Three Brazilian anti-mining militants were on Friday, November 10, 2017 arrested in Zimbabwe. They include Frei Rodrigo Peret, a militant of the Pastoral Land Commission of Uberlandia, Minas Gerais state; Maria Julia Gomes Andrade and Jarbas Vieira, who are members of the Movement of People Affected by Mining (MAM) and members of the secretariat of the Committee in Defense of the Territories Facing Mining.

The group of Brazilians were said to be participating in an exchange activity of the Brazil and Latin America Dialogue of Peoples and were reportedly arrested with 22 other people from five African countries who were part of the same delegation. They are detained at the central police station in the town of Mutare, which lies 270 kilometers from the capital, Harare, on the border with Mozambique.

The allegation for the arrest of the group, it was gathered, is that they were violating a privately-owned area belonging to a Chinese mining company who exploits diamonds in the region, however, the activity was carried out in a community where about 6,000 people live.

The Brazilian Embassy in Zimbabwe has reportedly been activated, and is said to be in contact with local police to gather more information. The Human Rights Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Brasilia is also said to be following the case. The head of the Africa Department of that ministry has also been notified, sources disclosed.

“There is great concern with the situation of political instability in Zimbabwe. Several organisations and militants are mobilising their networks to provide support and solidarity to their peers and the whole group,” said Karina Kato of the Instituto de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (ICHS).

African civil society groups and climate activists have called for extensive clarifications on how African countries and especially indigenous grassroots communities can access funding to adapt to climate change and pursue green growth.

“African governments and especially vulnerable indigenous communities need access to climate funds. These funds are needed for climate adaptation, mitigation and technology transfer, capacity building and forest management,” says Julius Karanja, Programme assistant, Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) at a side event on Green Climate Fund/Civil Society Organisation (GCF/CSO) readiness in Bonn on Wednesday, November 8, 2017.

“But accessing these funds by African countries and indigenous communities is still an uphill tasks and we think COP23 is the place for the right decisions and engagements to be taken,’’ Julius said.

Other African representatives said climate impacts are multiplying in many developing nations underlining the need to protect vulnerable states from rising risks of extreme weather.

“We listen and watch with horror weather extremes in many African and Asian countries and we know that the impacts of climate change are ravaging mostly the vulnerable grassroots communities with attendant loss of lives, property and means of livelihood. Accessing finances for adaptation in these countries have become very urgent, thus the need for flexibility, and clarity on the Green Climate Fund (GCF) process,” said  Jean Paul Brice Affana, Policy Advisor, Climate Finance and Development, German Watch.

African civil society say that for this to happen, a multi-stakeholder mobilisation and participation in the GCF process is imperative.

According to Dr. Curtis Deobbler, representative, International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, participation of the different stakeholders in the GCF process will not only ensure transparency but will provide the opportunity for full engagement of grassroots communities via civil society organisations.

“Though the Green Climate Fund promises to be the most ambitious in the fight against climate change, there is need to ensure total transparency and equity in access to the funds. This can best be ensured with the participation of grassroots communities, represented by civil society, at all levels of the process,” Curtis said.

He said there is need to recognise the role of civil society in accountability at national level where they consult with implementing entities and are versed with local best practices.

The GCF accordingly is intended to be the major conduit for funding to flow from wealthy economies built on fossil fuels to those that will suffer most from climate change they did not cause. Experts say it aims at being the most ambitious step in the fight against climate change.

“It is a very important step forward in the global effort to fight climate change,” Dr. Curtis Deobbler said.

Many developing countries have indicated that their commitments to cut emissions are conditional on support from wealthy nations but the funds are coming at a very slow pace, the African civil society has said. The developed world has agreed that poor countries should receive $100 billion a year by 2020, but have so far pledged just $10.2 bilion to the GCF, PACJA noted.

The COP23 in Bonn, CSOs say, is expected to be more about UN house-keeping than grandstanding with many of its conclusions being technical and businesslike, designed to make the process of cutting greenhouse gas emissions work better, rather than announcing new goals or targets.

They called on the UNFCCC to recognise the role of the civil society in accountability and the need to get them participate at all levels of the process, as the voice of the grassroots communities.

Courtesy: PAMACC News Agency

Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, has assured agriculturists of a brighter future in the country.

The assurance, which was made when the minister visited Otlo Agencies Limited crushing plant in Igando, Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, is on the condition that the industry stakeholders believe and support the government both at the state and the federal levels.

The minister, represented at the event by his media adviser, Olukayode Oyeleye, said no meaningful improvement could be made without industry stakeholders believing and supporting the leadership.

The visit was part of the nationwide tour embarked upon by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, to major stakeholders in agriculture and value chain in the country. It aims to restore Nigeria’s place in agro-commodities’ exports and trade.

The inspection and sensitisation team of the ministry led by Oyeleye was impressed by activities at the Otlo crushing plant.

Founded over two decades ago by Otolorin Olusanjo, Otlo Agencies offers a wide range of cattle by-products from horn products to organic fertilisers, for local consumption and export.

Industry Challenges

At the visit, the stakeholders listed some challenges facing the industry.

Olusanjo, the managing director of Otlo Agencies, said the challenges the industry was facing include lack of electricity, bad roads, multiple taxation, high interest rates, and import barriers.

According to him, due to epileptic power supply, the use of diesel-powered generators increases costs by as much as 30 per cent. Bad roads, he continued, leads to breakdown of vehicles, which also increases cost.

State and federal governments, he said, collect the same taxes using different names.

The inability to export animal by-products as finished products to Europe and the influx of foreigners, like the Chinese, into the industry are other challenges the stakeholders brought to the fore.

Recommendations

To fix the above-listed challenges, the stakeholders urged the Federal Government to provide stable electricity to manufacturers and engage the European Union (EU) to allow Nigerian products free access into Europe.

They appealed to the government to provide them with a much more enabling environment to operate by creating easy access to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s agricultural funding and foreign intervention, as well as placing ban on the influx of foreigners like the Chinese, Indians, Koreans and Philippines into the industry.

Also, they demanded special foreign exchange for import of inputs.

Having listened to the submissions, the minister assured them that necessary measures would be put in place to tackle those challenges.

Otlo crushing plants are among a number of Federal Government initiatives to fast-track the interventions and solidification of agriculture export and trade base and make it more responsive to issues of safety and phyto-sanitary standards in by-product and food exports, so that its reports will be acceptable globally.

The team that visited the Otlo plant comprised officials of the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), the National Agency for Food And Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the National Association of Chambers Of Commerce, Industry, Manufacturing And Agriculture (NACCIMA), and Nigerian Customs Services (NCS), among others.