An action plan for the conservation of Sahelo-Saharan wildlife and its habitats will be presented at the 14th United Nations Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), scheduled for 23-28 October 2023 in Uzbekistan. The said plan has already been adopted by 24 African countries, during the third high-level regional seminar on the conservation and restoration of Sahelo-Saharan megafauna, from 14 to 16 March 2023 in Agadir, Morocco.
The countries of the Sahelo-Saharan zone are establishing a strategic action plan to preserve their endangered wildlife. This was the outcome of the third high-level regional seminar on the conservation and restoration of Sahelo-Saharan megafauna, held from 14 to 16 March 2023 in Agadir, a city located in southern Morocco. Organized by the National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF) of Morocco, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), the meeting that brought together 24 African countries had one main objective. To adopt an action plan for the conservation of the Sahelo-Saharan megafauna and its habitats, as mandated by the COP13 of the CMS Convention.
The Sahelo-Saharan zone is one of the driest and most biodiverse regions in the world, where several antelope species are either extinct or have a precarious global status. « By working together, countries can develop effective conservation and management strategies to protect these migratory species and their habitats, » says Abderrahim Houmy, Anef’s executive director.
Among the eight species targeted by the draft concerted action plan for the protection of Sahelo-Saharan megafauna, six are present in Morocco, namely the oryx algazelle, addax, dama gazelle, Cuvier’s gazelle, dorcas gazelle and Barbary sheep. For its implementation, this action plan will be presented at the 14th UN Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (COP14), scheduled for 23-28 October 2023 in Uzbekistan.
The addax, a particularly targeted species
In addition to desertification which destroys the living environment of wildlife, poaching is also a major factor in the decline of species. This phenomenon has intensified in a context of growing insecurity in the region. In 2011, the collapse of Libya led to an exodus of armed militias equipped with off-road pickups into neighboring countries and into areas with significant wildlife. The situation has led to further insurgencies in Mali and northern Nigeria, adding to regional instability. The addax’s previously remote habitats have become a major hub for the illegal wildlife trade, arms, drugs and migrant smuggling.
The situation for addax has deteriorated significantly since 2010. At the time, an initial round of surveys estimated the population at 200 animals. But surveys conducted in March 2016 in the main addax habitat areas, could only identify three antelopes, according to experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Fanta Mabo
An action plan for the conservation of Sahelo-Saharan wildlife and its habitats will be presented at the 14th United Nations Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), scheduled for 23-28 October 2023 in Uzbekistan. The said plan has already been adopted by 24 African countries, during the third high-level regional seminar on the conservation and restoration of Sahelo-Saharan megafauna, from 14 to 16 March 2023 in Agadir, Morocco.
Between 2013 and 2019, West African and Sahelian countries have received only 7% of their nature and climate finance needs. This situation was lamented at the workshop on nature and climate finance strategies in the WAEMU space, April 3-6, 2023 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
International funding for climate policies in the West African sub-region is still largely insufficient. Between 2013 and 2019, West African and Sahelian countries received a total of $11.7 million in international funding, or 7% of the funding needs declared in the NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) benchmarks of these countries.
It is in this context that the workshop on financing strategies for nature and climate in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) was held from April 3 to 6, 2023 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Organized by WAEMU and the West African Development Bank (WADB), the workshop aimed to find ways and means of maximizing the mobilization of funding for NDCs in member countries. It was also about increasing the coherence of interventions by sub-regional organizations so that they can best support WAEMU member states.
« It is time, given the importance of the issues at stake, that there is an increased mobilization of States, but also of regional organizations so that together, we can achieve a structural transformation of West African economies based on the recognition of the preservation of natural ecosystems, » said Kako Kossivi Nubukpo, the WAEMU Commissioner in charge of Agriculture, Water Resources and Environment.
For her part, Valérie Noëlle Kodjo Diop, Director of Innovation and Sustainable Development at the BOAD, said that her institution is committed to supporting solutions to halt the loss of biodiversity, restore ecosystems and species, and drive systemic change throughout the supply chain and beyond.
Africa facing more extreme climate events
According to Climate Funds (November 2020), international finance mobilization to developing countries reached nearly $80 billion in 2018, with only 25% of the funds allocated to Africa, the continent most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
In its sixth report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights a key finding for Africa: the continent is already experiencing more extreme heat events, more drought, but also more extreme precipitation events than in the recent past. These phenomena, along with rising sea levels and the consequent increased risk of flooding of coastal areas, will inexorably increase in the coming decades, even if the world’s largest CO2-emitting countries manage to considerably reduce their own emissions.
Fanta Mabo
Between 2013 and 2019, West African and Sahelian countries have received only 7% of their nature and climate finance needs. This situation was lamented at the workshop on nature and climate finance strategies in the WAEMU space, April 3-6, 2023 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The Algerian government has just presented the rehabilitation and extension program of the « green dam », a forest belt linking the eastern and western borders of Algeria, over 15,000 kilometers. The program extends over 7 years with an investment of 552 million dollars. And for the year 2023 alone, an amount of $73 million has been released.
In Algeria, the Directorate General of Forestry indicated in late February 2023, a first envelope of $73 million has been released for the rehabilitation of the Green Dam during the current year.
The work will be carried out by the Public Group of Rural Engineering (GGR) and the National Bureau of Studies for Rural Development (BNEDER). This is the reforestation of 7 440.5 hectares of forest areas, 2 640 hectares of pasture, 444.16 hectares of prickly pear and 4 331.5 hectares of fruit trees in addition to the achievement of 1 012.5 km of windbreaks. In addition to these actions, work to achieve a green strip on an area of 929.5 hectares and projects to stabilize sand dunes on an area of 1 129.5 hectares. Particular interest will be given to the preservation of water and soil to ensure the preservation of 30 100 m3 of this vital resource.
A 7-year program
This year’s work on the Green Dam is the beginning of a seven-year program. With a budget of $ 552 million, this program 2023-2030 intends to increase the initial perimeter of the green dam which is about 3.7 million hectares to 4.7 million hectares and affect 13 wilayas (departments, editor’s note), three more than at the launch of this mega project.
Initiated in the 1970s by former President Houari Boumediene, the Green Dam project aims to deploy a huge forest belt of 1,500 kilometers long and about 20 kilometers wide, linking the eastern borders to the western borders of the largest African country. The objective is to serve as a natural bulwark against the advance of the desert.
But for some environmentalists, the green dam is a project with much more economic than environmental benefits. « This new project has been thought of in my humble opinion more as a sustainable development zone than a green dam in the literal sense of the term. Its dimension is as much economic and social as environmental. What remains to be done is to transform words into deeds, objectives into concrete and sustainable results. It is most of the time at this decisive level that the problem recurs, » says environmental activist Karim Tedjani.
Fanta Mabo
The Algerian government has just presented the rehabilitation and extension program of the « green dam », a forest belt linking the eastern and western borders of Algeria, over 15,000 kilometers. The program extends over 7 years with an investment of 552 million dollars. And for the year 2023 alone, an amount of $73 million has been released.
Zero Waste Skhirat and Al Mountada Li Tanmia, two environmental protection associations based in southern Morocco, carried out a plastic waste collection campaign on the Rabat coastline. The activity, supported by the Australian-based company CWP Global, was part of the celebration of the first edition of the International Day of Zero Waste launched on December 14, 2022 by the UN.
A clean-up campaign took place on March 30, 2023 along the coastline of Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Led by Zero Waste Skhirat and Al Mountada Li Tanmia, two environmental protection associations based in the south of the kingdom, the campaign ended with a brainstorming session on the question, « how to reuse the collected plastic waste?
The activity, funded by CWP Global, an Australian-based company working in the field of green hydrogen, was carried out within the framework of the International Day of Zero Waste adopted on December 14, 2022 by the United Nations (UN). Meeting in its 77th session, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 77/161 proclaiming March 30 as the International Day of Zero Waste, to be observed annually. The Day aims to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, support societal change towards circularity, and raise awareness of how zero waste initiatives contribute to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
An annual production of 2.24 billion tons of solid waste
« Creating green energy and pedagogically driving the protection of our environment is our only chance to safeguard our common future on this planet, we would like to work with associations that are fully aware of this such as Zero Waste and Al Mountada Li Tanmia, » explains Hajar Bennar, the CSR manager of CWP Global’s Moroccan subsidiary.
CWP Global points out that waste is a significant contributor to the triple global crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and degradation, and pollution. It is estimated that humanity produces 2.24 billion tons of municipal solid waste each year, of which only 55% is managed in controlled facilities.
According to the same source, approximately 931 million tons of food are lost or wasted each year and up to 14 million tons of plastic waste enter aquatic ecosystems.
Fanta Mabo
Zero Waste Skhirat and Al Mountada Li Tanmia, two environmental protection associations based in southern Morocco, carried out a plastic waste collection campaign on the Rabat coastline. The activity, supported by the Australian-based company CWP Global, was part of the celebration of the first edition of the International Day of Zero Waste launched on December 14, 2022 by the UN.