A report published on 2 April 2024 by Greenpeace Africa and Greenpeace MENA highlights the extent of air pollution in Africa, identifying the main culprits and underlining the serious repercussions on public health and the environment. Entitled « Air Pollution in Africa: The Main Culprits Unmasked », the document provides an overview of the sources of air pollution in the region and calls for urgent action to mitigate this growing crisis.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
A report published on 2 April 2024 by Greenpeace Africa and Greenpeace MENA highlights the extent of air pollution in Africa, identifying the main culprits and underlining the serious repercussions on public health and the environment. Entitled « Air Pollution in Africa: The Main Culprits Unmasked », the document provides an overview of the sources of air pollution in the region and calls for urgent action to mitigate this growing crisis.
The report reveals that exposure to air pollution is the second leading risk factor for death in Africa, causing more than 1.1 million premature deaths each year. Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa are singled out as the worst affected countries, with a significant burden of disease linked to air pollution from fossil fuels.
In terms of the main sources of pollution, the report identifies thermal power stations as the main emitters of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) in Africa. Nine of the ten largest sources of NO2 are located in South Africa, belonging to the electricity company Eskom. In addition, two of the ten largest SO2 emission hotspots are also in South Africa.
Impact on health
Exposure to air pollution is associated with a wide range of health problems, including heart and lung disease, pregnancy problems, kidney problems and cancer. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), compliance with WHO air quality guidelines could lead to significant gains in life expectancy.
Faced with this growing crisis, Greenpeace is calling on African governments to adopt proactive measures to combat air pollution. This includes the installation of air quality monitoring devices and access to real-time data to enable rapid action. The report also highlights the importance of investing in clean technologies, particularly in the energy sector, to reduce emissions of air pollutants.
For Fana Sibanyoni, a campaigner from the Mpumalanga region of South Africa, « pollution from coal plants, such as those operated by Sasol in our region, has not only tarnished our health, leading to failed health exams and chronic illnesses, but it has also darkened our future, leaving us unemployed as companies choose to hire from outside, citing our ‘unfitness’ for work ».
Fanta Mabo
Faute de ramassage des ordures ménagères, les populations de la ville de Douala brûlent elles-mêmes leurs déchets en plein air. Au péril de leur santé et de l’environnement…
Il n’a échappé à personne que le ramassage des ordures ménagères dans les quartiers de la ville de DOUALA est un véritable casse-tête, une mission que les collectivités locales et leurs auxiliaires ont du mal à remplir. Une situation qui laisse malheureusement les usagers seuls face à cette insalubrité qu’ils sont contraints de gérer, souvent avec des moyens aussi maladroits que dangereux comme le brulage des déchets à ciel ouvert.
C’est l’amer constat que l’on peut faire en sillonnant les rues de notre ville. Chaque prochaine lisière est transformée en chapelle ardente. Sauf que les fumées qui y montent jusqu’au ciel ne proviennent pas de bougies ou d’encens en fusion mais plutôt de dépôts d’ordures sur lesquels on a répandu du carburant pour les pulvériser. Mais il faut le dire, le brûlage des déchets à ciel ouvert est plus nocif par l’environnement et pour la santé que nous ne pouvons l’imaginer. Certaines personnes pourraient dire : « cela fait longtemps que nous brûlons les déchets à l’air libre. Il n’y a pas d’électricité au pays, ce n’est pas votre gros français qui va changer nos vies ». Mais à défaut de changer vos vies, il faudrait déjà préserver celles-ci de la destruction précoce…à petit feu.
Car ces petits feux de joie ne sont pas si innocents que cela. Le brûlage des déchets à ciel ouvert, y compris des matériaux en apparence inoffensifs comme le papier, le carton, les résidus verts, et les matériaux de construction libère un mélange dangereux de composés cancérigènes et d’autres substances toxiques lorsque ces matériaux sont brûlés à ciel ouvert.
Le brûlage de déchets à ciel ouvert entraîne des risques pour la santé pour ceux qui sont exposés directement à la fumée. Cela touche plus particulièrement les personnes ayant un système respiratoire sensible, ainsi que les enfants et les personnes âgées.
A court terme, l’exposition à la fumée peut causer des maux de tête, des nausées et des rougeurs. Au fil du temps, cela peut augmenter le risque de contracter une maladie cardiaque. Certains polluants renfermés dans la fumée provenant du brûlage des déchets à ciel ouvert peuvent contenir les produits chimiques suivants : dioxines, furanes, arsenic, plomb, monoxyde de carbone, oxyde d’azote, oxyde de soufre, acide chlorhydrique…On peut également retrouver ces polluants dans les cendres laissées après le brûlage des déchets à ciel ouvert.
Les expositions aux dioxines et aux furanes ont été associées à certains types de cancers, des problèmes de foie, une dégradation du système immunitaire et de la fonction de reproduction et des effets sur le système nerveux.
Par ailleurs, les dioxines et les furanes produits par le brûlage des déchets à ciel ouvert se déposent sur les plantes, qui sont mangées par les animaux. Une fois ces substances absorbées par les animaux, elles restent dans la chaîne alimentaire pour finalement se retrouver dans la viande et les produits laitiers que nous consommons. En effet, plus de 90% des dioxines et des furanes que nous absorbons proviennent de notre alimentation.
Il faut donc éviter de brûler les ordures à ciel ouvert. A la place, nous vous suggérons les 3R, le compostage et /ou l’élimination sûre des déchets.
1- R : Réduire ; éviter les articles jetables. Acheter les produits en vrac au lieu des articles emballés individuellement. Acheter des produits durables et des produits qui peuvent être rechargés, réparés ou remplis.
2- R : Réutiliser ; faire don des articles dont vous n’avez plus besoin comme les vêtements, les meubles, les livres, les magazines et les jouets aux parents, amis ou aux organismes caritatifs.
3- R : Recycler ; recycler les articles recyclables des déchets et les préparer pour une collecte ou un dépôt dans un centre de récupération local.
Il est également conseillé de pratiquer du compostage en collectant les déchets organiques des cuisines pour en faire des engrais naturels ou du biogaz. On peut enfin sortir les déchets aux fins de collecte ou les déposer dans un lieu d’enfouissement local.
Leonel Akosso
Bruler les déchets à ciel ouvert, danger !!!
Faute de ramassage des ordures ménagères, les populations de la ville de Douala brûlent elles-mêmes leurs déchets en plein air. Au péril de leur santé et de l’environnement…
The harmattan season is intensifying in Ghana, with a dangerous increase in fine particles in the air. The government is sounding the alarm, advising the public to reduce outdoor activities to a strict minimum.
Accra, the capital of Ghana, now ranks alongside New Delhi in India as one of the world’s most polluted cities. The African city of 4 million inhabitants, marked by rapid urbanization and industrialization, is currently experiencing air pollution due to the harmattan season.
Monitoring results published on February 6, 2024 by Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indicate an air quality index (AQI) between unhealthy (red) and very unhealthy (purple). Harmattan is at the root of this pollution. The hot, dry north-easterly wind has intensified this year, compared with previous years.
« From our monitoring points along the route, we’ve realized that pollution levels are high – and this is largely due to climate change. Rising temperatures, changing wind patterns and increased desertification have all contributed to the severity of the weather, » explains Selina Amoah, Environmental Quality Officer at the EPA. She also points out that climate change can influence the intensity and duration of the harmattan season, potentially leading to more severe dust storms or altered dust transport patterns. This can also have a negative impact on air quality.
Limiting outdoor activities
To reduce the harmattan season’s impact on people’s health, the EPA has urged vulnerable groups – particularly the elderly, children, pregnant women, people with asthma and associated allergies, and anyone else with underlying health problems – to reduce outdoor activities as much as possible. The agency also urges all vehicle users to reduce their speed on unpaved roads to reduce dust emissions.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is responsible for 4 million deaths worldwide every year. In Ghana, this translates into at least 28,000 premature deaths every year. These figures are all the more shocking given that only 1% of global development aid is devoted to combating air pollution.
Fanta Mabo
GHANA: climate change amplifies air pollution in Accra
The harmattan season is intensifying in Ghana, with a dangerous increase in fine particles in the air. The government is sounding the alarm, advising the public to reduce outdoor activities to a strict minimum.
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.
Lagos State in southwestern Nigeria, which includes the country’s huge economic capital with almost 20 million inhabitants, has banned the use of Styrofoam and other single-use plastics on January 21, 2024. The measure is aimed at reducing pollution.
Cleaning up single-use plastics costs tens of millions of naira a day, and the Lagos authorities refuse to sacrifice environmental protection to the economic interests of a few wealthy business owners. Single-use plastic and Styrofoam (a form of polystyrene) are now banned in this state of some 22 million inhabitants in south-western Nigeria.
Fines will be imposed on companies that fail to comply with this measure, which aims to curb the impact of plastic on the environment. Street vendors and markets in Lagos use polystyrene containers to package food and products. This packaging is a health hazard for consumers, and its constant use has led to clogged roads and blocked sewers in the city, increasing the risk of flooding and threats to biodiversity.
The challenge of enforcing anti-plastic laws in Africa
While welcoming this important decision, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Greenpeace Afrique points out that enforcing it and repairing the existing damage is a monumental task. « We urge the Lagos State Government not only to enforce the ban effectively, but also to strengthen plastics policies and regulations, » says Hellen Kahaso Dena, Pan-African Plastics Project Manager at Greenpeace Africa.
Out of 54 African countries, 34 have either passed a law banning plastics and implemented it, or have passed a law with the intention of implementing it. Of these, 16 have either completely banned plastic bags or partially banned them, without yet introducing regulations to enforce these bans. Compared to the rest of the world, the continent seems to be doing an excellent job, yet the reality on the ground is different.
In Cameroon, where the ban was adopted in 2014, covering the import, production and sale of single-use plastic items, almost nothing has changed in people’s habits. In this Central African country, over 6 million tonnes of plastic waste are produced every year. Smugglers transiting through the north from Nigeria continue to supply the market with single-use plastic. Despite this, the Cameroon government has reiterated its willingness to work with key players to find « innovative solutions ».
Fanta Mabo
NIGERIA: ban on single-use plastics in Lagos State
Lagos State in southwestern Nigeria, which includes the country’s huge economic capital with almost 20 million inhabitants, has banned the use of Styrofoam and other single-use plastics on January 21, 2024. The measure is aimed at reducing pollution.