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Fiji launches first emerging market Green Bond

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Fiji launches first emerging market Green Bond

Fiji has become the first emerging market to issue a sovereign green bond, raising 100 million Fijian dollars, or $50 million, to support climate change mitigation and adaption.

Voreqe Bainimarama
Prime Minister of Fiji, Voreqe Frank Bainimarama. Photo credit: Fijian Government

Home to over 870,000 people, Fiji’s 300 volcanic islands include low-lying atolls that are highly susceptible to cyclones and floods. In 2016, Tropical Cyclone Winston – the most intense tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere on record – passed directly over Fiji, causing economic losses that amounted to almost one third of the country’s GDP. Like all Pacific island states, Fiji is also highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change: close to 20 percent of the region’s 10 million people could be displaced due to climate change by 2050.

Green bonds are fixed income, liquid financial instruments that are used to raise funds dedicated to climate-mitigation, adaptation, and other environment-friendly projects. This provides investors an attractive investment proposition as well as an opportunity to support environmentally sound projects.

At the request of Fiji’s Reserve Bank, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group focusing on private sector, provided technical assistance to assist the government in issuing a sovereign green bond. This collaboration took place under a broader, three-year Capital Markets Development Project supported by the Australian Government. Through this partnership, Australia and IFC are helping stimulate private sector investment, promote sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty in the Pacific.

Projects financed from the Fiji green bond will follow the internationally developed Green Bond Principles, and will focus primarily on investments that build resilience against the impacts of climate change. Sustainalytics US (Sustainalytics), a provider of environmental, social and governance research and analysis, evaluated Fiji Sovereign’s green bond transaction and its alignment with the Green Bond Principles. Fiji will also use bond proceeds for projects supporting its commitment to achieve 100% renewable energy and reduce its CO2 emissions in the energy sector by 30% by 2030.

Fijian Prime Minister and President of COP23, Frank Bainimarama, said: “The Fijian people, along with every Pacific Islander, live on the front lines of climate change. The rising seas, changing weather patterns and severe weather events are threatening our development, our security and the Fijian way of life, along with the very existence of some of our low-lying neighbors. I have made access to climate finance a key pillar of our upcoming COP23 Presidency, and we are proud to set an example to other climate-vulnerable nations by issuing this green bond to fund our work to boost climate resilience across Fiji.

“By issuing the first emerging country green bond , we are also sending a clear signal to other nations that we can be creative and innovative in mobilising funds and create win-win outcomes for countries and investors in adapting to the serious effects of climate change.”

“With this bond, Fiji has demonstrated that green capital markets can be created in emerging economies, and that all countries, big and small, have an important role to play in facilitating climate solutions,” World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim said. “As it takes the helm of COP23, Fiji is uniquely positioned to inspire other countries to meet their respective targets and build resilience against climate change.”

The World Bank and IFC are among the pioneers of the green bond market. The World Bank issued the first green bond in 2008. Since then, both institutions have provided leadership by issuing green bonds across a range of currencies, tenors and volumes; helping to define best practice for reporting and standards; and working with countries to facilitate the development of domestic green bond markets. The global green bond market is expected to reach $134.9 billion in 2017.

The Government of Fiji will chair the 23rd Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany from November 6-17, 2017. Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has given high priority to COP23 and aims to continue the momentum for action since the entry into force of the Paris Climate Change Agreement last year.

Fiji Green Bond Summary Terms and Conditions

Issuer: Government of Fiji
Amount: 100 million Fiji dollars
Pricing date: November 1, 2017 – May 2018
Settlement date: November 1, 2017 – May 2018
Maturity date: November 1, 2022 and November 1, 2030
Issue price: 100
Coupon: 5 years: 4.00%; 13 years: 6.30%
Denomination: Fiji Dollars

CMS, CITES join forces to protect Africa’s carnivores

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CMS, CITES join forces to protect Africa’s carnivores

Two influential UN-related wildlife bodies are proposing to join forces on a new initiative to halt the serious decline of Africa’s great carnivores.

Lions
Lions

The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will submit their plan to the CMS COP12 wildlife summit in Manila later this month. Proposals for inclusion of the Lion and Leopard on CMS Appendix II will also be discussed at the meeting.

The African Carnivores Initiative follows on from the CMS-CITES Joint Work Programme 2015-2020, which has been agreed by both Conventions.  If adopted, it is intended to become a shared platform for the implementation of resolutions and decisions on lions, leopards, cheetahs and wild dogs under both CMS and CITES. The two conventions would look to pool their resources and expertise in a drive to deliver concrete action and policy guidance in tandem with other organisations such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

CMS and CITES have already cooperated in bringing all African Lion Range States together in Uganda in May 2016 to identify the key measures needed to conserve lions across Africa. CITES COP17 also adopted a set of decisions on the conservation and management of the Lion and the Wild Dog, which call for the collaboration of the two Conventions.

Bradnee Chambers, Executive Secretary of CMS, said: “Time is running out for Africa’s iconic carnivores. As sister organisations, CMS and CITES will seek to reap the synergies that exist to save the continent’s remaining big cats and wild dogs.”

John Scanlon, Secretary-General of CITES, said: “Africa’s carnivores are among the most widely recognised and admired animals in the world. Today, these charismatic predators are facing many and varied threats to their survival in the wild. However, this crisis can still be averted, and CITES and CMS, the world’s two international wildlife conventions, are joining forces to better respond to these threats, for the benefit of people and wildlife and in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

According to IUCN, the African Lion, Cheetah, Leopard and Wild Dog are in constant – and sometimes severe – decline across the African continent, except for Lions in Southern Africa, where there has been a slight increase.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, assesses the extinction risk of a species according to specific criteria.

The 2015 Red List assessment of the African Lion suggests that Lion populations overall have experienced a decline of 43 per cent between 1993 and 2014. The classification of the species in the IUCN Red List remains Vulnerable, noting that most populations outside of Southern Africa (including Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe) are assessed as Endangered (East and Central Africa) or Critically Endangered (West Africa).

Despite challenges in estimating exact figures for the abundance of the Cheetah across Africa due to the scarcity and the naturally wide range of the species, the 2015 IUCN Red List Assessment estimates a 30 per cent population decrease over the past 15 years based on the established parallel decline in Cheetah habitat. The Cheetah is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and as Critically Endangered in North-West Africa. According to a recent study, the classification of Vulnerable might not be appropriate given that 77 per cent of Cheetahs occur outside of protected areas and are therefore not included in population assessments. Since the Cheetah faces multiple threats outside of protected areas, scenario modelling has shown that the extinction rate might be significantly higher than in protected areas and would require a classification of Endangered for Cheetah on the IUCN Red List.

The 2016 IUCN Red List Assessment for the Leopard estimates a decrease of over 30 per cent in populations across sub-Saharan Africa over the past 21 years, in line with severe declines in prey species and the expansion of agricultural land. The decline in West and East Africa is estimated at more than 50 per cent. The Leopard thus falls within the classification of Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List, having been uplisted from the classification of Near Threatened in 2015.

The Wild Dog is classified as Endangered under the 2012 IUCN Red List Assessment. Although data deficiency complicates population estimates, the IUCN Assessment estimates that an overall decline of 17 per cent took place between 1997 and 2012. The decline was most pronounced in Central Africa and Southern Africa, where populations decreased by around 26 per cent over the same timeframe.

Experts say that carnivores are vulnerable to a number of threats, as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation due to expanded human settlements and agricultural activities; conflict with humans protecting their livestock; a decline in the numbers of animals on which they prey; and unsustainable and illegal trade in specimens of large carnivores. As a result, the Lion only occurs in 17 per cent, the Cheetah in 9 per cent, the Leopard in 51 per cent and the Wild Dog in 6 per cent of their historic range across Africa.

Ethanol producers, UN boost shift to low carbon

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Ethanol producers, UN boost shift to low carbon

Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) scheduled to hold in Bonn, Germany from November 6 to 17, 2017, the Ethanol Europe Renewables Ltd (EERL) and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have partnered to boost the deployment of biofuels in the transport sector.

nick-nuttall
UNFCCC Spokesperson, Nick Nuttall

Transport is the second biggest source of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions world-wide, and the sector is rapidly growing. Biofuels such as ethanol have a much lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels, and can be added to gasoline to reduce emissions.

Nick Nuttall, Director of Communications and COP23 Spokesperson at the UNFCCC, said: “The world has embarked on an unprecedented journey to a sustainable and more secure future – how societies power-up their lives, from homes and businesses to transport and agriculture – will be crucial to success and partnerships of all kinds will be an indispensable catalyst for positive momentum”.

Ethanol Europe Renewables Ltd recently founded the Climate Ethanol Alliance, designed to bring together bioethanol producers for the promotion of climate action and the accelerated transition of the transport sector towards low carbon. Supporters of EERL’s initiative as a European ethanol producer are Marquis Energy, a leading US producer, Growth Energy a US ethanol trade association and Almagest a Bulgarian ethanol producer.

At COP23 in Bonn, EERL will present the biofuel industry’s efforts towards the transition to low carbon in a special exhibition and in a side event jointly organised by the partners.

Eric Sievers, Investment Director of EERL, said: “Biofuels are a potential solution for decreasing the carbon footprint of the fleet of gasoline burning engines, which is large and still growing. Until the transition towards a global carbon neutral vehicle fleet is completed, bridge technologies such as ethanol can contribute to a decrease in emissions of the transport sector in a significant way, and we are looking forward to showcasing what is possible in Bonn.”

 

About Partnerships between UN Climate Change and non-Party stakeholders

The collaboration between the UNFCCC and EERL is part of a series of partnerships between UNFCCC and relevant stakeholders, including the private sector, to support climate action. Partnerships will be formally recognised and given high visibility through the UNFCCC website and social media channels, conference branding, and media engagement activities to reach a global audience.

The partnerships for COP23 promote the increased involvement of non-Party stakeholders as foreseen in the Marrakesh Partnership for Global Climate Action (MPGCA).

The MPGCA was a launched at COP22 by the Conference of the Parties, explicitly welcoming climate action of all non-Party stakeholders, including the private sector, to help implement the Paris Climate Change Agreement. All entities of society and business are strongly encouraged to scale up their efforts and support actions to reduce emissions, as well as to build resilience and decrease vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change.

Maharashtra farmer deaths linked to India pesticide mismanagement

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Maharashtra farmer deaths linked to India pesticide mismanagement

India’s abysmal management of pesticides has started taking a deadly toll, according to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Over 35 farmers have reportedly died and hundreds have become ill due to pesticide poisoning in several districts of Vidharba region in Maharashtra, since July 2017. These incidents have been reported from the districts of Yavatmal, Nagpur, Akola and Amravati where farm workers died due to inhalation of toxic pesticides while spraying it on the fields.

Maharashtra
An Indian farmer uses pesticide on his fields in 2015: some 20 farmers have died in Maharashtra from poisonous spray. Photo credit: AFP/NOAH SEELAM

“The death of farmers in Maharashtra due to pesticide poisoning is because of the gross negligence in pesticide management in the country. This negligence has led to pesticide poisoning becoming a chronic problem in the country. Every year, there are about 10,000 reported cases of pesticide poisoning in India. In 2015, about 7,000 people died because of accidental intake of insecticides/pesticides. The Ministry of Agriculture at the Centre and agricultural departments of the states are solely responsible for the unsafe use of pesticides in the country. Deaths and illnesses due to pesticides can be avoided if we can urgently fix some of the crucial gaps in our regulations and improve its enforcement,” said Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general, CSE.

In Maharashtra, pesticides such as Monocrotophos, Oxydemeton-methyl, Acephate and Profenophos are believed to be responsible for the deaths and illness. Pesticides like Monocrotophos and Oxydemeton-methyl are considered class I pesticides by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which are further categorised into extremely hazardous (class Ia) and highly hazardous (class Ib). The classification is based on acute toxicity of pesticide active ingredient and since class I pesticides can be fatal at a very low dose, many of these are banned in several countries. Monocrotophos is banned in 60 countries, Phorate in 37, Triazophos in 40 and Phosphamidon is banned in 49 countries. But India still allows the use of these pesticides.

In fact, there are 18 class I pesticides allowed to be used in the country. In 2015-16, of the 7,717 tonnes of pesticides (technical grade) used in the country, 2,254 tonnes were class I pesticides (about 30 per cent of total pesticides). As per the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management, jointly released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO), “pesticides whose handling and application require the use of personal protective equipment that is uncomfortable, expensive or not readily available should be avoided, especially in the case of small-scale users and farm workers in hot climates”.

All class I pesticides require the use of personal protective equipment that is impossible to use by small-scale farmers and farm workers in India. On this basis itself, class I pesticides should have been banned in India long ago, say CSE researchers.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, based on a 2015 review by the Anupam Verma Committee, plans to ban only three out of these 18 pesticides starting 2018. The committee had reviewed only 11 out of the 18 pesticides and had proposed to prohibit use of another four, but only after several years – starting 2021.

“While India urgently needs to address pesticide mismanagement from several aspects, the most urgent step needed is to ban use of class I pesticides. The recommendations of the Verma committee is inadequate and the government actions so far is not in line with the urgency and scale of the problem,” said Amit Khurana, senior programme manager for food safety and toxins, CSE.

 

Approval and enforcement issues

CSE, over the last several years, has highlighted gaps in pesticide management in the country. There is a major problem with the way pesticides are approved for use in the country. There is even a bigger problem of enforcement. Unapproved off-label use of pesticides continues to be a big problem in India along with unsafe application of pesticide by farmers.

A 2013 CSE review of 11 important crops in India – wheat, paddy, apple, mango, potato, cauliflower, black pepper, cardamom, tea, sugarcane and cotton – showed that the pesticide recommendations made by state agriculture universities, agriculture departments and other boards for a crop do not adhere to the pesticides that the Central Insecticides Board and Registered Committee (CIBRC) has registered for those crops. The agriculture universities, departments and boards have recommended many pesticides that have not been registered for some crops. For example, in case of wheat the states of Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh recommended 11, 5 and 9 pesticides which were not registered by the CIBRC.

“Till we reform our pesticides regulations and regulatory institutions, pesticide poisoning and accidental deaths would continue. A Pesticide Management Bill was introduced in the Parliament in 2008 but it was allowed to be lapsed. We need a new Pesticide Management Bill to address the issues related to unsafe use of pesticides,” said Chandra Bhushan.

Herdsmen, farmers sign peace pact in Niger

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Herdsmen, farmers sign peace pact in Niger

Herdsmen and farmers in Mashegu Local Government Area of Niger State have signed a peace agreement to stop clashes among them.

Fulani-Herdsmen-Nigeria
Herdsmen grazing their cattle

Alhaji Abdullahi Babayo, Director-General of Nomadic Affairs Agency in the state, disclosed this in a statement issued to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna, the state capital, on Wednesday, September 18, 2017.

Babayo said the aim of the meeting was to reconcile communities that were affected by farmers/herdsmen crisis in the area.

He said that the meeting was attended by Alhaji Bala Sai’du, Chairman, Mashegu Local Government, Alhaji Ardo Adamu, Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association in Niger, Fulani Herdsmen, Farmers, District Heads and community leaders from the area.

According to him, the meeting was to promote peace among farmers and herdsmen and to appeal to herdsmen to desist from grazing on farmlands to avoid clashes with farmers.

The director-general advised both parties to abide by the agreement and continue to respect the cultures of one another, tradition and means of livelihood.

He urged them to be law abiding and live in peace irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affiliations.

“Farmers and herdsmen should adopt alternative dispute resolution mechanism whenever there is a disagreement in order to avert the negative effects of crisis,” he said.

Babayo also urged the Herdsmen to report any suspicious persons to the appropriate authority.

He said this would enable the authority to interrogate the persons to know their mission in the state.

He also advised both farmers and herdsmen against blocking cattle routes and destroying farmlands so as to sustain the peace in the area and guarantee food security.

CMS COP12: Fresh hope for Africa’s ocean wildlife

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CMS COP12: Fresh hope for Africa’s ocean wildlife

Several high-profile and international organisations will launch a new non-binding multi-stakeholder partnership to curb the capture, trade and consumption of endangered, threatened or protected aquatic mammals, reptiles and birds in West and Central Africa. The announcement of the Abidjan Aquatic Wildlife Partnership will take place during the 12th session of the Convention on Migratory Species Conference of the Parties (CMS COP12).

manatee
In West and Central Africa alone, at least 20 countries are known to carry out specialised hunts for the West African Manatee

The convention will be held in Manila, The Philippines from October 22 to 28, 2017. OceanCare, the USAID-funded West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA- BiCC) Programme, Wild Migration and the World Bank have supported the Abidjan Secretariat in forming the Partnership. Together these organisations will draw attention to the plight of aquatic species including endangered, threatened and protected species, and support governments, the private sector and local communities to take the critical steps to ensure their survival.

Evidence shows that the majority of countries in West and Central Africa contribute to the over-harvest of aquatic wildlife in several ways. This includes by-catch, as well as other forms of capture for human consumption, fishing bait, traditional medicine and other uses. While wild animals have always been a food source, increased global population and demand has led to the drastic over-exploitation of several species. Illegal, under regulated and/or fishing on several levels – from the local to the international – has threatened not only the species themselves but the local and national economies who depend on a well-managed aquatic resource base. The capture and consumption of species such as dolphins, whales, manatees, crocodiles and sea turtles, known as ‘aquatic wild meat’, is ‘falling through the cracks’ between environment and fisheries ministries, agencies and international processes. Private companies troll the waters off the West and Central African coasts and capture not only targeted species, but several others that become trapped in their nets.

The Convention of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) provides an ideal setting for the launch of the Abidjan Aquatic Wildlife Partnership1. The slogan for this years’ conference is “Their Future is Our Future: Sustainable Development for Wildlife and People”, a fitting concept for the launch of the partnership, which seeks to address links between the degradation of natural habitats and species, and issues of poverty, food security, human health, including impacts on local and national economies. Many drivers behind the increased demand for aquatic wild meat are the same issues identified within the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A growing reliance of people on unsustainable food sources such as endangered, threatened or protected species has clear implications for the future economic prosperity and well-being of people, but also represents a grave conservation and animal welfare concern.

  • In West and Central Africa alone, at least 20 countries are known to carry out specialised hunts for the West African Manatee.
  • Cetaceans are killed and their meat is consumed at high levels throughout the region. Ghana is thought to represent a particular hotspot in the region for hunts of dolphins and small whales with at least 16 species affected. In some cases, dolphins are landed as by-catch but directed hunts also occur and in some places where they are used as shark bait.
  • Sea turtles are killed for their meat and shells, as well as their eggs. As females lay the eggs, poachers collect them and often kill the females at the same time. Turtle meat is regularly sold in African countries including Nigeria, Mauritania, Cabo Verde, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Guinea.
  • Aquatic species are also killed for medicinal and ornamental purposes. For example, turtles are used for traditional medicine in the Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leonne, Ghana, Togo and Benin. Turtle shells are sold to tourists throughout the region.
  • Crocodiles are caught and killed in significant numbers for meat which is sold in markets in Nigeria.

 

Aquatic Wild Meat at CMS COP12

At CMS COP12, governments will consider adopting a resolution which highlights issues that affect many migratory aquatic species listed in the appendices of CMS. In particular it expresses concern that these species are being harvested in an illegal or unregulated manner and that demand for the meat or other products of these species is increasing. The resolution asks that CMS gives the issue increased attention by setting up an international working group of experts to focus on the issue and to provide advice to governments.

The hope is that the outcome of the new CMS Aquatic Wild Meat Working Group, if agreed by the parties, would benefit the Abidjan Aquatic Wildlife Partnership and work collaboratively within or alongside it.

The organisations supporting the development and of the Abidjan Aquatic Wildlife Partnership will not only be encouraging governments to adopt this resolution but also to take this fight back to their home countries and reinforce their commitment to ensuring that endangered and threatened migratory aquatic species not only survive, but thrive.

Cigarettes deliberately sold near schools, report finds

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Cigarettes deliberately sold near schools, report finds

The Nigerian Tobacco Control Research Group (NTCRG) and the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth (ERA/FoEN), in collaboration with the African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA), will on Thursday, October 19, 2017 at the St. Paul’s Anglican Church Hall in Yemetu, Ibadan, Oyo State, present a national research that shows how tobacco companies strategically situate tobacco products and advertisements near primary and secondary schools with the aim of enticing kids to experiment smoking.

Tobacco
Hilda Ochefu of the CTFK delivering a speech during the presentation in Abuja

This  is a follow-up to the presentation of the same report in Abuja on Wednesday, October 17, 2017.

The research, titled “Big Tobacco: Tiny Targets Nigeria Report”, exposes widespread sale of tobacco products along paths of primary and secondary schools in five states where there was also alleged deliberate display of tobacco products next to sweets and drinks, making them easily accessible, and sales of single tobacco sticks at very affordable rates, among other tactics of getting children to smoke and ultimately addicted.

Specific examples from Lagos, Nasarawa, Enugu, Kaduna and Oyo states are documented in the report, including visual evidences.

The report urges government to take action and made some specific recommendations including the need for urgent passage of the regulations guiding implementation of the National Tobacco Control (NTC) Act 2015 by the National Assembly; and  Proactive prohibition of placement of tobacco products within 100m of any educational institution by the federal, state and local education authorities.

It demanded the enforcement of the comprehensive prohibition of tobacco advertising promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) and the setting up of a Framework for monitoring the implementation of the ban on single sticks and cigarettes packs with less than 20 sticks as detailed in the NTC Act 2015.

At the public presentation in Abuja, Hilda Ochefu of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) said tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of deaths and that the tobacco industry deliberately targeted kids as replacement smokers.

Ochefu said the report captured the strategy of the tobacco industry to entice and get kids addicted to smoking hence the need for the immediate enforcement of provisions of the NTC Act announced by the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, which included ban on single stick sale of cigarettes and ban on smoking in public places.

Giving a summary of the report, Dr. Akin Adebiyi of the NTCRG said it involved a survey of 221 schools across the five states where the situation of point of sale and other tobacco inducements were prevalent. He explained that the report would guide government in taking concrete steps to save the young generation of kids that the tobacco industry wants to addict from embarking on the dangerous experimentation of cigarettes.

Participants at the public presentation of the report included representatives of the Federal Ministries of Health, Education and the Ministry of Labour and Employment, anti-tobacco groups, and the media, among others. Venue of the public presentation was the Merit House, Abuja.

Climate change: Agency sues for behavioral change on deforestation

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Climate change: Agency sues for behavioral change on deforestation

The urgent call to fight against climate change-related catastrophe, which is already taking its toll in numerous geographic zones, is a galloping man-induced disaster of global proportion.

Okokori-WATER-MPIDO
Participants at the gathering in Okokori, Cross River State

To this end, an international agency based in Kenya has warned communities in Cross River State in Nigeria to protect the remains of its forest to avoid climate change disaster.

The organisation, Mainyoito Pastoralist Integrated Development Organisation (MPIDO), a donor agency to Wise Administration of Terrestrial Environment and Resources (WATER), on a working tour to Okokori in Obubra Local Government of the state, warned that climate change is real and has caused so many harms to communities in Kenya. Okokori is richly blessed with forest resources.

Giving an insight of his community’s ordeal in Kenya after losing all its forests to climate change, Mr. Elijah Toirm, a member of MPIDO, said communities should create other means of livelihood that would not snatched away their forest.

“We have come all the way from Kenya to tell you how climate change is affecting the entire world. This is not something that is affecting only Okokori community because I am a living witness to climate change in my country.

“I speak from experience; we live in a dry place because we have burned down all the trees in my community and used for charcoal which we sold to earn money. Right now, we are suffering from that ignorance. In fact, the last time it rained was last year December.

“You are still lucky to have your forest but if you don’t take care of your environment, you will suffer the same fate as my community.” Toirm warned.

Programme Coordinator of WATER, Chief Edwin Ogar, said climate change would not only lead to the escalation of natural and man-made disasters, but bring about a worldwide extinction of most animal and plant species.

He said, this being alarming calls for immediate global action as seen in the Paris Climate Agreement entered in to by 194 countries in late 2015.

Responding, members of Okokori community thanked MPIDO for organising trainings and workshops through WATER, describing it as an eye opener to communities living in the forest. They however called for support of projects that would provide jobs to youths who depend mostly on the forest to make a living.

The community women leader, Mrs. Emilia Joseph, said the community has been working towards achieving the fight against deforestation through setting up of a task force.

Stressing on the need to fund the community task force on deforestation, the Women Leader said, “We have been trying our best to protect the forest through the use of Task Force but this group need some financial support to do more and if those supports do not come, we cannot live up to expectation.”

On his part, the youth leader, Mr. Fidelis Oyama, complained that neighboring communities have been involved in deforestation of their environment. He demanded that the organisation should take the gospel of deforestation to those communities.

By Agosi Todo, Calabar

CMS COP12 to address illegal killing of birds

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CMS COP12 to address illegal killing of birds

A new intergovernmental task force to curb the illegal killing of birds crossing one of the world’s greatest migration paths will be high on the agenda at this year’s largest wildlife summit, which takes place in Manila next month.

Migratory-Birds
Migratory birds

The East Asian-Australasian Flyway spans 22 countries from the Russian Federation to Alaska in the USA in the north, through much of Eastern Asia to the Western Pacific and Australia and New Zealand in the south.

Many millions of migratory birds, which travel along the Flyway twice yearly, will receive greater protection if the proposal is adopted.

Delegates from over 120 countries will gather in the Philippines from October 23 to 28, 2017, for the 12th triennial meeting of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or COP12, where they will consider the submission.

The “Task Force on Illegal Hunting, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway” will build on the successes of a similar initiative for migratory birds in the Mediterranean, agreed at COP11 in in Quito, Ecuador in 2014. The Mediterranean Task Force has proved to be a key forum to promote the exchange of best practice and information between countries facing the same challenges and also with other members of the Task Force. At its meetings in Egypt and Malta, the Task Force developed indicators and a scoreboard to measure progress at national level. The Asian group will also develop guidelines and recommendations, and will assist countries in preparing national  action plans to curb illegal hunting and trade.

Dr Bradnee Chambers, Executive Secretary of CMS, said: “Intensive hunting and illegal killing are driving many endangered bird species to the brink of extinction. Countries which they transit share a joint responsibility to implement measures to protect them. The proposed task force for the East Asian-Australasian Flyway feeds into a wider, collaborative strategy to combat global wildlife crime and strengthen efforts to ensure that migratory species are managed sustainably and legally.”

Migratory birds face many threats over the long distances they travel. Most notable is the destruction of their habitats, which are critical for feeding, resting and breeding.

Yet, in many parts of the world, birds are being deliberately and illegally killed, trapped, or traded at an unprecedented scale. According to BirdLife International, around 25 million birds are killed annually in the Mediterranean, with some species now at risk, including Pallid Harriers, Egyptian Vultures and several species of songbird.

Earlier this year, the Secretariats of the CMS and the Bern Convention joined forces and developed a common self-assessment scoreboard to measure and benchmark progress on the eradication of illegal killing for governments to use at national and regional level.

The joint tool uses standardised methods, which will also help facilitate the implementation of other initiatives such as the Tunis Action Plan 2013-2020 for the Eradication of Illegal Killing, Trapping and Trade of Wild Birds under the Bern Convention.

The indicator framework offers national administrations a simple tool, which makes it possible for countries to assess their progress.

“International efforts to tackle the illegal killing, taking and trade in birds just became easier. The scoreboard will contribute to the prioritisation and commitment of resources by national administrations, NGOs and international actors,” said Dr Chambers.

“This tool will greatly aid countries in their monitoring and reporting commitments and will provide a political incentive to reduce illegal killing worldwide.”

Volcanic eruptions linked to social unrest in Ancient Egypt

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Volcanic eruptions linked to social unrest in Ancient Egypt

Around 245 BCE Ptolemy III, ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt, made a decision that still puzzles many historians: After pursuing a successful military campaign against the kingdom’s nemesis, the Seleucid Empire, centred mainly in present-day Syria and Iraq, the king suddenly decided to return home. This about-face “changed everything about Near-East history,” says Joseph Manning, a historian at Yale University.

Volcanic eruption
Volcanic eruption

Now, Manning and his colleagues have identified a possible reason for Ptolemy III’s trek back to Egypt: volcanoes. It’s a strange link, but one borne out by evidence. Massive eruptions, a new study suggests, can disrupt the normal flow of the Nile River by cooling the planet’s atmosphere. In Ancient Times, that may have led to food shortages and heightened existing tensions in the region. The research, which was published on Tuesday, October 17, 2017 in Nature Communications, links eruptions not just to the end of Ptolemy III’s war, but to a series of violent uprisings and other upheavals that rocked Ptolemaic Egypt – an empire that extended over large portions of Northeast Africa and the Middle East.

The study creates a strong case that sudden shifts in climate can have big impacts on human society. And it’s remarkable, Manning says, for doing so by drawing on a wide range of methods and evidence – from ice core records to Egyptian papyri.

“That’s the beauty of these climate records. For the first time, you can actually see a dynamic society in Egypt, not just a static description of a bunch of texts in chronological order,” Manning says. “This is of absolutely enormous importance.”

The research is a product of the Volcanic Impacts on Climate and Society working group of Past Global Changes (PAGES), a global research project of Future Earth.

At the heart of that dynamic society was the Nile River, the lifeblood of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. This empire arose in about 305 BCE, not long after the death of Alexander the Great, and ended around 30 BCE with the death of Cleopatra. During this period, Egyptian farmers depended on the yearly flooding of the Nile in July through September to irrigate their grain fields – inventing systems of channels and dams to store the river’s overflow.

“When the Nile flood was good, the Nile valley was one of the most agriculturally-productive places in the Ancient World,” says Francis Ludlow, a climate historian at Trinity College in Dublin and a co-author of the new study. “But the river was famously prone to a high level of variation.”

In some years the Nile didn’t rise high enough to flood the land, and that could lead to trouble. Historical records suggest, for example, that a shortage of grain and the unrest that followed were behind Ptolemy III’s return to Egypt. And Ludlow had reason to think that volcanoes could be behind some of those bad years.

The reason comes down to a squiggly band of monsoon weather that circles the planet’s equator called the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Every year around summer in the northern hemisphere, this band moves up from the equator. That in turn soaks the headwaters of the Blue Nile River, a major tributary of the Nile. But when volcanoes erupt, they blast out sulfurous gases that, through a chain of events, cool the atmosphere. If that happens in the Northern Hemisphere, it can keep the monsoon rains from moving as far as they usually do.

“When the monsoon rains don’t move far enough north, you don’t have as much rain falling over Ethiopia,” Ludlow says. “And that’s what feeds the summer flood of the Nile in Egypt that was so critical to agriculture.”

But how often would eruptions diminish the river’s flooding? To find out, Ludlow, Manning and their colleagues turned to computer simulations and real-world measurements of the Nile River that date back to 622 CE. The team discovered that poor flood years on the Nile lined up over and over with a recently published timeline of major volcanic eruptions around the world. That evidence suggested that when volcanoes explode, the Nile tended to stay calm.

The team then dug further to see if that might have an impact on Egyptian society during the Ptolemaic era, which is rich in papyri and other written records. They include the trilingual Rosetta Stone. Again, the timelines matched: Volcanic eruptions preceded many major political and economic events that affected Egypt. They included Ptolemy III’s exit from Syria and Iraq – just after a major eruption in 247 BCE – and the Theban revolt, a 20-year uprising by Egyptians against Greek rule. The researchers then examined how likely it was that these events occurred so close in time to eruptions, finding it “highly unlikely to have occurred by chance, such is the level of overlap,” Ludlow says.

The volcanic eruptions didn’t cause these upheavals on their own, both Ludlow and Manning stress. But they likely added fuel to existing economic, political and ethnic tensions. For historians, “it’s like we’ve all been in a dark room bumping into furniture, and now we have a candle lit,” Manning says.

The results may also have implications for the modern era. Currently, Ethiopia is in the middle of building a humongous dam called the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, or GERD, on the Blue Nile. Tensions are already high between the nation and Egypt over how the water resources of the river will be distributed. A sudden change in climate, such as from a volcanic eruption, could make these “fraught hydropolitics even more fraught,” Ludlow says.

“The 21st century has been lacking in explosive eruptions of the kind that can severely affect monsoon patterns. But that could change at any time,” he says. “The potential for this needs to be taken into account in trying to agree on how the valuable waters of the Blue Nile are going to be managed between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.”

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