The island of Madagascar, off the southeast coast of Africa, is set to experience increased drought in 2024. According to the United Nations, the island is one of 35 countries worldwide considered to be « at high risk » from the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon.
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The island of Madagascar, off the southeast coast of Africa, is set to experience increased drought in 2024. According to the United Nations, the island is one of 35 countries worldwide considered to be « at high risk » from the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon.
Rainfall warning lights were triggered on Wednesday February 7, 2024 in Madagascar’s Grand Sud, a region already highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Satellite observations and weather stations are recording a significant water deficit, marked by temperatures of at least 35 degrees Celsius and dry winds that make the red earth swirl.
The consequences of this very low rainfall should be felt by the population as early as May 2024, when the harvest begins. The peak of food insecurity is expected in October 2024, if harvests fail. « Madagascar is already facing a climate crisis. And with the return of El Niño, the consequences could be dramatic », warns Reena Ghelani, the UN coordinator on the climate crisis and the El Niño phenomenon, who concluded a visit to Madagascar’s Grand Sud on Friday February 2, 2024.
El Niño is a climatic phenomenon characterized by abnormally high water temperatures in the eastern part of the South Pacific Ocean. Combined with the global rise in surface temperatures, this phenomenon exacerbates the effects of climate change. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ranks Madagascar among the 35 countries in the world considered « at high risk » of El Niño impacts. Seven other African countries feature in this top 35, namely Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe, where the impact of El Niño last year resulted in widespread crop failure and the drying-up of community water points used by the population, for livestock and for agricultural purposes.
Mobilization of international humanitarian aid
According to the WMO, 2024 could break the heat record set last year under the effects of El Niño warming. In Madagascar’s Grand Sud region, where around 45% of the population in some districts is facing acute levels of food insecurity, humanitarian actors fear that the drought will amplify existing vulnerabilities. During the last El Niño episode in 2015-2016, the region was hit by a severe drought. The cost of the humanitarian response, which lasted three years, was estimated at $180 million.
As part of the National Humanitarian Response Plan (PNRH) 2023-2024, the Malagasy government and its partners intend to help around 1.6 million people starved by the climate crisis. The international community is called upon to mobilize $162 million for this plan.
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At the Italy-Africa summit in Rome on January 29, 2024, the Italian government announced a 5.5 billion euro investment plan to support development in Africa. This support will include renewable energies, energy efficiency projects, water and sanitation. This will be done in line with the provisions of the joint « Green Cities for Africa » project.
Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni calls for a new Italian partnership with Africa. The tone was set at the Italy-Africa Summit held in Rome on January 29, 2024. The Italian leader announced various initiatives designed to strengthen economic ties and create an energy hub for Europe, while curbing African emigration to Europe. These initiatives include an initial commitment of 5.5 billion euros, including guarantees.
Through the Rome Process Financing Facility, the Italian government is also committed to providing 100 million euros (90% of which is concessional financing) to support infrastructure in Africa, in particular for renewable energies, energy efficiency projects, water and sanitation, agricultural initiatives, as well as vocational training and job creation.
Infrastructure as part of the « Green Cities for Africa » project
In his speech, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) thanked the Italian government for convening this summit, which aims to promote a genuine partnership with Africa and ensure that the continent remains at the heart of debates during Italy’s presidency of the G7, the discussion and economic partnership group of the world’s greatest powers which hold around 2/3 of the world’s net wealth, rising to 45% by 2019, namely Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The FAO Director-General also expressed his gratitude to Italy, which, through the various financial supports announced, is collaborating in the joint « Green Cities for Africa » project, part of the FAO’s Green Cities initiative.
The FAO Regional Green Cities Program for Africa aims to respond to the continent’s growing urbanization and the resulting pressure on agri-food systems. It also aims to improve food security, nutrition and quality of life in urban and peri-urban areas.
According to the FAO, by 2030, 70% of the world’s population is expected to live in cities. And 90% of this increase will occur in Africa and Asia, which will put a strain on agri-food systems.
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Italy-Africa Summit: Rome backs « Green Cities for Africa » initiative
At the Italy-Africa summit in Rome on January 29, 2024, the Italian government announced a 5.5 billion euro investment plan to support development in Africa. This support will include renewable energies, energy efficiency projects, water and sanitation. This will be done in line with the provisions of the joint « Green Cities for Africa » project.
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.
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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.
Owendo Mineral Port (OMP) is committed to a low-emission economy. A 1.56 MWp solar system will soon be installed on the port’s premises, located 21 kilometers from Gabon’s capital, Libreville. The project is financed by British International Investment (BII), a British financial institution.
Owendo Mineral Port (OMP), a public-private joint venture between Arise Ports & Logistics, Meridiam and the Gabonese government, is in the process of solarizing its facilities. A 1.56 MWp solar panel system and a 1 MW battery electricity storage system will soon be installed, mainly on the roofs of 6 workshops, within the port platform located 21 kilometers from Gabon’s capital, Libreville. The project’s environmental benefits include a reduction in CO2 emissions, estimated at over 1,700 tonnes per year, and optimization of the port’s operating costs.
The $2.6 million project will be financed under the partnership agreement that OMP has just signed with British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution. « We are delighted to have identified this value-added opportunity with OMP to help address climate challenges. This is in line with BII’s ambition to achieve a net zero portfolio by 2050, and to support the decarbonization efforts of our portfolio companies, » explains Geoffrey Manley, Director and Head of Energy Access and Efficiency at BII.
The BII’s financing is linked to an energy audit. According to the investment company, the Owendo mineral port’s electricity demand is around 7,730 MWh, which suggests that much remains to be done to achieve full solarization of OMP’s electricity needs. Moreover, as part of its sustainable development strategy, the port intends to electrify its mechanical equipment and transport vehicles.
OMP’s move towards a low-CO2 economy is part of a national vision. In its project to build hybrid solar power plants, Gabon intends to reduce its carbon emissions in order to achieve annual carbon savings of around 3,000 tonnes of CO2. For Gabon’s Caisse de Dépôts et de Consignations (CDC), this performance should contribute to the achievement of public energy policy objectives of a total installed capacity of 1,200 MW, with 80% in renewable energies (hydraulic and solar) and 20% in thermal energies, mainly gas, by 2025.
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GABON: BII releases $2.6 million for solarization of Owendo Mineral Port
Owendo Mineral Port (OMP) is committed to a low-emission economy. A 1.56 MWp solar system will soon be installed on the port’s premises, located 21 kilometers from Gabon’s capital, Libreville. The project is financed by British International Investment (BII), a British financial institution.
The European Union (EU) delegation in Brazzaville has asked the International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT) to draw up and implement a project to support the private sector in Congo. The aim is to promote the involvement of forestry sector companies operating in the Congo in responsible forest management, in line with the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (APV-FLEGT) signed between the Republic of Congo and the European Union in 2010.
Restoring the image of logging in the Congo. That’s what the International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT) is working to achieve. In a press release published on January 15, 2024, the organization, which implements international projects dedicated to the sustainable and responsible management of tropical forests, claims to have been approached to this end by the European Union (EU) delegation in Brazzaville. For the EU, the Congolese timber industry is often the subject of prejudice due to a lack of awareness of the efforts made to achieve sustainable forest management.
To improve perceptions of the Congolese timber industry, the ATIBT has been tasked with developing and implementing the Appui au secteur privé (ASP) project in Congo. This initiative aims to improve forest governance by strengthening the capacities of professional associations such as Unibois and the Fédération Forêt d’Unicongo (Union Patronale et Interprofessionnelle du Congo), as well as forest sector companies operating in this Central African country. The aim is to encourage their involvement in responsible forest management, in line with the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (APV-FLEGT) signed between Congo and the EU in 2010.
For ATIBT, the main aim of this project is to encourage a change in perception, by showing that « forestry companies, far from the stereotypes, are committed to a responsible approach. By promoting these positive actions, the aim is to create a dynamic conducive to greater recognition of the efforts made by the private forestry sector to ensure the sustainability of Congo’s forests, while encouraging the diversification and development of less-exploited forest resources ».
A timber industry accused of catastrophic deforestation
A study, published on January 13, 2017 by a team of experts led by Professor Peter Potapov of the University of Maryland, reveals that between 2000 and 2013, Africa saw 101,000 km2 disappear, or 10% of its intact forest landscapes. Over 90% of this loss occurred in the forests of the Congo Basin, the world’s second largest tropical forest. The study concludes that, at this rate, all the countries of the Congo Basin, with the exception of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), will see all their intact forest landscapes disappear over the next 60 years. An ecological catastrophe in the making.
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CONGO: ATIBT to eliminate « prejudice » against logging
The European Union (EU) delegation in Brazzaville has asked the International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT) to draw up and implement a project to support the private sector in Congo. The aim is to promote the involvement of forestry sector companies operating in the Congo in responsible forest management, in line with the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (APV-FLEGT) signed between the Republic of Congo and the European Union in 2010.