Le Makerspace de Yaoundé (Mboa hub) a été officiellement ouvert au public le vendredi 17 février 2023. La cérémonie d’ouverture a eu lieu dès 11h00 dans ses locaux situés à la Montée Chapelle Obili à Yaoundé, derrière l’hôtel Guiko.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
Le Makerspace de Yaoundé (Mboa hub) a été officiellement ouvert au public le vendredi 17 février 2023. La cérémonie d’ouverture a eu lieu dès 11h00 dans ses locaux situés à la Montée Chapelle Obili à Yaoundé, derrière l’hôtel Guiko.
Le Makerspace de Yaoundé (Mboa hub) est une filiale du programme Planet One, une collaboration entre Fryshuset et Greenpeace. L’objectif est de créer des conditions égales pour les jeunes âgés de 15 à 25 ans à travers le monde afin qu’ils s’engagent pour la justice climatique et les questions environnementales. Le Makerspace est un espace unique et dynamique où les jeunes peuvent venir s’exprimer, apprendre de nouvelles choses, échanger des expériences, renforcer leurs capacités et mener leurs propres initiatives/projets.
L’initiative Planet One soutient le mouvement mondial des jeunes en faveur de la justice climatique. L’initiative est basée sur la philosophie de la culture des makerspaces qui consiste à créer des lieux physiques communs et à fournir des outils pour « apprendre en pratiquant ». L’initiative est présente dans 6 pays à savoir, le Cameroun (Mboa Hub), la Hongrie, le Kenya, l’Afrique du Sud, l’Arménie et la Suède. ‘Mboa’ signifie « maison » en Duala, Mboa Hub est la filiale camerounaise de Planet One. Notre espace offrira un mode d’apprentissage informel en proposant aux jeunes des formations gratuites, un lieu libre d’accès, des outils tels qu’internet gratuit, du matériel de formation et un espace gratuit à réserver pour leurs propres activités. Il donnera aux jeunes du Cameroun l’occasion de renforcer leurs capacités tout en protégeant l’environnement.
L’aspect unique de ce projet est qu’il donnera aux jeunes du Cameroun les outils et la plateforme nécessaires pour faire entendre leur voix sur la scène locale et mondiale de l’activisme climatique en Afrique. Un espace qui est actuellement dominé par les jeunes d’Afrique du Sud et de l’Est.
Mboa hub
In its national reforestation strategy, Ghana committed in 2016 to restore 2 million hectares of deforested and degraded land by 2030. Seven years ahead of schedule, the West African country is a third of the way there, having put 628,000 hectares under restoration, according to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), based on government data.
Ghana reforested 628,000 hectares of land between 2016 and 2022. This is according to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), based on Ghanaian government data. The country has thus achieved one third of its target to restore 2 million hectares of deforested and degraded land by 2030.
Ghana’s reforestation efforts are carried out through three models. ‘Forest plantation’, which involves planting young trees in forest reserves for sustainable timber harvesting; ‘Enrichment’, which aims to restore lost biodiversity by planting trees in existing forests that have been degraded, or by planting in areas that did not originally have trees; and the ‘Trees on Farms’ model, which is an agroforestry programme in which farmers plant trees on their own land.
The latter model has formed the bulk of Ghana’s tree planting efforts since 2017, contributing to 520,100 hectares of land being restored between 2017 and 2021, according to the National Forestry Commission. Meanwhile, forest planting accounted for 91,000 hectares and 22,000 for enrichment. The same source says Ghana’s reforestation initiative has significantly boosted employment, generating 98,762 jobs in 2019, 75,379 jobs in 2020 and 80,378 in 2021.
Reported shortcomings on biodiversity
Ghana’s reforestation strategy is limited, however, from a biodiversity perspective. Environmentalists have raised the issue of the types of trees planted, which are mainly non-native hardwood species such as teak. According to Samuel A. Jinapor, Ghana’s Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, more than 5 million of the 26 million seedlings distributed on 10 June 2022, during Green Ghana Day, were teak.
Yet experts say that these species are not conducive to biodiversity. « If you add a non-native tree, like teak, its flowers and fruits will not provide food for our natural biodiversity, which includes insects and birds. That is why it is essential to plant indigenous species, » says Daryl Bosu, the deputy national director of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) A Rocha Ghana.
Apart from the type of tree species planted, the achievements of Ghana’s reforestation policy are threatened by fire and logging. According to the National Forestry Commission’s Annual Report 2021, fires have destroyed about 9,200 hectares of plantations in forest reserves.
And in terms of deforestation, Ghana has experienced a net loss of 573,000 hectares of tree cover between 2000 and 2020, according to Global Forest Watch, an open source web application that monitors the world’s forests in « near real time ».
Fanta Mabo
GHANA: At least 628,000 hectares of land reforested in six years
In its national reforestation strategy, Ghana committed in 2016 to restore 2 million hectares of deforested and degraded land by 2030. Seven years ahead of schedule, the West African country is a third of the way there, having put 628,000 hectares under restoration, according to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), based on government data.
Selon une étude réalisée sur un échantillon de 1200 Camerounais, plus de la moitié pense que les efforts du gouvernement sont insatisfaisants en matière de lutte contre les changements climatiques. Des données qui, au regard de l’accélération de la coupe des arbres dans les forêts et l’usage sans cesse intense du plastique, ne sont guère surprenantes et inquiètent quant aux effets néfastes des changements climatiques.
Un rapport a été récemment rendu public sur les impressions des camerounais au sujet des changements climatiques. Ce document produit par le think thank Afrobarometer révèle que 56% de la population étudiée juge insatisfaisante la réponse gouvernementale à la crise climatique est insatisfaisante. Pourtant, comme le révèle ce document, tous sont affectés par les changements climatiques. L’insatisfaction au sujet de la politique publique du Cameroun en faveur de la lutte contre les changements climatiques est en partie la résultante de crimes environnementaux qui continuent de se perpétuer sur le terrain et précisément dans les forêts camerounaises. D’ailleurs la déforestation figure en tête de liste de problèmes environnementaux qui affectent la population étudiée, suivie de la gestion des déchets et le plastique, selon le rapport.
Pour Ranece Jovial Ndjeudja, responsable de la campagne forêt à Greenpeace Afrique, « la problématique du changement climatique et de protection de l’environnement n’est pas encore suffisamment régulière dans les échanges au Cameroun. Toutefois, même si les populations ne sont pas suffisamment informées, elles en ressentent les effets et demandent que des actions concrètes soient prises. Ceci suppose des actions au niveau individuel, notamment en matière de lutte contre la pollution plastique, mais aussi au niveau étatique, avec, entre autres, l’adoption de politiques et lois adéquates et l’implémentation a une échelle nationale voire régionale et locale, d’actions concrètes ».
Par ailleurs, « le gouvernement du Cameroun doit nécessairement aller au- delà des discours et mettre fin à la déforestation ». Or, à ce niveau le bas blesse quand on constate que de larges espaces de forêts sont octroyés en concessions à des compagnies et donc seront détruits, ce qui accentue la crise climatique et de la biodiversité. Sur un autre plan, la lutte contre la pollution des déchets plastiques est encore insuffisante voire limitée et laisse entrevoir une certaine inefficacité. », ajoute-il.
Boris Ngounou
CAMEROUN : des populations insatisfaites de la réponse gouvernementale à la crise climatique
Selon une étude réalisée sur un échantillon de 1200 Camerounais, plus de la moitié pense que les efforts du gouvernement sont insatisfaisants en matière de lutte contre les changements climatiques. Des données qui, au regard de l’accélération de la coupe des arbres dans les forêts et l’usage sans cesse intense du plastique, ne sont guère surprenantes et inquiètent quant aux effets néfastes des changements climatiques.
Environmental activists and representatives of South African fishing communities are touring Europe. The mission is to alert leaders and the public to the environmental risks of TotalEnergies’ planned gas extraction projects in South Africa. The French oil company has applied for a production licence for two gas blocks off South Africa’s southern coast.
TotalEnergies has a new fossil fuel extraction project in South Africa. On 5 September 2022, the oil company applied for a licence to develop two gas blocks off the southern coast of South Africa. The investment could amount to $3 billion for reserves estimated at over one billion barrels.
The project is supported by the South African government, which sees it as an opportunity to diversify its national electricity mix based on coal. A fuel that is more polluting than oil and which is responsible for 80% of South Africa’s current electricity production. « Our transition will be sustainable if we access the oil and gas on our shores. No one complains when we import gas from Mozambique, but when we announce that Shell, for example, is operating, everyone jumps up and down, » says Gwede Mantashe, South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy.
Environmental risks
The South African government’s arguments in support of TotalEnergies’ gas project are not unanimous. Environmental activists and fishing communities see it as a threat to biodiversity and their livelihoods. The two gas blocks in question are located in Mossel Bay, in the south of the country, on the east coast. An area of high biodiversity that attracts whales and thousands of tourists every year.
« My family has been fishing for decades, and now the climate crisis is getting worse because of companies like Total or governments like South Africa’s, so my business may be coming to an end with my generation, » laments Christian Adams.
The South African artisanal fisherman has joined activists from the marine conservation group Bloom and the South African organisation Green Connection on a tour of Europe. The activists’ mission is to alert policymakers and the public to the environmental risks of TotalEnergies’ planned gas extraction projects in the Rainbow Nation. « Total is trying to get a production licence, which would mean wells and potentially leaks. Now, if we all stand up to it, we believe we can stop it, » hopes Liziwe McDaid, Green Connection’s strategic manager.
TotalEnergies’ assurances
In a memo issued on 22 November 2022 in response to the accusations by Bloom and Green Connection, TotalEnergies promised to conduct an environmental and societal impact assessment (ESIA) of its fossil fuel extraction project in South Africa.
« In addition, I would like to stress that TotalEnergies EP South Africa has already voluntarily reduced the scope of the licence application by excluding the area currently classified by the South African authorities as a marine protected area, » said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies.
Fanta Mabo
SOUTH AFRICA: Environmentalists keep up the pressure against TotalEnergies
Environmental activists and representatives of South African fishing communities are touring Europe. The mission is to alert leaders and the public to the environmental risks of TotalEnergies’ planned gas extraction projects in South Africa. The French oil company has applied for a production licence for two gas blocks off South Africa’s southern coast.
The African Union (AU) has decided to extend the Great Green Wall project to southern Africa. This decision was taken because of the security challenges faced in the Sahel countries. Launched in 2007, the pan-African ecological restoration initiative is only 20% complete, mainly in Senegal and Ethiopia.
Southern Africa is now part of the perimeter of the Great Green Wall (GGW) project. This was decided by the African Union (AU) because of the insecurity problems in many countries in the Sahel, the original project area. According to Elvis Paul Tangem, the GGW project coordinator for the AU, it is almost impossible to continue planting trees and restoring degraded land in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Nigeria, Eritrea and northern Cameroon because of insecurity and the reallocation of funds to humanitarian aid.
We are now moving to areas that are less of a security threat and less prone to conflict, » he said. We are also looking at the southern part of Africa. We are aware that Madagascar, Angola, Namibia and South Africa have suffered severe drought and desertification in recent years. The Great Green Wall now extends to these countries, » says Elvis Paul Tangem.
Insecurity and climate change
Based on the AU’s assessment of the causes of the slowdown of the GGW project in its original area, insecurity can be seen as a factor in desertification in Africa, and vice versa. Taking part in the UN Security Council’s high-level debate on climate and security on 23 February 2021, several African leaders identified climate change as one of the main drivers of insecurity in Africa.
The videoconference discussion touched on the serious climate-related security risks in Africa, including in West Africa, Somalia, Darfur, the Sahel, Mali and the Lake Chad Basin. « In my country, we live in constant insecurity, due to many factors that put Sudan at the top of the list for climate vulnerability, » says Nisreen Elsaim, chair of the United Nations Youth Advisory Group.
Only 20% of targets met, after 16 years
According to a United Nations (UN) study published in 2020, the Great Green Wall had only achieved about 20% of its targets, including in Senegal and Ethiopia.
The latest boost to the project comes from the President of the 15th Conference of the Parties (Cop15) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought. On 31 January 2023 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Alain-Richard Donwahi and the Regional Coordinator of the Subregional Hub for West and Central Africa of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Njoka Tikum, signed a memorandum of understanding. The MoU covers the establishment of a financial mechanism for the effective implementation of the GGW.
Launched in 2007 by the AU, the initiative initially envisaged the continuous planting of millions of trees over a 15 km wide strip from Senegal to Djibouti. In 2013, the vision was reoriented towards a broad programme of sustainable ecosystem management and improving the living conditions of rural populations affected by land degradation. The project’s goals include restoring 100 million hectares of land, capturing and storing 250 million tons of CO2 through vegetation by 2030, and creating 10 million jobs in rural areas while contributing to food security in one of the world’s most malnourished regions.
Fanta Mabo
Great Green Wall: project extends to Southern Africa
The African Union (AU) has decided to extend the Great Green Wall project to southern Africa. This decision was taken because of the security challenges faced in the Sahel countries. Launched in 2007, the pan-African ecological restoration initiative is only 20% complete, mainly in Senegal and Ethiopia.