The biodiversity crisis was at the heart of a meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on February 18, 2024 in Abuja, Nigeria. Participants were invited to make proposals for a regional action plan to extend the 30×30 target for biodiversity in West Africa.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
The biodiversity crisis was at the heart of a meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on February 18, 2024 in Abuja, Nigeria. Participants were invited to make proposals for a regional action plan to extend the 30×30 target for biodiversity in West Africa.
Leaders in charge of environmental protection in West Africa are paving the way for the conservation of their biodiversity. This was the subject of a coordination meeting organized by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on February 18 in Abuja. Nigeria, which holds the rotating presidency of ecowas, is leading the sub-region’s efforts to draw up a regional action plan to extend the 30×30 target for biodiversity in West Africa.
This collective effort is further supported by the Ecowas Commission, led by Commissioner Massandje Touré-Litse, who stressed the global importance of the region’s actions to achieve the 2030 biodiversity conservation target. The stakeholders present at this coordination meeting have an important mandate. They must produce a regional implementation plan for the 30×30 target, which aims to ensure the effective protection of at least 30% of Ecowas biodiversity by 2030, in order to preserve vital ecosystems and halt the extinction of wildlife species caused by man.
« I want to be convinced that thanks to your work over the next few days, Ecowas will once again take the lead in biodiversity ambitions. We will work through the difficult technical aspects and devise new ways forward, knowing that the eyes of the world are upon us. Our hard work to expand and strengthen our protected areas will serve not only as a sign of our commitment, but also as a wake-up call to the rest of the world, » says Iziaq Salako, Nigeria’s Minister of State for the Environment.
According to the « 30×30 » target as set out in the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted in December 2022 at the 15th Conference of the Parties in Canada, Parties must ensure and enable that, by 2030, at least 30% of terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine areas, particularly areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably managed systems of protected areas.
The achievement of this objective must recognize and respect the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, including their traditional territories.
Fanta Mabo
Conflicts caused by the effects of climate change are imminent in West Africa and the Sahel. Tensions over scarce water resources could lead to wars if nothing is done urgently. The alert has been issued by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). For the sub-regional organization, the time has come to take concrete action to address the effects of climate change.
Water wars could break out in West Africa and the Sahel. The countries of these regions are drastically affected by the rise in temperature with its corollaries, the drying up of surface water, rivers, lakes and wetlands, as well as the deepening of the water table and the loss of biodiversity. « Without livestock, vegetable gardens, and water points, people migrate to the few remaining small resources that have not been damaged by the drought. Once there, competition for access to water or livestock creates tensions that can inevitably degenerate into conflict, » explains Hadjia Zara Mamadou, president of the Association of Nigerien Women Against War and former mayor of Agadez.
Hadjia Zara Mamadou was taking part in the Regional Conference on Climate Change, Peace and Security in West Africa and the Sahel, which was held from 6 to 7 April 2022 in Dakar, Senegal. According to Philippe Zoungrana, the coordinator of the Regional Support Program for Natural Resource Management within the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the countries most affected by climate change are located in the central Sahel. This is the case of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. In these West African countries, « there are more than 1.8 million internally displaced persons, due to drought. A situation that threatens security in the sub-region, » says Philippe Zoungrana.
2.3 billion dollars are needed
To address the impacts of climate change on security in West Africa and the Sahel, « ECOWAS has adopted a $2.3 billion priority action plan to fight terrorism, » said Francis Behanzin, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security. He called on ECOWAS member states for stronger political will and essential financial commitment from partners to mitigate the vulnerability of West Africa and the Sahel to insecurity problems.
For the seventh consecutive year, in 2021, the average global temperature has reached record highs. It has increased by more than 1°C compared to pre-industrial levels, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). A trend that should persist in the coming years, as predicted in the 6th report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Fanta Mabo
AFRICA: Climate change threatens security in West and Sahel
Conflicts caused by the effects of climate change are imminent in West Africa and the Sahel. Tensions over scarce water resources could lead to wars if nothing is done urgently. The alert has been issued by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). For the sub-regional organization, the time has come to take concrete action to address the effects of climate change.