A scientific prospecting campaign was launched on January 26, 2024 at the fishing port of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. The initiative, coordinated by the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation among African States bordering the Atlantic Ocean (COMHAFAT), involves assessing fish stocks in Liberia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with a view to sustainable fishing.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
A scientific prospecting campaign was launched on January 26, 2024 at the fishing port of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. The initiative, coordinated by the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation among African States bordering the Atlantic Ocean (COMHAFAT), involves assessing fish stocks in Liberia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with a view to sustainable fishing.
On January 26, 2024, the fishing port of Monrovia played host to the launch ceremony of the campaign to assess fish stocks in Liberia’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The mission will run until February 9, 2024, aboard the 48-meter-long, 1,238-ton Moroccan scientific research vessel Hassan Al Marrakchi. The vessel is equipped with multifunctional laboratories in acoustics, oceanography, hydrography and marine biology, enabling it to carry out an ecosystemic campaign integrating all the components of the marine ecosystem.
The 31-strong expedition team includes 11 scientists and 20 crew members. Its mission is to assess the abundance of small pelagic and benthic stocks, as well as the oceanographic and environmental study of the Liberian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with a view to the sustainable management of fishery resources by Liberia.
A project coordinated by Comhafat
The project supported by the Kingdom of Morocco is coordinated by the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation between African States bordering the Atlantic Ocean (COMHAFAT). This mission « aims at effective and active cooperation between member states for the preservation of fishery resources and the sustainable development of fisheries in our regions. Under these conditions, our policies can only be built through effective and dynamic fisheries research », explains Sidi Touré, the Ivorian Minister of Animal and Fisheries Resources, and current President of COMHAFAT.
The organization brings together 22 countries from Morocco to Namibia. Created in 1989, its objectives are to promote cooperation in fisheries management and development, and to develop, coordinate and harmonize the efforts and capacities of member states with a view to preserving, exploiting, developing and marketing fishery resources.
Fanta Mabo
The trial on the merits of the Agadez civil society case against Somida opened on Wednesday January 31, 2024 before the Niamey High Court. The company, which operates a uranium mine in northern Niger, is once again accused of polluting the environment and negatively impacting the health of local residents. The case is due to be heard on March 6, 2024.
The new legal battle pits civil society organizations (CSOs) from Agadez, united within the Collectif des OSC (COSCRAZ), against the Société des mines de Dasa (SOMIDA), which mines uranium deposits in the province of Agadez in northern Niger. Both parties were heard this Wednesday, January 31, 2024 before the Niamey High Court. Coscraz took the case to court to denounce the impact of Somida’s activities on the environment and the daily lives of people living near its mine.
« The lives of our fellow citizens are now in jeopardy. They are sent to certain death, without any concessions. Here, we have the impression that the operating rule is: ‘everything for the multinationals, nothing for the people’. Indeed, the latter benefit only from the radioactive irradiation and the multiple public health problems. And this, despite the presence of Nigerien executives who do not assert their role as sentinels to protect the interests and rights of local communities. Nor do these multinationals encourage the design of sustainable development projects, let alone the establishment of funds for environmental protection and post-mining management », says COSCRAZ.
Opacity of the environmental impact study
For the collective made up of the NGOs Conseils citoyens pour les consommateurs-que choisir, Tankara and ACP Alher, it is the future of the young generations in the Agadez region that is at stake in this lawsuit. For these organizations, the environmental impact of uranium mining must be fully and transparently assessed. After the hearing on January 31, 2024, Coscraz posted a message on its Facebook page, announcing that deliberations will be held on March 6, 2024.
At the next hearing, COSCRAZ hopes that justice will be as sensitive to their arguments as it was a year ago. On February 13, 2023, the Agadez court ordered the suspension of the activities of SOMIDA, 20% owned by the State of Niger and 80% by the Canadian company Global Atomic, until the publication of an environmental impact study. The uranium mine, which is due to go into production in November 2022, was also required to publish a set of specifications, including local content, which would then be monitored and evaluated by civil society players.
Fanta Mabo
NIGER: Uranium operator Somida on trial again for pollution
The trial on the merits of the Agadez civil society case against Somida opened on Wednesday January 31, 2024 before the Niamey High Court. The company, which operates a uranium mine in northern Niger, is once again accused of polluting the environment and negatively impacting the health of local residents. The case is due to be heard on March 6, 2024.