As African heads of states and governments gather at the 37th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 17-18, environmentalists have called for a unified commitment to and greater leadership in tackling the escalating plastic pollution crisis and overfishing in Africa’s waters.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
As African heads of states and governments gather at the 37th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 17-18, environmentalists have called for a unified commitment to and greater leadership in tackling the escalating plastic pollution crisis and overfishing in Africa’s waters.
Dr. Oulie Keita, Executive Director of Greenpeace Africa, emphasized the critical need for a robust, ambitious global plastics and high seas treaties. “We are at a pivotal moment where our actions can shape the future of our continent. African governments must mobilise and unite in supporting a strong Global Plastics Treaty and High Seas Treaty that prioritise reducing plastic production, keeping the oil and gas used in its production in the ground and protecting our oceans. This is not just an environmental issue; it’s a justice issue, it’s also about the health, livelihood and rights of our people,” said Dr. Keita.
Plastic is the fastest growing source of industrial greenhouse gases. Greenpeace Africa applauds the progress made by the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) and urges more African countries to join the Coalition in strengthening their positions on the plastics treaty. The move would significantly bolster the efforts of existing coalition members, including Rwanda, Senegal, Ghana, and Nigeria, in advocating for a treaty that addresses the entire lifecycle of plastics, from production to disposal.
« Our demand is clear: a treaty that reduces structural inequalities, protects human health, the environment, and ensures a just transition to a low-carbon development pathway. It must be centered on justice for frontline communities most affected by plastic pollution and overfishing, » Dr. Keita added.
Greenpeace Africa urges African leaders at the AU Summit to demonstrate true leadership by adopting a progressive plan that tackles the full lifecycle of plastic and invests in sustainable solutions like reuse and refill systems. This is a critical opportunity for African nations to lead the way in creating a plastic-free future with protected oceans, showing the world that they stand firmly on the side of their people.
Ferdinand Omondi – Greenpeace Africa
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
LIBERIA: a campaign to assess fish stocks, for sustainable fishing
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.
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.
Fanta Mabo
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.
As part of its « Alliance for Biodiversity Protection and Development » project, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has signed a partnership agreement with Sofibanque to support the development of inclusive and sustainable small and medium-sized enterprises in the Haut-Uele province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This partnership aims to improve living conditions for local communities and reduce pressure on natural resources around Garamba National Park and the Kibali gold mine.
In the province of Haut-Uele, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the lack of employment opportunities in the formal sector and the poor diversification of business sectors are hampering economic development and damaging biodiversity. Faced with a lack of opportunities, local populations are turning to poaching, illegal logging and artisanal gold mining.
To reverse this trend, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has signed a partnership between its « Alliance for the Protection of Biodiversity and Development » (APBD) project, implemented by Adam Smith International (ASI), and Sofibanque, a commercial bank based in Kinshasa. The project aims to improve the living conditions of local communities and reduce pressure on natural resources around Garamba National Park and the Kibali gold mine.
USAID’s APBD project will achieve its objectives by mobilizing the resources of public and private partners, in the form of subsidized interventions, partnerships and cost-sharing agreements, or as an intermediary between third parties. These interventions are structured around four components. Improving access to economic and financial opportunities, sustainable private sector development, capacity building for responsible artisanal mining, and integrated and effective management of Garamba National Park.
« By combining the experience and financial products provided by Sofibanque with the expertise of ASI and Global Communities in supporting SMEs, the APBD project aims to demonstrate that supporting local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is a powerful way of diversifying the local economy and creating jobs. In addition, it is a means of creating market opportunities that will encourage communities to engage in more sustainable livelihoods and reduce their pressure on the protected areas of Garamba National Park, » said Kevin Kiffer, APBD Project Manager.
The APBD project is the second of its kind to be launched in Haut-Uele province in the space of 7 months. In May 2023, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office in the DRC, the Korean Embassy, and the DR Congolese Ministry of the Environment launched the Integrated Program for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in Haut-Uélé province. Funded by the Republic of Korea ($9 million) and the UNDP ($1 million), the project aims to combat climate change and improve economic conditions for indigenous populations.
Fanta Mabo
DRC: Haut-Uele hosts new Usaid-funded resilience project
As part of its « Alliance for Biodiversity Protection and Development » project, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has signed a partnership agreement with Sofibanque to support the development of inclusive and sustainable small and medium-sized enterprises in the Haut-Uele province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This partnership aims to improve living conditions for local communities and reduce pressure on natural resources around Garamba National Park and the Kibali gold mine.
The United Nations (UN) presents Africa as the epicentre of the world’s humanitarian crises in 2024. Of the 26 countries for which the United Nations is calling for the mobilisation of 46.4 billion dollars in international aid, fourteen are in Africa. The multiplication of climatic disasters and their corollaries of armed conflict have forced more than 130 million people into urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Because of the consequences of climate disruption, Africa will be the scene of the world’s major humanitarian crises in 2024. In its analysis of the 20 countries in the world where the humanitarian situation could deteriorate further in 2024, the American non-governmental organisation (NGO) International Rescue Committee (IRC) notes that 11 of these countries are in Africa. They include Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia.
For the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), the number of African countries to be closely monitored in 2024 goes beyond 11. Of the 26 countries for which Unicef is requesting the mobilisation of 46.4 billion dollars in international aid this year, fourteen are on the continent. The biggest crises are concentrated in three countries: Ethiopia, Sudan and the DRC, where the population affected varies between 20 million and 26 million, depending on the country.
The consequences of climate change
This concentration of global humanitarian crises in Africa also has a climatic origin. Here, most humanitarian crises arise from vulnerability to the effects of climate change and armed conflict. « They are increasingly occurring in the same regions and at the same time. More than half the conflicts that have broken out since 1995 have occurred in the countries most exposed to global warming and least able to adapt to it », explains the IRC.
In a report presented on 24 May 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) establishes a causal link between climate change and the rise in armed conflicts in Africa. The report, entitled « On the Road to Extremism in Africa: Pathways to Recruitment and Disengagement », identifies the causes of the explosion in the activities of non-state armed groups, and points the finger at the climate crisis as a catalyst for the escalation of violence on the continent.
Fanta Mabo
AFRICA: climate causes the most serious humanitarian crises of 2024
The United Nations (UN) presents Africa as the epicentre of the world’s humanitarian crises in 2024. Of the 26 countries for which the United Nations is calling for the mobilisation of 46.4 billion dollars in international aid, fourteen are in Africa. The multiplication of climatic disasters and their corollaries of armed conflict have forced more than 130 million people into urgent need of humanitarian assistance.