South Africa’s constitutional court on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 rejected an attempt by the government to keep a ban on the domestic trade in rhino horns. This is the outcome of a long legal battle with John Hume, the world’s largest rhino breeder.
A rhino being de-horned
The ruling that the application be dismissed means that rhino horns can effectively be traded in the country.
John Hume and other rhino breeders argue that legalising the trade could cut the number of rhinos slaughtered as horns can be sawn off from anaesthetised live animals.
However, many conservationists disagree with the proposed policy.
The Department of Environmental Affairs said the authorities are still considering the implications of Wednesday’s judgement. “It is important to note that permits are required to sell or buy rhino horn,” the Department’s spokesman, Albie Modise, said in a statement.
The ruling only applies to the industry in South Africa as a ban on international trade remains in force.
Rhino breeders who have argued that open trade is the only way to prevent widespread slaughter of the animal welcomed the ruling, arguing that the process is not permanent as the horns grow back.
South Africa is thought to be home to around 20,000 rhinos, around 80% of the worldwide population. More than 1,000 rhinos were killed by poachers in South Africa in 2016.
Until 2008, it was legal to sell rhino horn within South Africa. That year, 83 rhinos were poached. Then in 2009, in an attempt to stop the poaching, the South African government introduced a domestic ban restricting the trade in horn in the country. That year, 122 rhinos were poached in South Africa.
In 2010, there were 333 rhinos poached. In 2011, there were 448 rhinos poached. In 2012, there were 668 rhinos poached. In 2013, there were 1004 rhinos poached.
Every year since, the numbers of poached rhinos in South Africa have been well over 1,000 each year.
After a long legal battle with rhino breeder John Hume, the government’s appeal to keep the ban in place was rejected by the court. Now, it is legal to sell rhino horn again in the country.
Indian police are reviewing reports of missing children to try to identify a girl who was found living in a forest with a group of monkeys.
The Indian girl sits on a bed in a hospital
The girl, believed to be 10 to 12 years old, was unable to speak, was wearing no clothes and was emaciated when she was discovered in January and taken to a hospital in Bahraich, a town in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India.
She behaved like an animal, running on her arms and legs and eating food off the floor with her mouth, said D.K. Singh, chief medical superintendent of the government-run hospital.
After treatment, she has begun walking normally and eating with her hands.
“She is still not able to speak, but understands whatever you tell her and even smiles,” Singh said.
Some woodcutters spotted the girl roaming with monkeys, police officer Dinesh Tripathi told The Associated Press.
“They said the girl was naked and was very comfortable in the company of monkeys. When they tried to rescue the girl, they were chased away by the monkeys,” the officer said.
She was rescued later by a police officer in the Katarniya Ghat forest range. “When he called the girl, the monkeys attacked him but he was able to rescue the girl. He sped away with her in his police car while the monkeys gave chase,” Tripathi said.
He said police are trying to determine how the girl got into the forest and who her parents are.
She will be sent to a home for juveniles until she is identified, Singh said.
What do whale excrement and climate change have in common? More than you may think, according to a special report on Climate Change and Whales that was presented before the “Whales in a Changing Ocean Conference” on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 in Tonga.
Pacific whales
Climate change impacts are far reaching, touching the lives of Pacific islanders as well as Pacific whales. Warmer waters are expected to bring about a change in the distribution of many whale species, their food chain may be disrupted and there may be increased competition between species which occupy separate spaces. Further to that changes in human behaviour because of climate change may see an increase in encroachment of human activities upon whale habitats.
“Of all the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities, the ocean has absorbed approximately one-third and continues to do so,” presented Angela Martin of Blue Climate Solutions who developed the report in partnership with Ms Natalie Barefoot of CET Law, for the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
“Although there is much still to understand, by exploring and identifying the potential direct and indirect impacts of climate change on whales, and the related consequences on whale-watching economies, we can work towards identifying solutions for humans and whales alike.”
So where does the whale excrement, or whale poo, fit into this?
Whale poo, described as flocculant fecal plumes, is rich with nutrients, so much so, it has been described as miracle grow for the ocean. It enables growth of phytoplankton, which takes carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, out of the atmosphere and, can carry the carbon to the ocean floor.
In the Southern Ocean, a study has reported that sperm whales enable as much carbon to be captured as is sequestered in 694 acres of forests in the United States, each year.
A newer figure presented to the Whales in a Changing Ocean conference outlined that, just by swimming, 80 sperm whales in Hawaii enable 60 tonnes of carbon to be captured each year. This is equivalent to carbon sequestered by 208 acres of forests in the US in a single year.
“I think this is really welcoming news – we are small islands with big oceans, now trying to meet our Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement,” said Fakavae Taomia, Permanent Secretary for the Office of the Prime Minister of Tuvalu.
“We would like to know how much of our ocean carbon accounting can help us in this, while also strengthening our conservation practices in sustainably managing our whales. We would like to further explore this and this report is a good first step from SPREP.”
Whales also contribute to the ocean’s carbon storage capacity by storing large amounts of organic carbon, passed along through food chains, in their bodies.
“As well as storing carbon in the ocean during their long lifespans, when whale carcasses sink, the carbon stored in their biomass can enter sediments,” presented Martin.
“According to one study in 2010, eight species of baleen whale globally can store as much carbon as 100,000 acres of U.S. forests in one year. This is one way that carbon is effectively retired from the carbon cycle, and is unlikely to re-emerge as a greenhouse gas for hundreds to thousands of years.”
In other words, the more we protect and save our whales, the more they also protect and save humans.
The report, developed by Blue Climate Solutions and CET Law for SPREP, was funded by Fonds Pacifique. It will be launched during the UN Ocean Conference at the UN Headquarters in June this year.
So now we know the value of whales in helping to address climate change, the world may just want to band together even more to protect both our ocean and our whales.
“Since restoration of whale populations could help mitigate global warming, it is worth considering that activities that negatively impact whale populations also limit their mitigation potential,” presented Ms Martin.
“Climate adaptation discussions, plans and frameworks could tap into the potential of whales and their blue carbon services, while research and projects that aim to preserve and restore healthy whale populations for their carbon sequestration services, would have co-benefits for the whale-watching economy.”
A special session on Whales and Climate Change was held during the Whales in a Changing Ocean Conference in Nuku’alofa, Tonga.
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has called on the Federal Government to institute an independent investigation into the status and utilisation of all dividends and loan repayments by the NLNG to NNPC from 2000 to 2014.
Executive Secretary of NEITI, Waziri Adio
Executive Secretary of NEITI, Waziri Adio, made the call in Abuja while answering questions on NEITI’s policy brief that examined unremitted funds, economic recovery and oil sector reforms.
NEITI, in the policy brief, stated: “Since the Federation’s shareholding in NLNG is held through NNPC, dividends are paid to NNPC, which should remit same to the Federation. However, NEITI’s audits have revealed that until 2015, NNPC failed to remit the interests and dividends from NLNG to the Federation Account.’’
Mr. Adio told newsmen that the total outstanding dividends and loan repayments by NLNG to NNPC not remitted to the Federation account stands at over $15.8 billion. The breakdown of the payments from 2000 to 2014 is below:
Payment of NLNG dividends, interests and loan repayments to NNPC from 2000 to 2014
Year
USD
2000
211,341,000.00
2001
322,077,000.00
2002
226,562,000.00
2003
436,272,000.00
2004
280,095,000.00
2005
207,282,000.00
2006
332,980,000.00
2007
842,957,000.00
2008
2,613,170,000.00
2009
879,839,000.00
2010
1,427,512,000.00
2011
2,537,503,000.00
2012
2,795,531,000.00
2013
1,289,592,000.00
2014
1,420,000,000.00
Total
15,822,713,000.00
Mr. Adio noted that these payments were traced to NNPC accounts by its independent auditors but observed that there was no trace of NNPC’s remittance of the money to the Federation Account as required by sections 80(1) & 162 (1) of the Constitution.
On domestic crude allocation and management, Mr. Waziri Adio through the policy brief raised concerns that earnings from daily allocation of 445,000bbls for domestic use have not been properly accounted for.
‘‘First, the refineries have been operating at below full capacity for a long time and currently process less than 100,000 barrels per day. Between January 2015 and September 2016, NNPC lifted a total of 245.4 million barrels of crude oil for domestic use. Out of this total, only 24.7 million barrels were delivered to the refineries. This represents a mere 10.06% of the total crude oil lifted for domestic use for that period. The remainder of this allocation was exported through a variety of channels: 64.8 million barrels or 26.4% were exported directly; 97.6 million barrels or 39.77% were sold under the Offshore Processing Agreements (OPA); and 58.29 million barrels or 23.75% were sold under the Direct Sales-Direct Purchase (DSDP) scheme,” according to the policy brief.
Concerns raised in NEITI’s audits and by other stakeholders about the inefficiency of these arrangements, especially the Offshore Processing Agreement (OPA), led to the discontinuation of the OPA in April 2016. However, “NEITI audits have shown that earnings from transactions arising from domestic crude allocation have not been fully remitted to the country’s treasury. Between January 2012 and July 2013, total revenue for domestic crude sales was $28,215,731,691 but NNPC only remitted $14,542,654,329.’’
While calling for measures to recover over $14.5 million so far disclosed in its reports, Mr. Adio stated that an urgent review of this arrangement to avoid huge revenue loss and leakages had become necessary.
Leading energy companies in Europe have announced that they will build no new coal-fired power plants in the European Union after 2020, in support of the goals agreed by international community under the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement.
A power plant fired by coal
The central goal of the Paris Agreement is to keep the maximum global average temperature rise as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions from coal are a primary cause of climate change which is leading to more extreme weather around the world, including storms, droughts and flooding.
In a statement published on Wednesday, April 5 2017, the Union of the Electricity Industry (EURELECTRIC), which represents 3,500 companies across Europe with an aggregate turnover of €200 billion, said: “The European electricity sector believes that achieving the decarbonisation objectives agreed in the Paris Agreement is essential to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the global economy. EURELECTRIC’s members are committed to delivering a carbon neutral power supply in Europe by 2050, and to ensuring a competitively priced and reliable electricity supply throughout the integrated European energy market.”
In the message, the energy leaders say the European power sector is determined to lead the energy transition and to back their commitment to the low- carbon economy with concrete action:
“This commitment to decarbonise electricity generation, together with the electrification of key sectors, such as heating, cooling and transport, will make a major contribution to help Europe meet its climate change targets. Electricity is on track to becoming a carbon neutral energy carrier and, if used more widely, will open the door for many more positive changes, spill-overs in sectors which currently have no prospect of becoming fully sustainable.”
The energy leaders also make the case for emissions trading and other market-based mechanisms, and push for more ambition of the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS):
“EURELECTRIC believes that market-based mechanisms such as carbon markets are the most cost-effective and efficient tool for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and stimulating investments in low carbon technologies and energy efficiency. Only the combination of an effectively reformed EU ETS and improved EU electricity market design can lead to sustainable and credible carbon price signals to drive investments to mature low carbon technologies.”
The first Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board meeting of 2017 concluded on Thursday, April 6, 2017 by approving eight new projects and programmes valued at $755 million in GCF funding to assist developing countries respond to climate change. The decisions were reached during the 16th meeting of the Board (B.16) at GCF Headquarters in Songdo, Republic of Korea.
Howard Bamsey, Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund (GCF)
Taking the eight new projects into account, the Fund’s portfolio now consists of 43 projects and programmes amounting to $2.2 billion in GCF funding for a total value of $7.3 billion, with co-financing included.
The following projects and programmes were approved at B.16:
$265 million for the GEEREF NeXt programme financing renewable energy and energy efficiency projects across five regions in Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean; Middle East and North Africa; Non-European Union Eastern Europe / Central Asia; and the Pacific with the European Investment Bank (EIB);
$154.7 million for the Renewable Energy Financing Framework programme in Egypt with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD);
$50 million for the Scaling up Hydropower Sector Climate Resilience project in Tajikistan with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD);
EUR 102.7 million for the Simiyu Climate Resilience project in Tanzania with KfW development bank (KfW);
EUR 20 million for the Irrigation Development and Adaptation of Irrigated Agriculture to Climate Change in Semi-arid Morocco project with Agence Française de Développement (AfD);
EUR 31.97 million for the Saïss Water Conservation project in Morocco with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD);
$86 million for the Tina River Hydropower Development project in the Solomon Islands with the World Bank; and
$34.35 million for the Ground Water Recharge and Solar Micro Irrigation to Ensure Food Security and Enhance Resilience in Vulnerable Tribal Areas of Odisha project in India with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
“The Board has started 2017 with a strong focus on implementation,” said Ayman Shasly, Board Co-chair from Saudi Arabia. “The GCF is the largest international climate fund helping developing counties respond to climate change, and the Board gave strong support to the Fund to continue to enhance its capacity to implement effective climate finance.”
“The GCF has a busy agenda for 2017 as it matures as an organisation,” said fellow Co-Chair Ewen McDonald from Australia. “We made good progress in 2016 and now need to show we can implement the funding we have committed by strengthening our core operations and improving the quality of the project pipeline which, together, will see us deliver real and lasting outcomes.”
More than 250 participants took part in the 16th Board meeting, including observers from civil society and private sector organisations, National Designated Authorities (NDAs), Accredited Entities, and GCF Delivery Partners.
The 17th meeting of the GCF Board will be held from 4 to 6 July 2017 at GCF Headquarters; the 18th meeting will take place later in the year in the Arab Republic of Egypt.
A year after its launch, a World Bank team on March 13-18, 2017 visited Burkina Faso for the supervision of the Support Project for Forest-dependent People (PAPF). The goal of the mission was to monitor and support the activities of the project.
Forest Partnerships meeting in Burkina Faso
The visit, it was gathered, gave an opportunity for consulting with the Project’s actors and partners, such as the national steering committee, Ministry for Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change, Forest Investment Programme (FIP) and field actors.
Visits to micro-project sites made it possible to collect suggestions that can help to better operationalise the project in the field so as to create synergy among the actors’ interventions, according to “PACO News”, a publication of the Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso-based Central and West Africa Programme (PACO) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The level of implementation of the activities was deemed to be satisfactory, and recommendations and commitments were made to ensure the success of the Project. The mission worked in close collaboration with the project team of IUCN-Burkina Faso and the national steering committee of the project.
The PAPF was developed and funded under the Grant Mechanism for Indigenous peoples and local communities, which was created and developed as a special programme under the Forest Investment Programme (FIP.)
In a similar development, while meeting in Tenkodogo, Burkina Faso March 14-16, 2017, the representatives of five municipalities (Bissiga, Lalgaye, Soudougui, Silly and Tenkodogo) agreed on strategies, approaches and actions aimed at saving their forest assets.
Mobilised by IUCN and the Swedish Cooperation within the framework of the“Support Project for forest riparian communities’ adaptation to climate change”, these municipalities reflected the forest administration, provincial and regional authorities, representatives of communities promoting forest commodities, the customary authorities, technical partners and partner projects/programmes. The discussions, discloses PACO News, enabled them to be better equipped for effectively taking care of the sustainable management of the Sablogo, Soudougui and Silly forest massifs.
The municipalities also agreed on the development for each massif of a 2017 work plan and a mechanism for sharing the achievements of the project so as to ensure the visibility of their actions. A steering committee and regional monitoring committee will assist them to that effect. A sum of about CFA Franc 1 billion will be required to achieve the objectives during year 2017.
PACO News also reports that on Thursday, March 2 2017, a Cabinet Meeting in Guinea Bissau approved by decree the “Guinea Bissau National Development and Ecotourism Strategy”.
The development of the strategy comes under a partnership bringing together the Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development through the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Institute (IBAP) and the relevant environmental assessment Agency with the technical assistance of the IUCN office in Guinea.
The”Equitable and Sustainable Tourism Promotion in Guinea Bissau” project, financed by the MAVA Foundation, has also enabled the development of a set of training actions and acquisition of equipment, infrastructure and promotional materials for enhancing the efforts made by Guinea Bissau to create protected areas and give the communities supplementary economic opportunities.
The marketing and use of conventional plastic bags in Cape Verde are now banned by a law that came into effect on Sunday, January 1, 2017.
Disposing plastic bags and sachets in Cape Verde
This is the culmination of a battle waged by the Association for Environmental Defense and Development (ADAD) within the framework of a programme named “Cabo Verde sans pratiques” (Cape Verde without Plastic) in partnership withMAVA and PRCM. The Association was supported in this cause by partners such as the Ministries in charge of Environment, Housing and Land Management and Tourism, Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, the network of parliamentarians for the Environment, the municipalities, and industrial manufacturers.
According to “PACO News”, a publication of the Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso-based Central and West Africa Programme (PACO) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the law will now make it possible to punish the economic agents that persist in the sale and use of these sachets.
The ADAD reportedly initiated the project in order to sensitise policy makers and citizens on a scourge that pollutes seas and small islands and causes damages in the cities with the engorgement of sewage sledges.
“The proliferation of this waste in the cities and seas has even prompted the Ministry for Environment to conduct a study that has revealed that plastic bags account for about 11% of the volume of solid waste in Cape Verde,” states PACO News.
On 9th March, 2017 in Oyo, In a related development, the Republic of Congo’s Ministers for Environment and those for Foreign Affairs on Thursday, March 9, 2017 in Oyo launched the “Blue Fund” for Congo Basin.
The launch held at the end of a ceremony chaired by the Head of State of Congo (Sassou Nguesso) who was assisted by his counterpart of Togo (Faure Gnassingbé). Former Heads of State such as Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Alpha Omar Konaré of Mali were also in attendance.
The Blue Fund is part of the blue economy and covers all water bodies (lakes, ponds, rivers, seas, ground water) and coastal areas. The main branches of the economic activity in Africa that are based on marine and aquatic resources are fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, transports, the port sector, the mining sector and the energy sector.
For this reason, the Blue Fund will play a key role in the promotion of the blue economy in the Congo Basin to achieve economic growth, sustainable development and the well-being of the people.
Ministers from Africa’s Atlantic seaboard countries approved an amended text of the Abidjan Convention and three new protocols at the 12th Conference of Parties (COP12) to the Convention, held on 27-31 March in Abidjan, Cote d’ivoire, conditioning their approval on the incorporation into the drafts of comments made at the meeting.
L-R: Executive Secretary, Abidjan Convention, Abou Bamba; South Africa’s Environment Minister and Chair of COP12, Edna Molewa; and Côte d’Ivoire’s Environment Minister and Chair of COP13, Anne Oulotto, during a session at the Abidjan Convention COP12… in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
The ministers requested the Convention’s secretariat to organise a meeting of plenipotentiaries to adopt the amended convention and the protocols, which relate to integrated coastal zone management, sustainable management of mangroves and environmental norms and standards for the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas.
They also approved the Convention’s 2017–2020 work programme and expressed support for the process of developing its monitoring and evaluation system, requesting the secretariat to present the final version of the system at the 13th Conference of Parties (COP13) in 2020.
The Abidjan Convention for Cooperation in the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Atlantic Coast of the West, Central and Southern Africa region (Abidjan Convention) was signed in 1981, under the auspices of the United Nations, and ratified in 1984. It is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment).
Ministers approve key financial decisions
The Ministers requested the Executive Director of UN Environment to extend the life of the Abidjan Convention Trust Fund through 31 December 2020. They approved the revision of the Trust Fund’s 2017 budget, passed the Convention’s 2017-2020 budget and decided to authorise the opening of a bank account in Abidjan to facilitate the secretariat’s work and its cooperation with financial partners.
The Conference of Parties is the Abidjan Convention’s highest decision-making body. This year’s Conference, held from 27 to 31 March, marked the end of a period of revitalisation launched about 10 years ago. In that period, the number of States Parties increased considerably – 19 of the 22 countries in the Convention area have now ratified the accord. More countries have been paying their contributions and arrears, while productive partnerships have been developed by the secretariat with a broad range of institutions and organisations, UN Environment Executive Director, Erik Solheim, noted in his report on the convention, presented at the Conference.
In the words of South Africa’s Environment Minister, Edna Molewa, chair of COP12, the Convention “has travelled a long road from a near moribund state to the actively functional Convention it is today”. However, formidable challenges remain, said Molewa, who on Friday handed over the reins of the Conference of Parties to COP13 Chair, Anne Oulotto, Côte d’Ivoire’s Environment Minister.
Bent on addressing these challenges, the ministers issued a series of decisions that chart the way forward for the Convention in areas such as ocean energy, integrated ocean management, climate change, marine and coastal biodiversity, pollution, coastal cities, and areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Integrated ocean management policy, lessons from Phakisa
They requested the Abidjan Convention secretariat to develop an integrated coastal and ocean management policy for the Convention area, in collaboration with relevant international institutions, and to organise broad regional consultations to agree on a final version of the policy, to be presented for review and adoption at COP13.
They also undertook to “promote the mainstreaming of gender concerns in the management of the coastal and marine environment” in the Convention region, according to the final declaration of the Conference of Parties, issued on Friday, March 31, 2017.
The ministers expressed appreciation to South Africa for sharing its experiences and lessons learnt in respect of Operation Phakisa : Oceans Economy, a South African programme focusing on sustainable and integrated development of marine resources, and asked for explanatory material on the programme to be translated into French and circulated to all countries.
Operation Phakisa was the subject of one of 10 presentations made by experts in fields related to integrated ocean management at a workshop held on the opening day of the Conference of Parties, 27 March. These and related issues were also highlighted at parallel events – exhibitions presentations, debates and panel discussions – organised by partners of the Abidjan Convention on the margins of the Conference.
In their final declaration, the ministers called for research on how countries could maximise economic opportunities in the oceans for the people of the Convention area, possibly using the Operation Phakisa approach and methodology.
Secretariat asked to work with World Bank on WACA Programme
On the issue of climate change, the secretariat was asked to work with States Parties to ensure that issues related to oceans and coastal zones are considered in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals 13 and 14 on climate change and the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources respectively.
The ministers also decided “to support and promote the implementation of the West Africa Coastal Areas (WACA) Management Programme initiated by the World Bank Group, whose objective is to reduce the risk to coastal communities and promote multi-sectoral integrated and climate-change-resilient management of coastal areas”.
The programme, which helps countries access expertise and finance to sustainably manage their coastal areas, is of vital importance in a region battling climate change-related events such as sea-level rise and warming, land subsidence, storm surge, and increased coastal flooding, and where coastlines are eroding as much as 10 metres per year in some areas. The ministers asked the secretariat to be involved in implementing it and to hold discussions with the World Bank Group to extend it to more countries.
In their final declaration, the Ministers also noted their decision to request Contracting Parties to “recognise the importance of safeguarding biodiversity located in areas beyond national jurisdiction and ensuring their sustainable use under the Convention and in conformity with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea”.
Regional approach on invasive species
Invasive species of plants, such as the sargassum seaweed – a major threat to biodiversity, economies and livelihoods in parts of West and Central Africa – also came in for mention in the ministers’ final declaration. In this regard, they invited the region’s governments to “strengthen their cooperation with partners and stakeholders on the western shore of the tropical Atlantic Ocean so as to acquire a better understanding of transnational issues linked to invasive species, with a view to jointly developing appropriate solutions”.
They also approved a regional strategy against invasive species, asking governments to adopt and implement it and to “develop national action plans, exchange information, and facilitate rapid provision of mutual assistance against invasive marine and coastal species”.
Other decisions include asking the Parties to implement the African Strategy on Combatting Illegal Exploitation and Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora in Africa, and to encourage partners to support its implementation.
On the issue of pollution, the secretariat was asked to “initiate, as soon as possible, consultations with partners to prepare a study on the state of the environment, including the level of pollution, of lagoon areas and the socioeconomic development opportunities they provide”.
The Ministers also asked the secretariat and its relevant partners to “create a database on marine waste for use as a basis for strategies on marine waste, thus contributing to well-grounded decisions and policies at the municipal, national, sub-regional and regional levels”.
Another task now conferred upon the secretariat is “to develop and implement a regional initiative on urban planning in coastal cities in order to improve the living conditions of coastal populations”, and to report on it at COP 13.
New action plans requested on ocean energy, parliamentarians
The secretariat has also been requested to update its overall Action Plan to protect and develop the marine environment and coasts of West, Central and Southern Africa and present it at COP 13. It has also been asked to develop – and present at COP 13 – two new action plans, one on ocean energy and the other related to the creation of an alliance of parliamentarians and local counsellors from Abidjan Convention Contracting Parties.
The action plan for producing and distributing clean energy from the ocean would be based on a study of the energy potential of marine and coastal ecosystems in the Convention zone, which the ministers have asked the secretariat to undertake. Once it is drawn up, the secretariat is to organise regional consultations to finalise it for COP 13.
The other action plan, to be developed together with relevant international organisations, is aimed at ensuring the effective functioning of an alliance of parliamentarians and local elected representatives whose creation the Conference of Parties has decided to support. In this regard, the secretariat will be required to undertake national consultations in States Parties to develop an operational and administrative framework for the alliance.
Another new initiative adopted by the Conference is the establishment of a platform of exchange and reflection known as the African Forum on Seas and Oceans of the Southeast Atlantic. The ministers decided to ask the Convention secretariat to “lead the reflection on this issue” and report on it at COP13.
Almost 200 African civil society organisations on Thursday, April 6, 2017 condemn what they perceive as European manipulation and compromising of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), a transformative, Africa-owned and Africa-led inclusive effort to accelerate and scale up the harnessing of the continent’s huge renewable energy potential.
Mithika Mwenda, Secretary General of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA). He says AREI has been a great example of African leadership in rising above political stalemates to tackle the climate crisis. Photo credit: cloudfront.net
Tensions appear to have erupted over the actions of France and the European Commission, who are accused of risking the initiative’s African sovereignty, and of bypassing processes including social and environmental criteria to push approval of projects, to the cost of African citizens.
The AREI was launched in 2015 in Paris during COP21 as an African-led initiative with the goal of providing at least 10 GW of new renewable energy to Africa’s peoples by 2020, and put the continent on course to add at least another 300 GW and achieve universal access to energy for all Africans by 2030. It was supported by $10 billion in pledges for 2015-2020 by developed countries in Paris, and has been hailed as a groundbreaking effort to bring clean, affordable, and reliable energy to millions of people in a democratic, human-rights focused approach.
However, African civil society groups understand that at a recent AREI Board Meeting, France and the European Commission abused their position as donors to override the views of several Africans on the AREI Board, by announcing and pushing through approval of 19 projects that were not subject to AREI evaluation criteria or social, environmental, and gender safeguards.
They did so apparently without being formal Board Members, in the face of objections by several African Board Members, and apparently without participation of the countries hosting the projects. They furthermore pushed for the undue imposition of EU technical experts to supposedly influence AREI’s future development. France and the EU have pledged to provide funds to support “new and additional” renewable energy capacity, but these promises are being broken in their attempt to rebrand some already existing projects as AREI projects.
The compromising of AREI principles threatens its very core and has prompted a diverse swathe of African civil society to rally behind a set of demands, in an attempt to regain control of the initiative for African countries.
A letter signed by almost 200 African civil society organisations is demanding:
That African countries immediately take action to put AREI back on track and ensure full independence from donors and other third parties.
That EU and France abandon aspirations to have seats as Board members.
That AREI Board “endorsement” of the 19 existing EU projects be suspended until they are subject to a thorough review against AREI criteria, environmental and social safeguards, and have the prior informed consent of states and citizens concerned.
That all further funding and proposed projects be genuinely “new and additional,” with no more accounting tricks.
That AREI be fully accountable, transparent and participatory for African states and for civil society in all aspects.
And that active participation by all civil society constituencies be ensured at all levels of AREI
“This clear undermining of African governance belongs to an era we supposedly left in the past. The AREI is meant to be an African-led initiative, but here we have the EU undermining years of work by going over the heads of African governments and pushing through projects without public participation or adequate safeguards. The sad irony is that this power grab flies in the face of what the EU and France themselves agreed,” said Kumi Naidoo of Africans Rising for Justice, Peace, and Dignity.
Mithika Mwenda of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA): “AREI has been a great example of African leadership in rising above political stalemates to tackle the climate crisis. Now the EU is claiming credit for the hard work of African peoples and governments, while at the same time making it harder for AREI to hit its targets of delivering 300 GW of new renewable power by 2030.”
Titilope Akosa of Centre for 21st Century Issues: “This continent has seen too many bad development projects already, which is why AREI was created with robust safeguards in mind to ensure that all stakeholders could be consulted and that human rights would be respected. With the EU pushing through approval for these 19 projects without review according to AREI’s criteria, they are effectively trampling over badly needed protections for women, indigenous people, and other constituencies.”
Godwin Ojo of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria: “AREI is one of the major legacies from COP21 in Paris and gives us all hope, yet France and the European Commission’s heavy-handed efforts in AREI place this legacy at risk, and undermine trust in the UN climate change process to deliver real solutions for our peoples, and in Europe as a genuine partner for sustainable development in Africa.”
Rhoda Boateng of the International Trade Union Confederation – Africa: “European donors know how to talk the talk but do they know how to walk the walk? If the latest developments are anything to go by, they don’t. A just transition to clean, affordable, democratic energy requires billions – billions which were promised but which we are now told will appear by magic as a result of a much smaller investment of a few hundred million. People in Africa need concrete investments in renewable energy, not a lottery ticket.”
