C’est la beauté, vue autrement. La beauté de la jeune fille camerounaise, évaluée sous un prisme écologique. Il faut dire que c’est carrément une innovation au Cameroun, un concours de beauté basé sur des critères d’hygiène et d’assainissement. Il s’agit du concours Miss Venta. La compétition rendue à sa deuxième édition cette année, vise à promouvoir l’hygiène et l’assainissement auprès des populations à travers la beauté de la jeune fille. Les candidates à ce concours sont appelées à faire rayonner leurs capacités entrepreneuriales et leur attachement aux questions de santé et d’environnement.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
C’est la beauté, vue autrement. La beauté de la jeune fille camerounaise, évaluée sous un prisme écologique. Il faut dire que c’est carrément une innovation au Cameroun, un concours de beauté basé sur des critères d’hygiène et d’assainissement. Il s’agit du concours Miss Venta. La compétition rendue à sa deuxième édition cette année, vise à promouvoir l’hygiène et l’assainissement auprès des populations à travers la beauté de la jeune fille. Les candidates à ce concours sont appelées à faire rayonner leurs capacités entrepreneuriales et leur attachement aux questions de santé et d’environnement.
Pour en parler, nous recevons Ekath Loïs. La jeune étudiante en médecine basée à Yaoundé, est candidate au Concours Miss Venta, dont la finale a lieu le 25 août 2024 à Douala.
Environnementales, c’est le principal magazine de contribution à la protection de l’environnement en Afrique au sud du Sahara.
Un conception et réalisation de Boris Ngounou
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On January 19, 2024, Burkina Faso officially confirmed its intention to join the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, more commonly known as the Water Convention. This forthcoming accession will enable the West African country to improve the management of its shared water resources, against a backdrop of increasing climate change.
Burkina Faso is experiencing a rapid increase in demand for water, due to a population of around 22.1 million, with an annual demographic growth rate of 3%. Added to this are factors such as the current security threats in the Sahel, the effects of climate change, urbanization, increasing industrialization and the intensification of irrigated agriculture, all of which pose ever-greater challenges to the sustainable management of the country’s shared water resources.
It is to meet these challenges, through improved management of shared water resources, that Burkina Faso wishes to join the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention). Adopted in Helsinki on March 17, 1992, this is the only international framework agreement in force on transboundary freshwater. It aims to protect water resources and guarantee their quantity, quality and sustainable use, by facilitating and promoting cooperation.
Burkina Faso’s accession to the Water Convention
Burkina Faso has expressed its willingness to join this international organization, through Roger Baro, Burkina Faso’s Minister of the Environment, Water and Sanitation. This was on January 19, 2024 in the capital Ouagadougou, during a national workshop organized with the financial support of the European Union (EU) through the project « Promoting accession to the Water Convention », which aims to strengthen transboundary cooperation on water, and the sustainable and peaceful management of shared water resources. Roger Baro guaranteed that he and his colleague, the Burkina Faso Minister of Foreign Affairs, would take the necessary steps for the adoption of Burkina Faso’s accession instruments.
Accession to the Water Convention will enable Burkina Faso to consolidate the cooperation frameworks in which it is already engaged with its neighbors. These are the Convention of the Volta Basin Authority (VBA), the Convention of the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) and the Convention of the Comoé-Bia-Tanoe Basin Authority.
This new membership will bring the number of African countries that are members of the Water Convention to ten. Burkina Faso will join Chad, Senegal, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Togo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Namibia and Gambia.
Fanta Mabo
SAHEL: why is Burkina Faso joining the Helsinki Water Convention?
On January 19, 2024, Burkina Faso officially confirmed its intention to join the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, more commonly known as the Water Convention. This forthcoming accession will enable the West African country to improve the management of its shared water resources, against a backdrop of increasing climate change.
Published on the sidelines of the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations, the latest report on sustainable development in Africa assesses the continent’s progress in implementing the five main Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It shows steady progress on the key targets of the SDGs, in particular on 4G mobile network coverage and access to drinking water and electricity.
Out of 48 countries assessed in Africa, only Egypt and Tunisia are on track to achieve the goal of universal basic sanitation by 2030. The 2023 report on sustainable development in Africa indicates that, with regard to the sixth sustainable development goal (SDG6), African countries have improved access to safe drinking water services, but there is still a significant disparity between rural and urban areas. Three out of five Africans, or 411 million people, still lack safe drinking water. The report calls on African countries to invest in water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure and to build capacity for integrated water resource management.
The 2023 report, entitled « Accelerating recovery from the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 at all levels », was published on the sidelines of the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations. It was produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The document assesses Africa’s progress in implementing the five main SDGs, namely SDG 6 (drinking water and sanitation), SDG 7 (clean and affordable energy), SDG 9 (innovation, industry and infrastructure), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and SDG 17 (partnerships). In addition to access to drinking water, the report notes steady progress on 4G mobile network coverage and access to electricity.
« Africa’s continued progress on the SDGs is commendable. It is encouraging to learn that the continent is on track to achieve some of the goals, particularly those related to innovation and technology, which are powerful catalysts for advancing sustainable development, » explains Ahunna Eziakonwa, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Africa.
The report notes that although Africa is making progress towards achieving the SDGs, the number of goals on track is lower than the number requiring acceleration or reversal. It calls for rapid interventions to accelerate countries’ progress on the key SDGs and the aspirations, goals and targets of the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063.
Fanta Mabo
AFRICA: with the exception of Egypt and Tunisia other countries will not achieve SDG6
Published on the sidelines of the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations, the latest report on sustainable development in Africa assesses the continent’s progress in implementing the five main Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It shows steady progress on the key targets of the SDGs, in particular on 4G mobile network coverage and access to drinking water and electricity.
On the occasion of World Water Day 2023, we question the Water, Climate, Development and Gender Program (WACDEP-G) in Cameroon. Implemented by the National Meteorological Directorate of the Cameroonian Ministry of Transport (MINT) and the Global Water Partnership in Cameroon (GWP-Cmr), the program promotes the inclusion of women in the management of water access projects in the context of climate change. In northern Cameroon, where the program is implemented, access to water is more difficult. Low rainfall and prolonged droughts make water resources scarce, jeopardizing rain-fed agriculture and food security. Murielle Elouga, the head of the Water, Climate, Development and Gender Program (WACDEP-G) in Cameroon, answers AFRIK 21’s questions.
The program you are in charge of has been working for three years to involve women in the integrated management of water resources in Cameroon. What progress have you made in this area?
The « Water, Climate and Gender Development » program is implemented by the Global Water Partnership in Africa (GWP-Caf) and aims to take into account gender in the planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of projects in the water and climate resilience sector. During its implementation over the last three years, we have accompanied the Ministry of Water and Energy in taking gender into account in the law on the water regime, which is currently being revised.
Indeed, after an analysis of this law, we realized that it speaks more about the population in general, without taking into account specific social categories, i.e. youth, women, men, disabled people, and many others. We believe that by integrating the gender issue in this law, it will condition the development of policies to improve access to water for the population as a whole. Another advance in the program is that we have helped to remove the barriers around a disease related to the consumption of drinking water with high fluoride content. Dental Fluorosis. By conducting scientific and sociological studies in northern Cameroon, we realized that this disease, which gives a certain yellowish color to the teeth, is not related to hygiene, nor even to any curse. It is indeed a disease linked to the consumption of water with a high fluoride content. A pathology that affects women on a social level.
Access to water remains a challenge for the populations of the Northern parts of Cameroon, and particularly for women. What improvements are you advocating in this part of the country?
What we are advocating is to involve women at all levels of decision making, to put them at the heart of water-related activities and to provide them with more tools and training on water and climate change issues. Given that the water cycle is increasingly being altered due to the vagaries of climate change impacts.
Beyond that, it is interesting to listen to these women. To have their endogenous and traditional knowledge in order to better involve them in all issues related to water management, conservation and supply. Also, to facilitate women’s access to water, it is important to develop or promote endogenous technologies that are already implemented in the localities, but which need financial support or accompaniment from the State and development partners.
World Water Day 2023 is celebrated under the theme « accelerating change ». What should farmers and rural communities in Cameroon and elsewhere understand?
This theme challenges farmers and rural communities in Cameroon and elsewhere on their ability to adapt to water-related change. A change induced by the impacts of climate change. So if we must adapt to this change, we must be more informed and equipped, know the importance of the water resource and develop endogenous techniques for its conservation. Also, rural women need to know that they are at the very heart of water resource management and conservation, although they need the support of public authorities, both in technical and financial terms. They also need the support of development partners, whether in terms of logistics, techniques, or finance, to be able to carry out their local water resource management initiatives and improve access or water security.
World Water Day is a day to raise awareness on sustainable water resources management. What is your comment on Cameroon?
As far as Cameroon is concerned, I advise the authorities to apply integrated water resources management (IWRM). Because we need water in all areas of economic activity. We need it for electricity, in the health sector, the agricultural sector, and the industrial sector. So water is a matter for all actors, decision-makers, planners, users. And all of them must contribute in one way or another, according to their role, according to their responsibilities, to the elaboration of laws, to the development of policies, to planning and to implementation at the operational level. Beyond the sectoral management of this resource, collaboration is needed to create a balance in the management of the water resource, in the rationalization of this water, according to economic and even social priorities. Women have a major role to play in promoting integrated water resources management. It is important for women to be more leaders and to act even at the local and operational level. They must be actors rather than mere beneficiaries.
Interview by Boris Ngounou
Murielle Elouga: « Women must be at the heart of integrated water management
On the occasion of World Water Day 2023, we question the Water, Climate, Development and Gender Program (WACDEP-G) in Cameroon. Implemented by the National Meteorological Directorate of the Cameroonian Ministry of Transport (MINT) and the Global Water Partnership in Cameroon (GWP-Cmr), the program promotes the inclusion of women in the management of water access projects in the context of climate change. In northern Cameroon, where the program is implemented, access to water is more difficult. Low rainfall and prolonged droughts make water resources scarce, jeopardizing rain-fed agriculture and food security. Murielle Elouga, the head of the Water, Climate, Development and Gender Program (WACDEP-G) in Cameroon, answers AFRIK 21’s questions.
La Journée mondiale de l’eau, qui a lieu chaque 22 mars, est une date choisie par les Nations unies pour mettre l’accent sur l’importance de l’eau dans la vie de l’humanité.
COMMUNIQUE DU REJEAO-AFRIQUE A L’OCCASION DE LA JOURNÉE MONDIALE DE L’EAU 2023
À cette occasion, le Réseau Panafricain des Journalistes pour l’Eau, l’Assainissement et la Protection des Océans (REJEAO-Afrique) et ses associations partenaires, exhorte les États africains à faire tout ce qui est en leur pouvoir, afin d’assurer un accès de tous à l’eau potable et à inscrire ce droit, dans les plans nationaux de développement dans un contexte de crises multiples.
Le REJEAO-Afrique saisit l’occasion de la célébration de la Journée mondiale de l’eau, pour inviter les partenaires techniques et financiers de nos pays, à appuyer les gouvernements dans la réalisation de l’ODD 6 : « eau propre et assainissement, pour tous d’ici à 2030 ».
Faut-il le rappeler, l’eau est une ressource vitale. Elle est source de vie et de mieux-être. Malheureusement, selon les statistiques des Nations unies, d’ici à 2030, l’Objectif 6 des ODD ne sera pas atteint, si le taux de progression des réalisations actuelles, n’est pas multiplié par quatre.
“Le thème retenu pour l’édition 2023 de la Journée mondiale de l’eau, vise à accélérer le changement pour résoudre la crise de l’eau et de l’assainissement à travers le monde”, a déclaré Nadège Christelle BOWA, présidente du REJEAO-Afrique.
Pour le REJEAO-Afrique, ce thème vient à point nommé relancer la question de l’accès à cette ressource par nos populations au regard des difficultés actuelles avec l’avancée de la désertification du fait du changement climatique.
Il est donc temps de passer à l’action
À l’occasion de cette importante journée, le REJEAO-Afrique, appelle l’Afrique à agir en solidarité avec ceux qui souffrent cruellement du manque d’eau.
Le REJEAO-Afrique appelle les gouvernements africains à passer à l’action et à faire du continent, un endroit où chaque ménage a accès à l’eau et à l’assainissement.
Le REJEAO-Afrique encourage les populations à agir au sein de leur communauté de manière à changer leur façon de gérer, d’utiliser ou de consommer l’eau. Chaque geste, aussi modeste, soit-il, peut contribuer à résoudre la crise de l’eau potable en Afrique.
À l’occasion de cette journée, le REJEAO-Afrique a une pensée particulière à l’endroit des populations des zones de conflit où la violence et l’insécurité, empêchent l’accès à l’eau et compliquent l’existence de millions de personnes.
La célébration de la Journée mondiale de l’eau coïncide avec le début de la Conférence des Nations Unies sur l’eau 2023 (22-24 mars, New York).
Le REJEAO-Afrique souhaite que cette conférence soit l’occasion unique donnée à la planète, en une génération, de s’unir autour de la question de l’eau et de l’assainissement. Il appelle les gouvernements et les parties prenantes à collaborer afin de prendre des engagements volontaires visant à accélérer les progrès sur l’ODD 6.
Pour le REJEAO-Afrique, la Présidente,
Nadège Christelle BOWA
À propos du REJEAO-Afrique
Lancé en marge du 21e congrès de l’Association africaine de l’eau et de l’assainissement qui s’est tenu à Abidjan du 17 au 23 février 2023 couplé à la 7e Conférence de l’Alliance pour les boues de vidange, le “Pan-African Network of Wash Journalits” a pour mission d’accompagner les politiques publiques des États africains en matière d’accès à l’eau portable, à l’hygiène et à l’assainissement, apporter sa contribution à la promotion de toutes les questions de développement dans le secteur, apporter son soutien et accompagnement aux actions menées par l’Etat, les partenaires techniques et financiers et les acteurs en vue d’améliorer les conditions de vie des populations les us vulnérables.
LA JOURNÉE MONDIALE DE L’EAU 2023 : « Aussi modeste soit-elle, chaque contribution compte »
La Journée mondiale de l’eau, qui a lieu chaque 22 mars, est une date choisie par les Nations unies pour mettre l’accent sur l’importance de l’eau dans la vie de l’humanité.