Worried by the endless looting of the nation’s commonwealth and the slow pace of recovery of such slouch as a result of legal encumbrances, anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) in Nigeria are devising preventives measures of discouraging opportunities, rationalisation and pressure that make corruption happen.
Country Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Nigeria, Ms. Cristina Albertin
Rising from a three-day Day National Workshop on Corruption Prevention for Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs), organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) through funding by the European Union (EU), in Calabar, Cross River State, officials of the agencies called incorporation of the logic of deterrence as part of corruption prevention tools by fostering synergy between enforcement and prevention efforts.
In a communique issued at the end of the workshop, the ACAs argued that “while recognising that enforcement through investigation and prosecution is important in addressing corruption, preventing corruption in its multi-dimensional nature is essential as a means of discouraging opportunities, rationalisation and pressure that make corruption happen. As it is also more cost effective to prevent corruption than to investigate and prosecute it after it has been perpetrated.
The agencies are also to develop “coordinated, focused and systematic approach towards corruption prevention to make it have necessary impacts, while taking into consideration values and disposition of heads of ACAs on why corruption happens to understand direction of preventive efforts in those ACAs. Each ACA is expected to develop specific prevention mandate peculiar to its mandate and capacity.
The ACAs are, amongst others, to have specialised training for dedicated staff with the aim of deepening understanding of corruption prevention strategies; coupled with the imperative for them to develop strategic thinking and capacities with specific focus.
The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) is expected to play a strategic role of coordination and ensure effective implementation of prevention strategies by the ACAs. As part of its activities, PACAC is expected to advise government on the various challenges being faced by the ACAs in delivering on their mandates and recommend necessary assistance required to make them perform optimally. This is especially in the area of funding; as the workshop acknowledged that “though prevention requires adequate financial outlay that may not be regularly available to the ACAs, a purposive approach to preventing corruption requires: adequate competencies, multi-dimensional approach, investigation and research into its dimensions, implementation and measurement of impacts.”
Nigeria is said to be taking an important step in its fight against terrorism, by working to further refine and strengthen its strategy to prosecute, reintegrate, and rehabilitate former members of Boko Haram in compliance with international laws and standards.
Former members of the Boko Haram sect
For this purpose, technical and high level consultations were held in Abuja from 13 to 15 December 2016, on “Considering Approaches to Prosecuting, Reintegrating and Rehabilitating Former Members of Boko Haram”.
Funded by the European Union (EU), the consultations were organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Security Council’s Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) in response to request from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The project seeks to support Nigeria’s efforts to bring terrorists to justice and to prevent terrorism acts through human rights-compliant criminal justice measures against terrorism. It focuses on strengthening the capacity of Nigerian criminal justice officials to effectively investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate terrorism cases, in accordance with the rule of law and human rights. This includes providing in-depth training courses for select groups of criminal justice officials and on-going advisory services for the trained officials, with the aim of supporting the transition from confession-based to evidence-based prosecution of terrorism cases.
The consultations brought together experts from other countries which have faced similar challenges including Algeria, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and South Africa, to share lessons learnt and good practices. Joining them were also experts from relevant international organisations, who discussed international good practices and applicable international human rights and humanitarian laws, norms and standards. Nigerian officials highlighted the progress achieved and challenges remaining in implementing a criminal justice-based approach to the prosecution, reintegration, and rehabilitation of former members of Boko Haram.
As a result of the consultations, Nigeria identified the need to further clarify its goals for a successful criminal justice framework as part of an overall reintegration and rehabilitation approach, including developing an effective prosecution strategy and robust criteria for pursuing alternative rehabilitation and reintegration approaches. Nigeria also began to consider what further support and assistance may be required to allow Nigeria to continue strengthening its strategy to prosecute, reintegrate, and rehabilitate former members of Boko Haram.
The consultations benefited from the participation of 31 Nigerian entities, including officials of the six most affected Nigerian states, and 14 international organisations and other national governments.
Launched in May 2016, the project has already delivered 19 capacity building activities. This included in-depth training courses for 20 legal advisors from the Nigerian investigative agencies, 30 Nigerian Police Force counter-terrorism investigators, and two select groups of 20 criminal justice officials on international cooperation and counter-financing of terrorism. The project is also delivering an intensive train-the-trainers course for 30 criminal justice officials on human rights and criminal justice responses to terrorism, using tailored training modules developed in 2015 in partnership with the Nigerian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) has selected the team of experts – comprising coordinating lead authors, authors and review editors – who will prepare the Special Report on “Global Warming of 1.5ºC: an IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty (SR1.5)”.
Debra Roberts, Co-Chair of Working Group II of the IPCC
The report will be finalised in September 2018 in time for the facilitative dialogue under the Paris Agreement that will take place later that year.
“The selection of the authors for the IPCC’s 1.5oC report is the first step in the critical journey started at COP21. This special report will facilitate this important journey by assessing the available science and highlighting the policy options available to support the achievement of a climate safe, equitable and sustainable world,” said Debra Roberts, Co-Chair of Working Group II.
The members of all three IPCC Working Group carefully considered all nominations and developed the final list of authors and review editors in a detailed and iterative selection process. The selection was undertaken according to the Principles Governing IPCC Work, considering the required scientific, technical and socio-economic expertise, geographical representation, gender balance, and the inclusion of experts with and without previous IPCC experience.
Eighty-six experts from 39 countries will undertake the assessment, selected from over 560 nominations received from national focal points and IPCC observer organisations. 38% of the experts are women, 51% come from developing countries and economies in transition (statistic based on experts’ citizenship), 26% are new to the IPCC process.
“There is great interest in the scientific community to contribute to this IPCC Special Report, as evidenced by a constant flow of new peer-review publications related to various dimensions of global warming of 1.5°C, and also by the large number of high profile nominations for participants to the scoping meeting, last August, and now for Lead Authors and Review Editors of the report,” said Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Co-Chair of Working Group I. “The selection process was challenging, as we could on average only retain one expert out of 6-7. We will bring together a strong team to the first Lead Author meeting, on 6-10 March in Brazil.”
The continued interest and support for the IPCC assessment is solicited, for example contributing as an Expert Reviewer during the review this special report. A call will be opened for experts to register for the Expert Review of the First Order Draft that will take place in August-September.
For Nigeria to fulfill its commitment to the reduce carbon emissions by 30%, there are urgent needs for legislations and budgetary planning for infrastructure development that can be facilitated by the nation’s lawmakers.
Chairman, House Committee on Climate Change, Sam Onuigbo
This was the focal point of discussion at the Climate Change Knowledge Immersion Workshop series which was organised by the Federal Ministry of Environment’s Department for Climate Change and the World Bank for members of the National Assembly on Thursday, February 16 2017 in Abuja, the federal capital city.
According to the World Bank’s Practice Manager for Africa and Environment Resources, Benoit Bosquet, the lawmakers must work with the executive to enshrine incentives and modalities that will enable Nigeria achieve its commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 2030.
“This will be achieved when the lawmakers ensure that, for every budgetary plan, all projects are fully committed to climate proofing activities,” Mr Bosquet explained, adding that “this will definitely ensure sustainable development as such investments will be planned adequately from the beginning.”
He further enjoined the lawmakers on the need to also “create laws that will enable incentives for development of alternatives for the poor which will create wealth along with sustainable development.”
Using the example of firewood which is the main source of fuel for rural communities across Nigeria, the development expert opined that a law which will facilitate investments in production of alternative source of cooking is essential for the country.
“But, in the absence of that, policies on afforestation or reforestation should be put in place to make provision for the cultivation of new trees in place of the felled ones,” Bosquet said, adding that “effective policy-making and implementation is crucial to enable climate-smart economic growth, to attract investors to finance Green Growth, and to actively engage citizens.”
Director of Climate Change Department at the Federal Ministry of Environment, Peter Tarfa, during his presentation, urged the lawmakers to take the following actions for Nigeria’s INDC commitment:
Legislate on and ensure constitutional changes for implementation of NDC across all levels
Domesticate the Paris Agreement
Strengthen governance and institutions for sustainable development at national and state levels
Improve interactions among parliamentary committees to deliver Paris Agreement objectives
Legislation effectively to support private sector investments in climate change issues
Make green budgetary allocation by asking critical questions during budget defence on projects
Device tax exemption polices for climate change investments
Hold all MDAs and the executive accountable with increased engagement
Dr Tarfa further appealed to the lawmakers to come up with “laws and legal framework that will support the reduction of cost of imported solar panels and battery into the country”, as well as legislations that will enable the tracking of how Nigerians are individually contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions, such as people installing solar panels in their homes.
“This tracking will enable Nigeria ascertain its claim to achieving its NDC commitments,” he added.
Reacting to the issues, chairman House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Obinna Chidoka, announced that the House is “completing a legal framework for Nigeria to track the devastating impact of climate change and efforts made at reducing its carbon emissions.”
According to the lawmaker, “it is just 13 years to the deadline we have set for ourselves to cut emissions by 20%.” He called on all MDAs to work collectively to achieve the INDC commitment as he lamented their “discordant tunes” such as plans by the Ministry of Power to launch new power plants, powered by coal whilst their Ministry of Environment counterparts are clamoring for renewable energy.
Chairman, House Committee on Climate Change, Sam Onuigbo, in his remark commended the World Bank for organising the knowledge immersion workshop, noting that “there is a wide knowledge gap on issues of climate change in Nigeria and this is a major source of concern. We need more of such workshops and we are grateful to the World Bank for supporting this capacity building around the country.”
The World Bank has urged the use of sustainable land use management as a panacea for the rehabilitation of communities in the north eastern part of Nigeria around the drying Lake Chad.
Scientists say the Lake Chad, that borders Nigeria and some other countries, has shrunken by 95 percent over the past 50 years. Photo credit: AP/Christophe Ena
The recommendation was made at the Climate Change Knowledge Immersion workshop which was organised by the Federal Ministry of Environment’s Department for Climate Change and the World Bank for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on Friday, February 17 2017 in Abuja, the federal capital city.
The World Bank’s Practice Manager for Africa and Environment Resources, Benoit Bosquet, stated that “sustainable land and water management” are adaptation mechanism of “climate actions” that can be used to address the devastating impact of climate change.
The northeastern region of Nigeria which has been the hotbed of Boko Haram insurgency shares border towns that host the shrinking Lake Chad with other countries in the sub-region. Experts have traced climate change to the desertification and drying up of Lake Chad which has made unemployed youths vulnerable to the insurgency. This has led to thousands of deaths and displacement of millions of people across the region, creating one of the largest humanitarian disasters in the world.
According to the environment expert, the use of adaptation as climatic actions is simply “the economic adjustment to ecological problems as it occurs by building necessary infrastructure and systems that can address climate change as well as prevent its impact.”
Citing the example of China’s Loess Plateau which was restored with the support of World Bank, Mr Bosquet urged the Nigerian government to make use of “sustainable land and water management to address desertification across northern Nigeria as it was done in one of the poorest regionc in China – Loess Plateau – which has been re-greened and pulled over 2.5million people out of poverty.”
He warned that Nigeria needs to “build resilience now for the harsher climate of the future” because, “if not addressed in time, climate change can worsen Nigeria’s vulnerability to weather swings, and limit its ability to achieve and sustain the objectives of Vision 20:2020.”
The World Bank has projected that, despite not being a major producer of greenhouse gases, Africa is vulnerable to climate change and this could increase the global poverty headcount by more than 100 million people by 2030, with large countries such as Nigeria risking major threats such as food insecurity. It projected that climate change in Nigeria will lead to a reduction of major food production such as millet by 20% by 2050, thereby leading to food insecurity with resultant conflicts such as the ongoing herdsmen crises.
Mr Bosquet also called for efficient resource management, noting that some of climate change impacts are accentuated by human factors. He gave an example of the 2012 flood across Nigeria which claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed properties worth billions of Naira.
According to him, the lack of necessary infrastructures such as dams along the Rivers Benue and Niger led to the inundation which could have been prevented the impact of excess water coming from Cameroun.
“Poor management of water are likely to be more frequent in the near future, so it is important to start working on how to effectively manage the nation’s water resources to avoid the flood disasters,” he warned.
He gave assurances of the World Bank continued support for a number of initiatives for the climate actions such as the Nigeria Erosion and Water Shed Management Project (NEWMAP), Climate Resilience for Coastal Areas of Nigeria, Climate Smart Agriculture with the use of Geographical Information System and efficient land use management across Nigeria.
The National Assembly has made provision of N8 billion for issues on climate change in Nigeria for the 2017 Approbation Bill.
The Nigeria National Assembly Complex, Abuja
This was revealed by the Clerk of the House of Representatives Committee on Climate Change at the Climate Change Knowledge Immersion workshop series held in Abuja on Thursday, February 16 2017. It was organised by the Federal Ministry of Environment’s Department for Climate Change and the World Bank for members of the National Assembly.
He said: “The sum of N8 billion has been dedicated as a new budget line for issues on climate change in the 2017 budget which is will cut across all the MDAs that directly engage in issues of climate change.
“This is a committed action taken by the legislative arm of government to support Nigeria’s action towards achieving it set goals of reducing carbon emissions by 25% by the year 2030.”
It was gathered that this is the first time the National Assembly will be dedicating a lump sum to issues of climate change in the budget across the diverse sections of MDAs that work on climate change issues. The Nigerian Parliament is currently holding defence sessions for the 2017 budget ahead of its approval of the appropriation.
Director, Department of Climate Change, Dr Peter Tarfa, expressed delight at the revelation and he commended the lawmakers for coming up with the budgetary plans to assist in implementing the country’s INDC.
He noted: “This will immensely enhance the capacity of Nigeria to draw from the diverse climate change funds or green funds that are available in the international community but required a stringent counterpart commitment.
“This will also enable the much desired collaboration amongst all the MDAs as against working in silos thereby limiting our ability to work collectively.”
The revelation was greeted with a loud cheer by officials of various MDAs at another session of the workshop on Friday, where a director with the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Dr John Epkeyong, enjoined the lawmakers to tie the appropriation to set targets.
“I want to appeal to the National Assembly to make sure that whichever department or agency that will be receiving funds from this budget must ensure that their expenditure is based a set target of achieving carbon emissions in any way,” he said.
A total of 19 academics from different universities in Nigeria have begun research attachments in several fields of study in the latest phase of the sabbatical and internship programme of The Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited (SPDC) Joint Venture, which was introduced in 1980.
Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) General Manager, External Relations, Igo Weli. He describes the academics research programme as a key aspect of Shell’s effort to contribute to the development of higher education in the country
The eight professors and 11 research interns commenced their programmes in January 2017, seeking to build industry knowledge and understanding in such fields as biodiversity, petroleum engineering, geophysics, impact assessment, community health and oil and gas exploration.
The recipients are from the University of Benin, University of Ibadan, Niger Delta University, University of Ilorin, University of Lagos, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ahmadu Bello University, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, University of Calabar and University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
“Our research and internship programme is a key aspect of our effort to contribute to the development of higher education in Nigeria,” said Igo Weli, General Manager, External Relations. “It is a mutually beneficial relationship. SPDC obtains specialised and cost-effective services from the professors and senior lecturers, while they in turn acquire industry experience and exposure to new technologies that can be ploughed back to the university community.”
For a period of one year, the professors on sabbatical will conduct research in identified areas and share their findings with SPDC. Part of the internship programme involves Master’s degree students who are also offered one-year placements to acquire work experience in SPDC. The other set of internships are from the Shell Centre of Excellence at the University of Benin, who will spend six months, enabling them to gain critical working experience and be exposed to Shell’s working culture and ethics. Recruitment for sabbatical and research internship scheme begins with advertisements in national and local newspapers in March with interviews in July each year.
According to SPDC, Shell companies in Nigeria have a long history of supporting education through scholarships and other initiatives, while also helping to build capacity in key technical skills, for example donating equipment to universities to develop capability in the production of drilling mud.
Ten graduate scholarships are also awarded annually to students from Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states to study engineering and geosciences at top universities in the United Kingdom, building a talent pipeline within host communities. In addition, 40 engineering and geosciences graduates receive hands-on training through a one-year internship programme organised by the SPDC JV and the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, a group of indigenous oilfield service companies.
Nnimmo Bassey, Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), in an address given on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at the Ecological Challenges Conference (Academia meets Activism) 2017, in the University of Oslo, Norway, says that the present fossil-based civilisation is running out of gas and its terminal point is imminent – whether planned or not
Nnimmo Bassey
We frequently hear calls for system change at public mobilisations, in conference halls and even in negotiation halls. The calls come as slogans, they come in anger and they come as a strong rebuke to the systemic scaffold on which our pains, exploitation and denial of voice and rights are hung.
Sometimes one gets the impression that this system that must be changed is chameleonic and could stand for any system that one may be grinding against. In other words, it lends itself to being used as a broad slogan that could swing in any direction. We can understand this in the sense of a manipulator and beneficiary of a crooked system presenting himself or herself as an agent of anti-establishment. Obviously, this is not what we are concerned about.
The necessity of system change is inescapable because the present system is dependent on the extreme exploitation and enslavement of nature and labour while denying its inherently unjust core. We are in the dying days of a civilisation driven by fossil fuels. This end is not coming merely because of the recorded and predicted severe species extinction, or by peak oil. No. Its end is being heralded by a looming climatic catastrophe and by the reawakening of social forces realising that slavery persists as long as the enslaved is unaware of his state. Our urgent task is to reclaim the future and this will not be attainable if the current system persists.
We borrow the words of Oilwatch International to further highlight the unacceptable realities that necessitate system change: There are similarities in the current pattern of resource exploitation in countries of the Global South, and affected peoples in the rest of the world which reflects historical legacy of disempowerment of peoples, plunder of natural resources and destruction of environment, (we) considers the recognition of the right of peoples to self-determination and cultural integrity as primary in the resolution of environmental problems.
Green Capitalism
Green was once a colour. Now it is a market tool! Today it has turned into an anaesthetic or a silencing code that ensures that harmful market mechanisms are foisted on Nature and we are generally lulled to accept that Nature cannot be protected unless financial value is placed on her. Market environmentalism has thrown up a plethora of instruments such of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), REDD plus, emissions trading schemes (ETS), clean development mechanisms (CDM) and the like.
The Rio+20 Summit of 2012 served as a platform for the elevation of the concept of Green Economy as a major plank for global environmental governance, especially including with regard to climate change. The concept permits the financialisation of everything including very basic cycles of Nature such as pollination. With climate change action boxed as a matter of means of handling carbon emissions, the world conveniently ignores the root cause of the crises: the origins of the emission. And so, all focus has been on symptoms rather than the cause. This is why anyone would accept that “a tonne of CO2 not only equals any other tonne of CO2 no matter where it was emitted but that other greenhouse gases can be counted in CO2-equivalents.”
Climate change negotiations offer us a clear lens of seeing that market environmentalism approaches are merely means of escape from responsibility and measureable action. They push the duty for climate action into the realm of bad fiction. A look at the Paris Agreement reached at COP21 reveals that the major cause of global warming, fossil fuels utilisation in production and transportation is not recognised in the process of tackling global warming. And as noted above, the notion that any carbon emitted anywhere can be offset by carbon absorbed anywhere else has led to the rise of the concept of net emissions and may offer polluting nations the ultimate escape hatch through which they would keep their levels of pollution and consumption, while grabbing lands, forests and water bodies elsewhere to compensate for their bad behaviour.
Green economy is a neo-liberal idea that hoists the financialisation of Nature and carbon offsetting as ideal tools for nature protection. Truth is that it has been cooked up to entrench current capitalist production modes and power relations where might is right. Poor, vulnerable and cash strapped nations that contribute little or nothing to global warming are made to see the trickles that drop into their empty bowls from market mechanisms, while citizens are displaced from their territories and are literally forced to bear a disproportionate level of real climate actions. This entrenched unjust situation is neo-colonial and imperialist. It upturns every notion of justice, including the very basic common but differentiated responsibilities anchor of earlier climate negotiations such as the ones that threw up the Kyoto Protocol that is now literally on tenuous life-support.
A just climate regime ought not to scratch for funds to tackle the emergencies already throwing up climate refugees. A clear solution for climate finance based on the overall premise of social engineering for system change was agreed to by peoples of the world at the Peoples Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth.
The Peoples Agreement reached at the Cochabamba conference demanded that countries cut their emissions by at least 50 per cent at source in the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2013-17), without recourse to offsets and other carbon trading schemes. In terms of finance, the Peoples Agreement demanded that developed countries commit 6 per cent of their GDP to finance adaptation and mitigation needs. It was also affirmed that there is a climate debt that must be recognised and paid. The payment of climate debt is not seen as a mere demand for reparations, but principally as a means of decolonising the atmospheric space and redistributing what meagre space or carbon budget is left as industrialised nations have already colonised 80 per cent of that space. It is also a means towards obligating humans to take actions to restore disrupted natural cycles of Nature
It is now general knowledge that to keep temperature increase to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels at least 80 per cent of currently known fossil fuels reserves must be left untapped and unburned. The troubling issue is not only that this is not being discussed at the climate negotiations, but that new reserves are being hunted for and extreme extraction methods such as hydraulic fracturing (fracking) are being intensified. This is a clear throwback to fiddling while the city burns.
The system is so locked in on its fossil path that the mention of crude oil, coal or fossil fuels in general is a taboo to be avoided at all costs. The insistence that fossil fuels will remain a major part of the energy mix of the world for the foreseeable future appears to some of us a confirmation of wilful myopia among negotiating nations.
The fact that fossil fuels are not renewable does not deter the fossil addicts. In order to remove the cloud of dust (and doubt) over fossil fixations, the industry came up with the term clean coal. They also came up with the notion that carbon pollution can be tackled through carbon capture and storage or sequestration. The other array of options includes types of geo-engineering that could either shield the earth from the sun or get the oceans to absorb more carbon. These are all ways of resisting the need for change and ensuring business as usual while selling unproven technologies. The best outcome of this scenario is to postpone the evil day and build an uncertain future for our children. Unfortunately, that day cannot be postponed much longer except the world wishes to take a plunge back into more brazen levels of barbarism.
Centrality of Nature
The call for system change is a call to a common-sense path that would secure the survival of the human race. It is also a call for humans to recognise their humanity as just one of the species on planet earth. Studies and observations have shown that species stand better chances of survival when they cooperate, live and work in solidarity. This is the kind of benefit humans derive when we work in solidarity rather than in competition. This is the way to build an equitable future when we build bridges and not walls; when we give up some space and allow others to breathe. Clearly, the current system of explanation does not support cooperation and cannot offer an acceptable future.
The Earth speaks. The sky speaks. The trees speak. All of Nature speaks. Communication is a vital tool for survival. Let us take one example of how certain trees in the African savannah communicate in order to avoid having their leaves eaten up. Researchers found that when giraffes start to eat the leaves of umbrella thorn acacias, the trees released some toxic substances that offended the taste buds of the giraffes. That was direct defence line. Beyond this, the researchers noticed that the giraffes would skip the next umbrella thorn acacia trees, move by about 100 metres before resuming their dinner.
Why did they move over such a distance before resuming their feast? This is the explanation (Wohlleben, 2015): “The acacia trees that were being eaten gave off warning gas (specifically, ethylene) that signalled to neighbouring trees of the same species that a crisis was at hand. Right away, all the forewarned trees also pumped toxins into their leaves to prepare themselves. The giraffes were wise to this game and therefore moved farther away to a part of the savannah where they could find trees that were oblivious to what was going on.” Trees communicate by a variety of other ways, including through their roots systems, affirming metaphorically that indeed, it takes roots to weather the storm. It also validates the old saying that a tree does not make a forest even though this is falsely claimed to be possible through monocultures and plantations.
Re-Source Democracy
We speak of the gifts of Nature as re-sources. Yes, re-sources, intentionally hyphenated because we are not speaking of commodities, but of the vital need for humans to return to source, to reconnect to Nature, to think of the source before lifting the chisel, hammer, shovel, drill or rig. We have to stand in humility before Nature, recognise our finite place in her and affirm that the harm that we have inflicted on Mother Earth has been driven mostly by the creed of market fundamentalism that has grossly alienated us from Nature.
Re-source democracy is a call for the recognition of the rights of Nature, including her right to regenerate and maintain her cycles. It is built on a clear understanding of the uses and intrinsic values of the gifts of Nature. It calls for our understanding of the harmful impacts of human activities to the climate, the planet and all the beings inhabiting her. Re-source democracy demands the interrogation of the meaning of progress and development towards the end of helping us draw the line between what we can accept or reject in our environment. Navdanya further gives clarity to this idea: ‘We need a new paradigm to respond to the fragmentation caused by various forms of fundamentalism. We need a new movement, which allows us to move from the dominant and pervasive culture of violence, destruction and death to a culture of non-violence, creative peace and life…the Earth democracy movement…provides an alternative worldview in which humans are embedded in the Earth Family, we are connected to each other through love, compassion, not hatred and violence and ecological responsibility and economic justice replaces greed, consumerism and competition as objectives of human life.’
Current dominant development modes are energy intensive and require more and more re-sources to generate that energy to keep the machines rolling and to feed the appetite of humankind for consumption and for cash. The ‘resource’ conflicts and wars we see today in the world can be grouped as fights to grab resources or to keep others from grabbing the resources. Some are also wars to attenuate efforts of certain nations to build up their societies and peoples. There appears to be a struggle to have a monopoly over what development means, who can aspire to it, who should be developed and who should not. This warped prepositions have led to the manifestation of extremely primitive warfare being conducted with highly sophisticated hardware, including drones, underscoring the paradox of what civilisation really means.
These conflicts and the harm will intensify as the non-renewable re-sources run out and as habitable environment for the reproduction of renewable re-sources reduce. Toss into that volatile mix the rise of authoritarian governments with peculiar notions of national sovereignties and we will have a wild world devoid of rules. Wars powered by greed and faulty relationships with Nature’s gifts do not end easily and nations never really win such wars and conflicts. The winners invariably are mercenaries, war contractors, other multinational extractive companies and weapons makers/dealers.
Convergence of Movements
System change will be birthed by a convergence of movements. It will not be a matter of either or, it will be a matter for all. The silos delineated, owned and protected by environmental, political, social, religious and sundry movements must be broken down. We have to continually remind ourselves that we do not lead one-dimensional lives but that our lives and realities are formed by a web of relationships, issues and realities. As these issues are never one-dimensional we require diversity of approaches to effectively confront and overcome them – with the diversity of movements coalescing around common organising principles. For example, in the case of ecological resurgence, movements can come together using the Precautionary Principle as a pivot. Another basic impulse will be the recognition of the leadership of communities of peoples – especially indigenous women – on the frontlines of ecological defense and system change struggles. These brave souls are engrossed in building webs of struggles and laying down their lives in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. We pause in honour of their spilt blood and undying memories.
System Change will not be Negotiated
The present fossil-based civilisation is running out of gas and its terminal point is imminent – whether planned or not. Our task is to hasten the demise of this destructive system where unjust relations are seen as opportunities for amassing profit and where life means nothing before the altar of capital. This is the time for drastic actions to bring about ecological health for all our communities and relatives on planet Earth. It is a time when we urgently need to change the narrative that we can measure well-being by aggregating gross (mark that term) domestic products. The struggles of First Nation brothers and sisters in North America, the Ogoni in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, the Yasunidos of Ecuador and many others show that the battle can be tough and abrasive. But we have no options. Industrial growth societies have been built on the platforms of gross injustice – including by slavery, colonialism and disruption of thriving socio-economic systems through structural adjustment dictates of international financial institutions and undemocratic, self-appointed, groupings such as the G8 (or 7) and G20 and others like them.
In the words of legendary Wangari Maathai, “For decades, Africa has been urged to emulate this financial system and practices acquired from the industrialised world. While this structure enriched the West, practicing it without caution has only impoverished Africa.” For the preservation of humankind on planet Earth, systems like these and their power-relations cannot continue to exist.
We are conscious of the fact that those who benefit from the unjust, disruptive and unsustainable system will not listen to logical needs for system change. They have heard it over and over again. They simply cannot bear to think of anything other than their privileges and acquired levels of comforts. It is a system that throws up a handful of men that have more financial means than billions of men and women. It is a system where the poor, no matter how wise, cannot sit on the official negotiation tables. It is a system that believes that with financial means one can make a dash for safety on another planet or meteorite if apocalypse happens. It would have been a make-belief world, where its horrors were not rooted in reality.
History will judge the present generation very harshly if a transition is not urgently made to a Life-Sustaining Society – a society that is not hierarchical, but one in which humans and the environment are linked, not ranked. This society will come about only if we stand together with Earth Protectors and denounce the criminalisation of dissent and the constriction of democratic space that is fast becoming the norm.
A cardinal hurdle that must be crossed for needed radical change is the great shift in perception, a shift of values and narratives. It is time to speak up and let a thousand solutions bloom. It is no time to be silent, because, as Frantz Fanon stated in his resignation letter to the French colonial government, “There comes a time when silence becomes dishonesty” and, if you permit me to add, cowardice and accommodation of injustice. We need to “redefine our wealth and our worth. The reorganisation of our perceptions liberates us from illusions about what we need to own and what our place is in the order of things. Moving us beyond tired old notions of competitive individualism, we come home to each other and our mutual belonging in the living body of Earth.”
System change will not be negotiated. A ravenous capitalist system in its twisted struggles to stave off imminent implosion will not give up its powers of control and parasitic existence. System change will come about when the power of We the People becomes a rallying call and a pivot f action. We the People can redefine energy and own our clean, localised, energy generation and production systems. We the People can reclaim our streams, creeks and rivers and deny industry their privatisation and use as sewers.
As the saying goes: freedom is not something that is given, it is taken. System change will either be intentionally engineered or it will erupt through a global revolutionary moment. Change will come as fists burst through the cracks in the pavements just like saplings – spring from hardened soils.
As a devastating drought grips Somalia, United Nations agencies – United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) – are warning that only a massive and immediate scale-up of humanitarian assistance can help the country avoid falling into another catastrophe.
The UN projects that some 944,000 children will be acutely malnourished this year, including 185,000 who will be severely malnourished and in need of urgent lifesaving support
The drought that the northern regions have struggled with for the last year has now spread throughout Somalia, threatening an already fragile population battered by decades of conflict. Almost half the country’s population, or 6.2 million people, are either severely food insecure or in need of livelihood support. It is expected that 944,000 children will be acutely malnourished this year, including 185,000 who will be severely malnourished and in need of urgent lifesaving support. It is very likely that this projected number of severely malnourished children could increase 50 percent to 270,000 over the coming months.
The UNICEF and WFP representatives last week visited some of the worst-affected areas in the northern Puntland region, where the two agencies are delivering much-needed assistance.
“Huge numbers of Somalis have come to the end of all their possible resources and are living hand-to-mouth,” said Steven Lauwerier, the UNICEF Somalia Representative. “We have a small window of opportunity to avert this looming catastrophe and save children’s lives and we are determined to work with all partners and stakeholders to succeed.”
The ongoing drought and other shocks have left communities with little to no resources to fall back on. Whole villages have lost their crops or seen their livestock die. The prices of water and locally produced food have risen dramatically, and thousands of people are on the move in search of food and water. The drought has also led to an increase in waterborne diseases with more than 4,000 cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea/Cholera this year.
“Humanitarian assistance has saved lives in the drought-affected north over the past year, but as the crisis spreads we have no time to lose,” said WFP Country Director, Laurent Bukera. “Together with UNICEF and other partners, we are moving as quickly as possible to reach many more people with lifesaving support using every option we have, including cash-based transfers, specialised nutrition support and airlifting of relief goods.”
The agencies noted that humanitarian access remains worryingly limited in some drought-affected areas of the south, but that WFP and UNICEF are reinforcing their joint efforts to scale up the response in areas that are accessible, where millions of lives are at risk.
The agencies are responding together to the drought by providing food and water vouchers to hundreds of thousands across the most affected areas of Somalia as well as nutrition assistance. As additional resources are mobilised, this joint response will continue to expand in the most vulnerable regions.
Funds have been generously provided by international donors from Europe, Asia, North America and the UN system for life-saving services in nutrition, food security, health, education, water and sanitation.
With the growing needs, UNICEF and WFP together still require more than $450 million to be able to provide urgent assistance required in the coming months.
Somalia has once again been hit by a severe drought, which could quickly develop into a famine. “A large proportion of the population is affected by the drought, and over six million people are in need of food aid. Norway is now increasing its support for humanitarian efforts in the country by NOK (Norwegian Krone) 64 million, in an effort to prevent the situation from developing into a new, large-scale famine,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs, Børge Brende.
Minister of Foreign Affairs for Norway, Børge Brende
Just a few years after the major famine of 2011, Somalia has again been hit by drought. This time, the drought is affecting almost the whole country, and therefore threatening larger numbers of people and animals than six years ago. Over the last few months, there has been a dramatic deterioration in the humanitarian situation. Some 6.2 million people do not have enough food, and the situation is critical for around half of them, according to the UN.
“The crisis is escalating fast. There are worrying reports that a growing number of people are facing food and water shortages, that the major rivers are drying up and that cattle and other animals are dying,” said Mr Brende.
The additional funds from Norway will be channeled through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Norwegian humanitarian organisations that have many years’ experience of working in Somalia.
“I am pleased that Somalia’s newly elected president, Mohamed Abdullahi ‘Farmajo’ Mohamed, has said that providing support for those affected by the drought is his number one priority. It is vital to ensure that people in need of assistance actually have access to aid. The unstable security situation and the armed conflict are still causing considerable problems, not least in the hardest hit areas that are also most in need of aid,”said Mr Brende.
One of the lessons learnt from the famine of 2011 was that it is crucial to provide humanitarian assistance as quickly as possible to prevent illness, suffering, and death from starvation. It is estimated that 260 000 people died of starvation in 2011. The crisis forced several hundred thousand people to flee their homes, and further exacerbated the refugee crisis in Somalia’s neighbouring countries, Kenya and Ethiopia.
Last year, Norway provided almost NOK 400 million in aid to Somalia. This included support for efforts to promote food security through the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Norway is also providing funding through the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which has allocated NOK 150 million to Somalia for 2017.
