One of the key outcomes of the 22nd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that held last year in Marrakech, Morocco was the establishment of a new transparency fund with the injection of some $50 million by some developed countries, to encourage transparency efforts in the fight against climate change.
Samuel Ogallah Samson of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA)
African civil society organisations under the aegis of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) to that effect organised an African regional Post-COP22 sensitisation workshop in Kampala, Uganda, from April 19-21, 2017 to examine the readiness of African countries and improve on the momentum towards the fund project.
It was also geared at seeking to expand participation, broadening efforts to build partnership with government and other stakeholders, breaking from the past to build stronger and global resilience.
According to Sam Ogallah of PACJA, the sensitisation on the cardinality of the GCF was imperative to measure the readiness and highlight the role of civil society organisations in the funding project.
“Civil society organisations have to be accorded the opportunity to be abreast with the operational modalities of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to permit them fully participate in the entire project process and also push their governments to make proposals adapted to the realities of their different countries,” Ogallah said.
Participants during one of the sessions examined the goal, objectives, activities and implementation strategies of the GCF, the climate finance process at national and international level within the UNFCCC.
Also examined was the outcome and decisions of the just ended 16th Board Meeting of the GCF and the way forward especially for civil society organisations.
According to participants, the GCF was in line with the Paris agreement in COP21. The Paris Agreement implementation, they said, should go hand-in-glove with the 2030 Agenda as well as the AU Agenda 2063, “a process which should take the bottom-up approach, be inclusive and transparent.”
It was also noted that the involvement of all stakeholders including government, civil society, development partners, the private sector, youths and women was not only necessary but imperative to drive the agenda to a success.
“It is a partnership of many facets in development in every country,” says Rebecca Muna, a civil society representative. The participation of the different stakeholders, she says, signals the willingness of countries to understand and undertake climate actions that go beyond adaptation and victory for African countries.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Friday, April 21, 2017 said plans were underway to begin construction of three new modern General Hospitals in the state this year to improve healthcare delivery.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode speaking during the Town Hall Meeting
Ambode spoke while responding to requests of the people at the quarterly Town Hall Meeting held at Shibiri/Ekunpa Area Office in Oto-Awori Local Council Development Area.
He said government was already concluding the necessary paper work ahead of the movement of contractors to site.
Ambode said: “Talking about General Hospitals, in the budget, we have a designated General Hospital for three axes and Ojo Local Government is one of them.
“It is in the pipeline, it is just a matter of time, and we are already closing in on it.”
Ambode also assured the people that efforts would be made to improve healthcare service delivery in the riverine area of Oto Awori.
The governor said the decision to bring the Town Hall Meeting to Oto-Awori LCDA was in continuation of his commitment to leave no community behind in the development of the state.
He said he was also in the area to listen to the requests of the people in the axis and see how his administration could respond accordingly.
He said: “This area is traditionally and historically known to be a major supporter of government, and then we must give them back for the support which they have always been known for.”
Ambode, while highlighting the achievements of his administration in the last quarter, said the state’s Employment Trust Fund had continued to fulfil its mandate of providing subsidised loans to entrepreneurs.
According to him, the fund has now approved loans of N1.7 billion to 1,400 businesses, out of which N1.2 billion has already been disbursed to 800 people.
He said: “By the end of this month, loans to another 1,000 businesses will be approved, taking the total loans approved above 2,000.
“To further serve Lagos residents, the Fund will soon open the application process for skills development and training, to help our unemployed youths take up existing jobs within the Lagos economy.”
The governor said that for this quarter, the implementation of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative would begin, alongside the construction of 181 roads across the 57 LGs/LCDAs.
Ambode said the Abule-Egba and Ajah flyover bridges would be completed, while the government would continue upgrade of road networks in all the three Senatorial zones.
He said: “Furthermore, initiatives for tourism will be intensified by commencing Development of Heritage Centre for Leadership (Presidential Lodge), Lagos History Centre, J.K Randle Centre and Transformation of the Onikan Museum.”
He said the government would ensure development of tourism hubs in Lagos-West and Lagos-East Senatorial Zones.
According to him, the state will construct six cultural theatres to be located in Alimosho, Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu, Ikeja and Lagos Mainland.
Ambode said the government would continue with Epe and Badagry Waterfront development, as well as build on other potentials in the areas.
He enjoined residents to be part of the activities lined for the celebration of the state’s golden Jubilee.
Ambode said: “You have all been part of the success story of Eko Akete, the Centre of Excellence. At 50, we have every reason to celebrate our dear state and our collective achievements.”
To reach the Paris Agreement climate goal, and stay under 2°C warming, emissions will need to peak in the coming years and be reduced to zero by 2050. China, India and the US play a key role in achieving this target as they emit over 50% of the global CO2emissions and are by far the largest markets for renewable energies.
Leading the renewable energy transition: The Dabancheng wind farm in the Xinjiang province in China
The Allianz Climate & Energy Monitor Deep Dive report aims to inform investors and policy-makers on the scale of investments needed in China, India and the US to be in line with the Paris goals; and what recent developments, especially regarding the leadership change in the US, mean for investing in renewable power in the future.
Investments in China and the US need to roughly double, in India even triple, to remain within the Paris Agreement warming limit.
Renewable power investments will need to rapidly grow in the coming two decades to be in line with the Paris Agreement targets. According to UNEP and Bloomberg NewEnergy Finance (BNEF), in 2016, combined investments in renewable electricity in China, Indiaand the US amounted to $134 billion. These accounted for over half of the global investments in electricity supply in 2016.
China and India Overshoot their Renewable Energy Targets Regularly and Are Exiting Coal
China and India are currently well on track to achieve their climate targets set for the Paris Agreement.
China aims to increase the renewable energy capacity by 38% in 2020 compared to2015 levels, equaling 680 Gigawatt (GW) of installed capacities and investments of $361 billion in renewable energies. For comparison: Germany, which ranked first in the Allianz Climate & Energy Monitor 2016 for its renewable energy policies, currently has roughly100 GW renewables installed. A new park of 10 wind mills has around 0.04 GW of capacity.
India is also developing its renewable energy capacity at a rapid pace. In 2016, solar and wind installations exceeded the annual goal by 43% and 116% respectively. For 2022, India plans 175 GW of installed renewables. With market forces set into action by a clear policy intent, India is expected to comfortably achieve its climate targets.
Both countries are looking to exit coal-based power generation: China is cancelling plans for new fossil-based power plants and swiftly decommissioning existing coal power plants, while India is considering plans to stop building new coal power plants after 2022.
Staunch Support for Renewables in Individual US States
In the US, renewables are booming with more than 16 GW of wind and solarcapacities installed in 2016, accounting for 60% of all new capacity (27 GW). This has been driven by ambitious Renewable Portfolio Standards in various US states and tax credit schemes on federal level as well as the decline in costs for renewables.
“Rapidly falling technology costs for renewables and strong investment conditions at the state-level continue to make the US attractive for institutional investors like Allianz, despite a constraining outlook on support from the federal level from 2020 onwards”, says Thomas Liesch, Senior Project Manager at Allianz Climate Solutions.
If US drops out of Renewable Triad Mid-Term, the EU Could Emerge as Third Global Pillar
“With policy retrenchment beginning to take shape under an ‘America first’ energy blueprint, we expect China and India to outcompete the US – for the second-consecutive year – in providing an effective and reliable green policy environment,” says Ritika Tewari, Climate Policy Analyst at New Climate Institute.
China, India and the US can play a leading role on the pathway to a global energy transition. But the outlook for federal policy ambition is worsening in the US from a climate perspective. For achieving the worldwide transformation with stable trends and good conditions another front runner is needed. “The EU could replace the USA and take the economic chances” explains Jan Burck (Germanwatch), co-author of the study. “With the current G20-presidency Germany plays additional a crucial role: The German government needs to convince the other G20 states to set up own climate protection plans and improve their national climate targets next year.”
Residents of Agbado Railway Station Community in Ogun State have appealed to the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) to compensate members of the community whose houses are affected by the ongoing demolition.
Managing Director, NRC, Fidet Okhiria
The demolition of houses along the rail route is to pave way for the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail.
Chief Sunday Olaitan, the Aro of Agbadoland, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday, April 21, 2017 appealed to the government to compensate those whose houses were affected by the demolition.
Olaitan said: “We appeal to NRC to compensate our people because we were not carried along by the corporation.
“We only saw them marking the houses last week; we expected them to communicate with us officially before this time.
“We just saw them demolishing houses; if not that Kabiyesi (the monarch) came out, they would have even demolished his palace fence.
“We want government to help us sand fill the only alternative we have because it is water logged; at least, so that the market woman can have a place to sell their gwares.”
Michael Olusunmade, the Chairman, Olorunsogo Community Development Association, Itoki area, also appealed to government to give adequate compensation to the affected members of the community.
Olasunmade said majority of residents and Landlords were retirees, who built the houses with pension and gratuity.
Olasunmade said: “We appeal to government to help us with other alternatives or compensation.”
He stated that some of the landlords here are hypertensive; so to prevent cases of stroke and sudden deaths, government should come to our aid with alternatives.
Deolu Alake, a resident of Itoki, said the news of the demolitions were a great shock to him.
Alake appealed to government to compensate the landlords whose houses were demolished in the process of constructing the new standard gauge rail.
He said: “Some of us do not have alternatives because the cost of building materials now is so expensive that nobody can confidently boast of building another house somewhere else.’’
NAN reports that the NRC had announced that construction of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail would begin on Friday, April 14.
Managing Director, NRC, Fidet Okhiria, had advised those who encroached on the NRC land to start packing their belongings, to save them from being destroyed by caterpillars.
Okhiria said that those who were due for compensation would be compensated, as the process was part of the contract.
He said: “Those who encroached on the land have to vacate their premises as soon as possible because the construction work was scheduled to begin on April 14.
“We intentionally did not give permits to so many people because we knew that one day, the land will be required.
“So, we have already mapped out those places we need to remove and they are aware; we have told them to remove their valuables before the caterpillars start work.”
The MD said the project, when completed, would attract more social and economic development to the communities and major towns along the axis.
“As the climate is changing, so too are the conditions within which non-state armed groups such as Boko Haram and ISIS operate. Climate change contributes to creating a fragile environment in which these groups can thrive.”
Scientists say the Lake Chad, that borders Nigeria and some other countries, has shrunken by 95 percent over the past 50 years. They have also linked the Boko Haram insurgency to the lake’s situation. Photo credit: AP/Christophe Ena
These few lines appear to capture the essence of the outcome of a recent study that attempts to specifically and comprehensively spell out the links between climate change, fragility and non-state armed groups (NSAGs).
Prepared by Adelphi, International Alert and The Wilson Centre, the report stresses that, around Lake Chad for example, climate change contributes to resource scarcities that increase local competition for land and water, adding that the competition in turn often fuels social tensions and even violent conflict.
The report notes that, as resource scarcity erodes the livelihoods of many people, aggravates poverty and unemployment, and leads to population displacement, NSAGs, in particular Boko Haram, thrive in such a fragile environment.
“In this context of contested authority and legitimacy, Boko Haram can operate more easily and engage not only in acts of violence but also in transnational organised crime,” writes Lukas Rüttinger, a senior project manager at Adelphi, adding:
“At the same time, as climate change degrades yields from agriculture, cattle rearing and fisheries, many people are left unemployed, with few economic opportunities and low levels of education.This makes them extremely vulnerable not only to negative climate impacts but also to recruitment from terrorist groups such as Boko Haram.”
The report concludes that climate change is interacting with NSAGs in three major ways:
Climate change is increasingly contributing to fragility, mainly by exacerbating conflicts surrounding natural resources and livelihood insecurity. NSAGs proliferate and can operate more easily in these fragile and conflict-affected environments.
Climate change is having increasingly negative impacts on livelihoods in many countries and regions, e.g. through food insecurity. This makes the affected population groups more vulnerable not only to negative climate impacts but also to recruitment by NSAGs. These groups can offer alternative livelihoods and economic incentives and often respond to political and socio-economic grievances. Another interesting finding is the way non-state armed groups leverage the fragile environments arising from compound climate-fragility risks.
NSAGs are increasingly using natural resources as a weapon of war. The case studies show that in resource-scarce and fragile environments, NSAGs can use natural resources such as water as a weapon of war. This in turn further compounds and exacerbates resource scarcities. These dynamics might be exacerbated as climate change increases the scarcity of natural resources in certain regions of the world: the scarcer resources become, the more power is given to those who control them.
Rüttinger says: “In the political realm, there is a tendency to frame NSAGs primarily in the context of the war on terrorism. However, these actors are much more complex and diverse. Broadening the perspective and understanding the hybrid and complex nature of NSAGs, the motivations that drive them and the context in which they thrive is indispensable for adequately responding to the security challenges they pose.
“A broader perspective will help to better address the root causes of the rise and growth of NSAGs: While economic, social and political factors remain important, the environmental dimension of fragility and conflict cannot be separated from the other three dimensions. A narrow perspective on NSAGs and the misuse of the concept of ‘violent extremism’ risks downplaying other sources of fragility, delegitimising political grievances and stigmatising communities as potential extremists.”
As this year’s rainy season gathers momentum, the Lagos State Government has allayed the fears of residents over the torrential rainfall witnessed in the state on Thursday, April 20, 2017, saying that necessary steps had been taken to avert any incidence of flood disaster in the state.
Flood in Lagos: The city of Lagos susceptible to flooding from rainfall
Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, in a statement, said that government had in recent times carried out intensive tour of some flood-prone communities in the state to clear up blocked drainages and canals.
The commissioner wondered why any right thinking person would be dumping refuse on water courses and drainages created for free flow of storm water, saying the numerous campaigns against such practice was for the interest of the residents.
“Canal is a storm water channel for the conveyance of storm runoffs, they are God’s natural protection for holding water during massive flood and it is not a place for anybody to build a house or dump refuse. Those in the habit of doing such must stop henceforth,” Adejare said.
Allaying fears of teeming Lagosians apprehensive of the rain, the commissioner said that indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the gutters had caused a lot of environmental disasters, warning that the government would no longer tolerate the building of illegal structures along channel right of ways in the state.
To this end, he said government had since begun demolishing illegal structures and shanties erected on the drains especially in flood-prone areas.
Adejare, however, urged residents living on wetlands and flood-prone areas to be cautious and careful, urging them to limit their movement if possible and to move to higher ground if need be.
He explained that it is government responsibility to protect lives and property, appealing for the cooperation of all Lagosians in the quest to avert any flood mishap in the state.
A scientific expedition to explore life on undersea mountains – or seamounts – in the high seas south of Madagascar is under way.
Scientists plunge into an undersea mountain crater
The expedition is a key stage of a project aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of seamount ecosystems in the South West Indian Ocean, led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The three-week-long expedition aboard the French Polar Institute’s research vessel Marion Dufresne will explore the fauna of the Walters Shoal seamount.
This is the third IUCN expedition to explore seamounts, and the first to Walters Shoal.
While past expeditions concentrated solely on species inhabiting the seabed and the water, this one will gather extensive data on everything from plankton to seabirds and marine mammals to better understand how the seamount is linked to surrounding ecosystems.
The summit area of Walters shoal is said to be very shallow, thereby enabling scientists to dive on the seamount, observe and collect species by hand rather than relying on robots as they did during previous expeditions.
The expedition is to set out from Le Port, Reunion Island on Sunday, April 23, 2017. Planned arrival date in Durban, South Africa is May 18th, after three and a half weeks at sea. Scientists will spend around 19 days exploring the seamount.
The Walters Shoal is a group of submerged mountains in the Western Indian Ocean, on the Madagascar Ridge, 450 nautical miles south of Madagascar, 700 nautical miles east of South Africa.
Summits rising to at least 500m below the water surface extend over an area of 400km2. Maximum summit height is 4,750m – around 60m short of the Mont Blanc. The expedition will set out from Le Port, Reunion Island, and end in Durban, South Africa.
According to the IUCN, seamounts are home to many endemic, slow-growing, slow-reproducing species, and are highly vulnerable to intense fishing practices such as bottom trawling; both commercial and recreational fishing take place on Walters Shoal, including illegal fishing.
They have the potential to contribute to the development of new medicines through the use of marine genetic resources from the many unique species they support.
Scientists say seamounts play an important and only partially understood role in marine ecosystems well beyond the seamounts themselves; damage to seamounts could have widespread effects on ocean health and fisheries.
Fewer than 300 out of the world’s 200,000 seamounts have been explored so far, discloses the IUCN, adding that scientists will explore the fauna of the seamount and its role in the surrounding ecosystem.
It was gathered that they will also investigate the effects of unsustainable fishing practices and exploration for future deep sea mining on the seamount ecosystem.
Walters Shoal is said to have particularly shallow summits – some only 18 metres below the ocean surface – while the summits of seamounts are usually 1000-2000m below the surface; this will enable scientists to dive on the seamount rather than relying on subsea robots as during previous expeditions, allowing for hands-on data collection and better observation of marine life.
Like most seamounts, Walters Shoal lies within areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) – marine areas covered by fragmented legal frameworks which leave their biodiversity vulnerable to growing threats. By improving our understanding of seamount ecosystems, this project aims to inform on-going discussions towards an implementing agreement to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Led by the IUCN under its Global Marine and Polar Programme, scientific project partners are Muséum National de l’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD). The vessel was chartered by the Institut Polaire Français (IPEV), while project financers are the Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial.
François Simard, Deputy Director of IUCN’s Marine Programme, remarks: “Seamounts are islands of marine life with an important role in maintaining the health of the ocean. They contribute to food security by supporting fish stocks, and the unique species they harbour could provide genetic material for the development of future medicines. Yet they face increasing threats from unsustainable fishing and deep sea mining, and remain largely unexplored. We urgently need more research into these hotspots of marine biodiversity or we risk losing species that we didn’t even know existed.”
Four illegal fishing cases have been found during a joint surveillance mission conducted by Greenpeace and Sierra Leone fishery authorities. Two Chinese vessels and one Korean vessel have been arrested for infringements of Sierra Leone fishing legislation, including possessing or using illegal fishing nets on board, no visible marking and a lack of required paperwork, including log books and authorisation for unloading catch.
High sea control of Chinese fishing trawler FU HAI YU 2222 by Sierra Leone fishery inspectors. The boat has been arrested and sent to Freetown after illegal fishing gear was discovered on board during a joint operation with Greenpeace
Fishing authorities ordered the vessels to return to Freetown port for further investigation. A fourth vessel, owned by an Italian company, was found with four kilograms of shark fins on board. Though not illegal under Sierra Leonean laws, this is a clear violation of European Union (EU) fishing rules. This boat’s case will be taken further with relevant EU authorities.
In addition, more than 70 bags of shark carcasses were found on one of the Chinese vessels.
Greenpeace and Sierra Leonean authorities inspected and boarded seven vessels during a four-day joint surveillance of Sierra Leonean seas. These included three Chinese vessels, two EU vessels, one Korean vessel, and one Senegalese vessel with Korean investment. More than half of the inspected vessels are suspected of illegal fishing activity.
Ahmed Diame, Greenpeace Africa Oceans campaigner, said: “The findings from just four days of surveillance in Sierra Leone are further evidence that West Africa needs to strengthen its fisheries management. The region’s marine resources are being depleted at alarming rates, mainly due to too many boats competing for too few fish, and high rates of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. This ongoing plunder is a threat to millions of people in the region who depend on the oceans for their food.”
Currently, 140 vessels are licenced to operate in Sierra Leonean waters, including tuna purse seiners, demersal and shrimp trawlers and shrimps and mid-water trawlers targeting pelagic fish like sardinella and mackerel. Nearly half of all vessels in the country’s waters are owned by Chinese companies, and 40% by European Union companies.
Pan Wenjing, Greenpeace East Asia oceans campaigner, said: “From talking to Chinese captains during the inspections, it is evident that they have a very limited understanding of local fisheries legislation. Given that almost half of the foreign fishing vessels in Sierra Leone are Chinese, this is a major concern. These vessels need much stricter supervision. In addition, Chinese fishing companies need to supply training on local legislation to all overseas staff.”
Nearly one million of Sierra Leone’s population of seven million depend on fish as a main part of their income and diet. Overfishing and illegal fishing are a direct threat to their food security and livelihoods.
Greenpeace is demanding a stronger fisheries management to help put an end to overfishing and illegal fishing in West Africa. Governments of coastal states and fishing nations must take more responsibility and work together to manage both foreign and local fishing activities and ensure the environmentally sustainable and socially equitable distribution of these resources.
Details on the vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities:
F/V Eighteen
The Italian vessel was inspected on April 15 2017, and shark fins with a total weight of four kilograms were found on board.
Unlike many other countries, such as neighbouring Guinea, shark finning is not yet listed as illegal under the current Sierra Leonean fishery legislation. A new legislation which prohibits finning has not yet come into force. However, according to European Council regulation (EC) No 1185/2003, it is illegal for an EU vessel to have shark fins on board, regardless of whether if it is fishing in EU or foreign waters.
F/V Eighteen is owned by the Italian company Asaro, which is based in Sicily. Sierra Leonean authorities have documented and sealed the bag of shark fins and required the captain to keep the sealed fins on board as evidence.
CONA
The vessel was inspected on April 15 2017, and attempted to escape as the Esperanza approached. The vessel was hiding its name and in possession of fishing net with illegal mesh size on board, both of which are illegal under Sierra Leonean law.
According to Sierra Leonean fishery legislation, the mesh size for pelagic and demersal fishing should be 60 millimetres and above. The fishing net found on board CONA was 51-52 millimetres.
CONA is a Korean vessel. Sierra Leonean authorities confiscated the fishing license, captain’s passport, along with other navigation documents, and required the vessel to return Freetown port immediately for further investigation.
Fu Hai Yu 1111
The vessel was inspected on April 17th 2017, and attempted escape as the Esperanza approached. Two hidden nets with illegal mesh size were found, one in the freezer and the other in a locked container. The captain tried to muddle the inspection with a brand new legal net.
More than 1,400 boxes of catch were found in the freezer on board. The captain claimed all the catch had been unloaded in Liberia. However, the vessel didn’t have the required official authorisation from the Minister of Fishery and Marine Resource of Sierra Leone for unloading its catch outside the country, which constitutes an infraction of local legislation. Further research is being done to ascertain whether this authorisation has been given to the company.
During the inspection, no log book was found on board, making it impossible to verify the catch.
Seventy bags of sharks were found in the boat’s freezer, which the captain claimed would be shipped back to Fujian, China. Current legislation does not penalise sharks being caught as a bycatch, although shark populations are severely impacted by fishing.
Sierra Leonean authorities confiscated the fishing license, crew’s passports, and other navigation documents, and required the vessel to return Freetown port immediately for further investigation.
Fu Hai Yu 2222
The vessel was inspected on April 17th 2017. A piece of fishing net with illegal mesh size was found on board, which the captain claimed was not used for fishing. However, possessing fishing nets with smaller mesh size on board is considered illegal.
No logbook was found on board the Fu Hai Yu 2222. The captain could not provide a precise amount of catch, instead estimating 3500 boxes, which did not match with the estimation of the fisheries observer on board. The captain claimed that catch had been unloaded in Liberia. This, however, is illegal without the official authorisation signed by the Minister of Fishery and Marine Resource of Sierra Leone.
Both Fu Hai Yu vessels are owned by the Fuhai Fishing Company.
The Esperanza is on an expedition in West Africa to document the threat from overfishing to the marine environment and food security for millions of Africans depending on fish. The crew on board with the support of fishing authorities from coastal countries in the West Africa aim to reduce the number of vessels fishing illegally or committing different offense.
The Esperanza, it was gathered, will continue to engage in joint surveillance with local authorities until the beginning of May.
Addressing climate change is a key priority for African countries as a region that is highly impacted and hence the need for urgent implementation of the various strategies at local, national and regional levels.
Need for climate resilience: Pastoralists in Uganda
The Eastern Africa is home to thousands of pastoralists who herd their livestock in the semi-arid to arid areas. With increased impacts of climate, there is need to integrate the challenges faced by pastoralists communities as a result of climate change into policies, plans and programmes at national, regional and international levels.
Over 40 representatives from pastoralist organisations from Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya converged on Luwero District, Uganda, from April 17 to 20, 2017 to draw a roadmap for the implementation of the project, titled: “Building climate change resilience for enhanced food security in pastoralist communities in east Africa”.
The event was also attended by Members of Parliaments, government representative from Uganda and Open Society Initiatives for East Africa (OSIEA), as well as Asia-Pacific region who all laid support for the project.
“This project is coming at the right time when the impacts of climate change are already visible in the loss of several lives, livestock and reduced revenue both for pastoralist communities and the government. Do it very fast PACJA (Pan African Climate Justice Alliance),” said Joseph Sserugo, Vice Chairman, Luwero District, Uganda.
“We need you to provide us with data and accurate information from the grassroots to help us negotiate and make policies that are responsive to the realities our people and even the pastoralists, hunters and fruit gatherers and the youth. We commend PACJA for its continued engagements with the Parliamentarians and representing the voice of Africa civil society at regional and global level,” Biyika Lawrence Songa (Chairperson, Parliamentarian Forum on Climate Change) and Adeke Anna Ebaju (Female Youth Representative and Member of the Parliamentary Forum on Climate Change in the Uganda Parliament), stated.
“The Government of Uganda is committed to working with PACJA and its platform in Uganda to ensure the project is successfully implemented in the country as His Excellency, the President is very passionate about pastoralist issues,” said Alice Muwanguti, The Resident District Commissioner, Luwero who represented the President during the event.
In reality with the challenges faced by the most venerable group, Joseph Ole Simel of Mainyoito Pastoralist Integrated Development Organisation (MPIDO), in his submission, stated that “the issue of gender is critical and consideration must be given to women when it comes to food security and climate change adaptation and mitigation measures as they bear the brunt of the reeling impacts of climate change even among the pastoralist group”.
Karamoja Development Forum representative at the meeting, Longoli Simon, lamented the current drought ravaging the pastoralist communities as, according to him, “Karamajong pastoralists watch the source of their livelihood vanishing as livestock are been buried daily as a result of the pounding drought”.
“For us the pastoralists in Tanzania, we have always been at the receiving end of the negative impacts of climate change and there are little or no policy that tends to reflect the concerns of the pastoralist at national and regional levels,” Lembulung Ole Kosyando, Coordinator of NAADUTARO – Pastoralists’ Survival Options (a pastoralist organisation in rural Tanzania), added.
Florence Kasule, the Coordinator, PACJA chapter, Uganda; Sam Ogallah from PACJA; and Francis Akorikin of OSIEA all called on the participants and project benefiting organisations to work collectively and ensure the project is implemented successful by actively contributing and participating at all levels and activities in the project.
Countries in the East African region are in different stages of climate change policies, plans and programme development, as well as the implementation of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). This is in line with their (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) obligations which is aimed at steering climate change debates globally with the inclusion of stakeholders in the processes as a mandatory process in the light of Paris Agreement.
According to PACJA, the pastoralist groups should also be involved in these dialogues at all levels and their voice need not only be heard but integrated in all the relevant frameworks on the issue of food security and climate change at local, national, regional and international levels.
The group notes that it is in response to the pastoralists’ climate change and food security needs that the project was designed hence the project launch, inception and UNFCCC sensitisation workshop which is said to be the first in the series of interventions under the project and is intended to introduce and provide information on building climate change resilience for enhanced food security in pastoralist communities.
The project is being implemented by PACJA and supported by OSIEA in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.
As the first half of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season ends, Plateau United of Jos has returned to the top spot.
Plateau United FC
This came about as United sunk Katsina United 3-0 to top the table with 35 points from 18 games. MFM Football Club of Lagos lost 0-2 to fifth-placed Akwa United of Uyo, and finished second place with 33 points.
El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri pipped Ilorin 1-0 to place third also with 33 points, but with lesser goals.
Niger Tornadoes of Minna is fourth with 30 points after defeating 12 placed Kano Pillars 1-0 in Lokoja, while Abia Warriors climbed to sixth after defeating Wikki Tourists of Bauchi 2-0.
The Tourists from Bauchi is down in the 17th spot. Seventh on the log is Enyimba International of Aba who beat bottom-placed Remo Stars 1-0 in Calabar.
FC Ifeanyi Ubah needed two penalties to defeat Shooting Stars 2-1 in Nnewi. Ubah is eighth on the table, while Shooting Stars is 13th.
Lobi Stars climbed to ninth on the table after defeating 18th placed Sunshine Stars of Akure 3-1 in Makurdi.
