviendraient, selon les affirmations des mis en cause, des scellés du tribunal de première instance de Lambaréné. C’est avec l’aide de deux complices travaillant pour le tribunal de Lambaréné que les présumés trafiquants, auraient dévalisé le magasin de stockage des pièces d’ivoire saisies. 

Cette opération tient son succès de l’intervention conjointe des agents de la police judiciaire, de la Direction générale de la faune et des aires protégées (DGFAP) et de la Direction provinciale des eaux et forêts, appuyée par Conservation Justice, une organisation non gouvernementale (ONG) œuvrant pour l’application de la loi faunique.

La vulnérabilité des sites de stockage d’ivoire

Les présumés trafiquants devront répondre des faits de détention et de tentative de vente des trophées d’espèces intégralement protégées. Ils ont été placés en garde à vue dans les locaux de la Police Judiciaire de Lambaréné en attendant leur transfert sur Libreville et leur présentation devant le Parquet spécial. Ce dernier traite en effet ce type de cas depuis déjà 3 ans avec comme résultat la condamnation de 80-90% des trafiquants d’ivoire arrêtés à des peines de prison ferme, dont la durée peut atteindre 10 ans en ce qui concerne le trafic d’ivoire.

Des cas de trafic de faune impliquant des agents de la justice deviennent préoccupants au Gabon. «Ces réseaux organisés dans les différents types de trafic lucratif doivent être combattus fermement car ils peuvent éroder dramatiquement l’état de droit en détournant certains serviteurs de la loi de leurs prérogatives et de leurs devoirs. » explique Conservation Justice dans une note.

La vulnérabilité des sites de stockage des pièces d’ivoire saisies et des armes de chasse favorise est aussi un facteur pour le trafic d’ivoire au Gabon. Le rapport d’audit des stocks gouvernementaux d’ivoire au Gabon en 2012, précise que des défenses d’ivoires enregistrées au tribunal de Lambaréné avaient disparu. Un an plutôt en 2011, un autre rapport réalisé par l’Agence nationale des parcs nationaux va  révéler la disparition de 17 pointes d’ivoires du stock du tribunal de Makokou au nord-est du pays. En 2015 près de 300 kg d’ivoire auraient disparus du tribunal d’Oyem au nord du pays. Et en 2020, des pointes étaient également manquantes au Tribunal de Lambaréné et des pointes issues du Tribunal de Libreville avaient même été saisies au Cameroun voisin.

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The emergency plan for the resilience of the coral reefs of the UNESCO World Heritage (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was presented on April 14, 2022 in Palau, an island state located in Oceania. The plan, which is limited to UNESCO World Heritage coral reefs, includes two sites in Africa.  

The warming of ocean temperatures, due to global CO2 emissions, is the primary threat to coral reefs. It reduces the life expectancy of corals, through early bleaching. « This year, for the first time, massive coral bleaching has even occurred during a traditionally cooler period, known as La Niña. According to the current scenario of emissions, all the world heritage reefs may disappear by the end of the century, » explains Audrey Azoulay, the Director General of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

A study presented on the side-lines of the 26th United Nations Conference on Climate Change explains that coral reefs live and thrive at temperatures between 25 ° C and 40 ° C, and if the temperature exceeds this limit, the reefs bleach and eventually die.

In response to the negative impact of global warming on reef ecosystems, UNESCO’s Director General took the opportunity of the seventh edition of the international summit « Our Ocean », held from 13 to 14 April 2022 in Palau (an island state located in Oceania) to launch the emergency plan for the resilience of the coral reefs of the UNESCO World Heritage. The plan, implemented in partnership with the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR), a public-private fund led by the United Nations, will invest in climate resilience strategies. Actions will focus on reducing local drivers of degradation, sustainable management of marine protected areas and support for local communities.

There are 29 World Heritage sites with coral reefs, including 19 sites in developing countries and two sites in Africa (iSimangaliso Wetland Park in eastern South Africa, and Mukkawar Island in Sudan).

The impact of human activities

The degradation of reef ecosystems is not only caused by global warming. Human activities also have a negative impact on the development of coral reefs. On the African side of the Red Sea, for example, illegal and destructive fishing methods, unsustainable coastal and land-based developments that cause encroachment and pollution in coral reef areas, as well as tourism overcapacity, contribute to coral reef degradation.

Faced with this situation, that projects similar to the emergency plan for the resilience of coral reefs of the Unesco World Heritage are also launched in other African countries. During the 7th edition of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development held from 28 to 30 August 2019, Japan has committed to funding projects to protect reef ecosystems in countries benefiting from the new agreement on the Blue Growth Initiative: Kenya, Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles.

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The catastrophic floods that occurred from April 9 to 11, 2022 in eastern South Africa will also have legal repercussions. The Climate Justice Charter Movement (CJCM), a group of ten climate change organizations, is filing a lawsuit against the South African president. Cyril Ramaphosa and several of his ministers are accused of inaction in the face of the climate crisis. This behavior would have left nearly 50,000 people at the mercy of floods, the worst the country has seen in 60 years.

The South African president is accused of inaction in the face of the climate emergency. This is the subject of a complaint filed on 14 April 2022 by the Climate Justice Charter Movement (CJCM). This collective of organizations fighting against climate change wants Cyril Ramaphosa and several of his ministers to be found guilty of homicide, following the floods that occurred from 9 to 11 April 2022 in the province of Kwazulu-Natal in the east of South Africa, whose provisional death toll amounts to 443 and 4,000 houses destroyed.

Members of the conservation group believe that if the South African government had taken the necessary protective measures, the consequences of the torrential rains would not have been so severe, even though they are the worst rainfall South Africa has seen in 60 years. « In accusing the government of homicide, we believe that the severity of this disaster is mostly due to poor governance and criminal negligence, » says Anet Solomon, an Oceans Not Oil activist and member of the CJCM collective. It is indeed since 2018 that the CJCM collective has been drawing the attention of the South African government to the urgency of protecting estuary cities from the effects of climate change.

Ramaphosa recognizes the urgency to act

According to official figures, these floods have affected nearly 50,000 people, particularly in the city of Durban. During his reassurance visit on April 13, 2022, the South African president blamed the disaster on the climate crisis. « We can no longer postpone what we need to do and the measures we need to take to deal with climate change, » said Cyril Ramaphosa.

For now, the only response to the laxity that the CJCM collective is denouncing is that of the Kwazulu-Natal premier, who is one of the co-accused. « The government was working hard to significantly reduce South Africa’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change. The timing and severity of the disaster clearly demonstrates that we are living in a time of ecological imbalance related to climate change and environmental degradation, » says Sihle Zikalala.

Deadly weather disasters are rife on South Africa’s east coast. In 2019, the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal provinces experienced severe droughts that destroyed farms. In the same year, floods killed more than 80 people in both regions. And last January, a devastating storm hit Kwazulu-Natal, killing 25 people.

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SOUTH AFRICA: Cyril Ramaphosa in court for climate inaction

24 juin 2022 0 Comments

The catastrophic floods that occurred from April 9 to 11, 2022 in eastern South Africa will also have legal repercussions. The Climate Justice Charter Movement (CJCM), a group of ten climate change organizations, is filing a lawsuit against the South African president. Cyril Ramaphosa and several of his ministers are accused of inaction in the face of the climate crisis. This behavior would have left nearly 50,000 people at the mercy of floods, the worst the country has seen in 60 years.

Conflicts caused by the effects of climate change are imminent in West Africa and the Sahel. Tensions over scarce water resources could lead to wars if nothing is done urgently. The alert has been issued by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). For the sub-regional organization, the time has come to take concrete action to address the effects of climate change. 

Water wars could break out in West Africa and the Sahel. The countries of these regions are drastically affected by the rise in temperature with its corollaries, the drying up of surface water, rivers, lakes and wetlands, as well as the deepening of the water table and the loss of biodiversity. « Without livestock, vegetable gardens, and water points, people migrate to the few remaining small resources that have not been damaged by the drought. Once there, competition for access to water or livestock creates tensions that can inevitably degenerate into conflict, » explains Hadjia Zara Mamadou, president of the Association of Nigerien Women Against War and former mayor of Agadez.

Hadjia Zara Mamadou was taking part in the Regional Conference on Climate Change, Peace and Security in West Africa and the Sahel, which was held from 6 to 7 April 2022 in Dakar, Senegal. According to Philippe Zoungrana, the coordinator of the Regional Support Program for Natural Resource Management within the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the countries most affected by climate change are located in the central Sahel. This is the case of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. In these West African countries, « there are more than 1.8 million internally displaced persons, due to drought. A situation that threatens security in the sub-region, » says Philippe Zoungrana.

2.3 billion dollars are needed

To address the impacts of climate change on security in West Africa and the Sahel, « ECOWAS has adopted a $2.3 billion priority action plan to fight terrorism, » said Francis Behanzin, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security. He called on ECOWAS member states for stronger political will and essential financial commitment from partners to mitigate the vulnerability of West Africa and the Sahel to insecurity problems.

For the seventh consecutive year, in 2021, the average global temperature has reached record highs. It has increased by more than 1°C compared to pre-industrial levels, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). A trend that should persist in the coming years, as predicted in the 6th report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

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Volcanoes National Park, located in north-western Rwanda, will be expanded by 23% of its current area. The conservation project, estimated at $255 million, focuses on improving the habitat of mountain gorillas, whose population has quadrupled in the past 40 years.

In a landmark development, Rwanda is beginning work this year to expand the Volcanoes National Park in the northwest of the country. Over the next five years, the 13,000-hectare protected area will gain an additional 10,000 hectares. Some 3,740 hectares will be used for park activities while more than 6,000 hectares will be set aside as a buffer zone.

A buffer zone is an area between the park and the people, benefiting both parties. It can be occupied by agroforestry and agricultural activities among others. According to the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the buffer zone will reduce human-wildlife conflicts by 80%.

Estimated at $255 million, the Volcanoes National Park expansion project will also require the relocation of approximately 4,000 farming families. « This is a process that we are conducting in a very careful way. In addition to compensation, there is the construction of model villages, of which a prototype has been built in Musanze (a district neighbouring the park). In this village there are schools, a factory and brick buildings with impeccable apartments, » explains Prosper Uwingeli, the park director.

Giving space to the mountain gorillas

The project to expand Volcanoes National Park was motivated primarily by the desire to improve the habitat of the mountain gorillas. The population of these large signs has quadrupled since the 1980s. At the 2010 census, there were 880. In 2015, another census showed that there were 1,063 individuals in Volcanoes National Park.

This population growth is not without consequence. Forced to share play and gathering areas between about twenty families, these primates used to tourists very often venture into concessions near the park. This exposes them to human diseases such as influenza, pneumonia and even Ebola.

The high population density of gorillas in Volcanoes Park poses other threats within the sanctuary itself. Interactions between gorilla families have increased dramatically and often lead to rivalries in which babies are at great risk. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund conducted a study ten years ago on a specific area of the park. One of the findings was a five-fold increase in the number of infanticide cases.

The Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, along with the Virunga Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Bwindi Park in Uganda, make up the famous Virunga Massif. A chain of eight volcanoes representing the only habitat in the world for mountain gorillas.

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