The African Climate Week, one of the preparatory meetings for the 27th United Nations Climate Conference (COP27), opened on Monday 29 August 2022 in Libreville, Gabon. In the presence of a thousand representatives of governments, international organisations, NGOs and the private sector from all over the continent, the Egyptian Foreign Minister and President of COP27 denounced the climate injustice suffered by Africa. « There will be no reprieve or plan B at COP27, » warned Sameh Choukri.
Africa wants to get out of the climate injustice it has been suffering for years. This is the main objective of the African Climate Week, one of the preparatory meetings for the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), scheduled for November in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The aim of this week, which opened on 29 August 2022 in Libreville, Gabon, is to unite African negotiators at COP27 around a common plea.
« The time has come for us Africans to take our destiny into our own hands, » says Gabonese Head of State Ali Bongo Ondimba, deploring the climate situation in Africa in unison with all the speakers. The continent is responsible for less than 4% of global CO2 emissions, but pays the highest price for global warming.
« Africa is obliged, with limited resources and a very low level of support, to spend 3% of its annual GDP to adapt to these impacts », Sameh Choukri, the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of COP27, added. He also denounced a « climate injustice » and blamed « many developed countries that have reneged on their commitments ». « There will be no reprieve or plan B at COP27, » warned the Egyptian diplomat.
100 million dollars per year is no longer enough
The pressure announced on the G20 countries by the COP27 negotiators is all the more relevant as the effects of climate change are expected to be more severe in Africa.
According to the latest analysis from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s (IGAD) regional climate prediction centre, the terrible drought in the Horn of Africa, the worst in 40 years, is likely to get even worse. The rainy season, which runs from October to December with almost 70% of the annual rainfall in some areas, such as eastern Kenya, will be late and with less rainfall, according to Igad.
For Tanguy Gahouma, the chairman of the African negotiating group at COP 26 in 2021 in Glasgow, « the $100 million per year that was promised is no longer relevant because it no longer corresponds to the current objectives. They were promised in Copenhagen (COP15 in 2009, editor’s note) and now we need to move on to new targets that are in line with the realities on the ground. The roadmap from the African Climate Week will be Africa’s common position at COP27.
The African Climate Week, one of the preparatory meetings for the 27th United Nations Climate Conference (COP27), opened on Monday 29 August 2022 in Libreville, Gabon. In the presence of a thousand representatives of governments, international organisations, NGOs and the private sector from all over the continent, the Egyptian Foreign Minister and President of COP27 denounced the climate injustice suffered by Africa. « There will be no reprieve or plan B at COP27, » warned Sameh Choukri.
En Afrique du Sud, les constructeurs d’accessoires pour pêche au drone viennent de perdre une bataille judiciaire contre le ministère sud-africain de l’Environnement. Le gouvernement sud-africain estime que l’utilisation d’engins motorisés dans le cadre de la pêche à la ligne accroît la pression sur certaines espèces marines menacées.
C’est la fin d’un loisir nautique qui met en danger les ressources halieutique de l’Afrique du Sud. Le 12 avril 2022, un tribunal de Pretoria (capitale administrative de l’Afrique du Sud) a débouté des fabricants de drones qui contestaient une note du ministère sud-africain de l’Environnement interdisant l’utilisation d’engins motorisés dans le cadre de la pêche à la ligne. Après près de trois mois de procès, la justice a donné raison au gouvernement sud-africain, qui dénonçait depuis plusieurs années l’impact négatif de la pêche au drone sur la biodiversité marine.
Promue depuis 2016 en Afrique du Sud par des constructeurs de drones, l’utilisation d’engins motorisés dans le cadre de la pêche à la ligne inquiète également les scientifiques. Ils évoquent des effets tels que la capture d’espèces en danger, la surpêche et même des conflits entre plagistes et pilotes de drone. Cette nouvelle pratique consiste à charrier une ligne et son appât avec un drone, de manière à pêcher le plus loin possible tout en restant sur la côte le plus souvent. L’appât est relâché par le drone une fois la proie repérée. La technique permet de faire de grosses prises comme des requins, qui normalement sont impossible à atteindre depuis la plage.
Une pratique hors la loi
La pêche au drone touche particulièrement les refuges des espèces menacées. Selon Bruce Mann de l’Institut de recherche océanique de l’Association sud-africaine pour la recherche biologique marine, les espèces aquatiques menacées se trouvent très souvent dans les zones éloignées du rivage. Et ce sont ces zones qui sont ciblées par les drones. Et pourtant la loi sud-africaine sur la gestion de l’environnement de 1998 interdit l’utilisation de drones au-delà de 2500 pieds. Mais indépendamment de cette règle, les pêcheurs au drone pratiquaient bien au-delà des limites requises.
En plus de présenter un avantage injuste par rapport à la pêche manuelle, l’utilisation de drones englobe d’autres problèmes tels que la confidentialité. Les caméras dont sont équipés ces gadgets peuvent filmer au passage des personnes, notamment des touristes, dans leur intimité. Ainsi, l’interdiction de la pêche par drone pourrait non seulement protéger la vie marine, mais aussi le sentiment de sécurité des personnes et l’équité globale dans la pratique de la pêche à la ligne.
Des requins en voie de disparition
L’interdiction de la pêche au drone intervient en Afrique du Sud au moment où le pays d’Afrique australe connait une disparition progressive des requins blancs. Une étude commanditée par le gouvernement sud-africain indique la nette régression de ces mammifères marins. Au large de la baie False à l’est du Cap le nombre d’observations de requins blancs se situait à 205 par an entre 2010 et 2016.
Alors qu’en 2018, à peine 50 observations ont été réalisées. Ces requins ont disparu de l’horizon, même durant les mois qui constituent habituellement le pic de leur présence. En deux ans, un seul signalement a ainsi pu être confirmé dans la zone, selon la même étude.
La Semaine africaine du climat, l’une des réunions de préparation à la 27e Conférence des Nations unies sur le climat (COP27), s’est ouverte le lundi 29 août 2022 à Libreville au Gabon. En présence d’un millier de représentants de gouvernements, d’organisations internationales, d’ONG et du secteur privé de tout le continent, le ministre égyptien des affaires étrangères et président de la COP27 a dénoncé l’injustice climatique dont est victime l’Afrique. «Il n’y aura ni sursis, ni plan B à la COP27 », averti Sameh Choukri.
The survival of the rhino is on the agenda of the 19th meeting of the International Conference on Endangered Species (CITES), to be held in November 2022 in Panama. In the run-up to this event, a recent IUCN report indicates that poaching of African rhinos will decrease by 1.6% between 2018 and 2021. Despite this rate steadily decreasing from a peak of 5.3% in 2015, IUCN continues to warn of the plight of Africa’s rhinos.
Poaching and illegal trade in rhinos remain a concern in Africa. According to a report published on 22 August 2022 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), from 2018 to 2021, 2,707 rhinos were poached across the African continent, 90% of them in South Africa.
While there has been an easing of human pressure on rhino, including the rest of the wildlife due to restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, trafficking resumed just after the restrictions were lifted in 2021. As a result, poaching has increased again in some countries, notably South Africa, where 451 rhinos were illegally killed compared to 394 in 2020. Overall, the African rhino population has declined by about 1.6% per year, from an estimated 23,562 individuals in 2018 to 22,137 at the end of 2021.
Still a relative decline
These African rhino poaching figures are still significantly lower than the peak in 2015, when South Africa alone lost 1,175 rhinos to poaching. The continent’s rhino poaching rate then reached 5.3%, a far cry from the 3.9% in 2018 and 2.3% in 2021.
Sam Ferreira, IUCN’s African rhino specialist, explains this downward trend by a combination of factors. « These include improved local law enforcement cooperation, international collaboration between states (…) and a reduction in demand for rhino horn, » he says.
For Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network, vigilance must continue. « Continuous and consistent monitoring of the illegal trade is vital, » says Sabri Zain, Traffic’s policy director. He stresses the need for greater sharing of critical information such as DNA samples between countries affected by the illegal trade in rhino specimens.
The IUCN report comes on the eve of the 19th meeting of the International Conference on Endangered Species (CITES). The event, which takes place in November 2022 in Panama City, will be the ideal setting for discussions on the protection of the African rhino.
The survival of the rhino is on the agenda of the 19th meeting of the International Conference on Endangered Species (CITES), to be held in November 2022 in Panama. In the run-up to this event, a recent IUCN report indicates that poaching of African rhinos will decrease by 1.6% between 2018 and 2021. Despite this rate steadily decreasing from a peak of 5.3% in 2015, IUCN continues to warn of the plight of Africa’s rhinos.
En prélude à la 27e conférence des Nations unies sur le climat (COP27), African Center for Advocacy publie un rapport sur deux communautés camerounaises situées en première ligne de la crise climatique. Le document présente les témoignages des habitants de Kakou et d’Ouro Garga. Deux localités du nord du Cameroun, où les effets du changement climatique ont considérablement affecté les moyens de subsistance des populations.
En prélude à la 27e conférence des Nations unies sur le climat (COP27), African Center for Advocacy publie un rapport sur deux communautés camerounaises situées en première ligne de la crise climatique. Le document présente les témoignages des habitants de Kakou et d’Ouro Garga. Deux localités du nord du Cameroun, où les effets du changement climatique ont considérablement affecté les moyens de subsistance des populations.
Cameroonian and Rwandan municipal authorities have exchanged their respective experiences on waste management in urban areas. The mission led from 1 to 6 August 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda by the Cameroonian Minister of Housing and Urban Development (MINHDU) praised the effectiveness of smart bins. This pilot project launched in November 2021 should be extended to all cities in sub-Saharan Africa where waste management systems are inefficient.
This is one of the key discoveries of the working mission conducted from 1 to 6 August 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda, by Célestine Ketcha Courtès, the Cameroonian Minister of Housing and Urban Development. Smart bins. These are locally manufactured bins equipped with sensors to monitor waste levels in real time. The bins are geo-located and controlled by a system via the Internet. The sensors send live notifications to the waste collectors about how full the bins are. The waste is then collected and taken to the landfill or to recycling sites.
These bins are coloured according to the type of waste. The green ones are for biodegradables, the blue ones for recyclables such as plastic and paper, while the grey ones are for electronic waste. Also, the sensors that monitor the filling level of the bins are solar-powered.
The Smart Africa Alliance
These smart bins, installed in the city of Kigali since November 2021, have significantly improved the city’s sanitation, making Rwanda an African reference in sustainable waste management. Hence the interest of Cameroon to follow the example of this East African country.
The objective of the mission led by Célestine Ketcha Courtès in Rwanda was to learn about good practices and above all to identify innovative technologies, techniques and projects in the field of sanitation and sustainable urban waste management. Ultimately, the aim is for the Cameroonian side to appropriate the Rwandan approach to urban waste management in order to adapt it to Cameroonian cities, in search of a sustainable urban sanitation technique.
This vision is in line with the pilot project of smart bins launched in Kigali. The initiator of this project, the Smart Africa Alliance, intends to extend these bins to all other cities in sub-Saharan Africa. For the record, the Smart Africa Alliance brings together 30 African ministries in charge of digital technology and the Norwegian Development Agency (NORAD)
Cameroonian and Rwandan municipal authorities have exchanged their respective experiences on waste management in urban areas. The mission led from 1 to 6 August 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda by the Cameroonian Minister of Housing and Urban Development (MINHDU) praised the effectiveness of smart bins. This pilot project launched in November 2021 should be extended to all cities in sub-Saharan Africa where waste management systems are inefficient.