As the World Elephant Day is observed on Friday, 12 August 2016, the Tanzanian government has been asked to protect its largest game reserve and the wild species that call it home – including elephants.
Elephants
Director General of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International, Marco Lambertini, in a correspondence with Sara Thomas, the WWF Online Advocacy Manager, reflects upon his recent trip to the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania, where he saw the effects of elephant poaching and wildlife crime firsthand.
He reminisces on a trip he took to the same site some 30 years ago – how much of the landscape has changed since, but how the problem of ivory poaching has not – and how the world must urgently take action to protect the future of elephants and other wild species in Selous.
“Let’s bring elephants back to the many empty ‘Selous of Africa’,” Lambertini says, as he seeks for people to join the 55,000 other WWF supporters who have already signed the petition to help protect the future elephants in Selous.
His letter reads thus:
In 1986 I boarded a flight to Tanzania and Botswana to write an article about the elephant crisis for the the Italian equivalent of National Geographic. Yes, we have been here before. In the 80’s we lived through the first dramatic post-colonial wave of elephant poaching. The demand back then was driven by different countries, but the target was the same, ivory.
In 1989, when the international ivory ban was introduced, and was combined with stronger on-the-ground efforts and demand-reduction campaigns, the African elephant population recovered rapidly. Today we see a new crisis. History is repeating itself and we should learn from it.
Last month, after a gap of 30 years, I visited two of the same sites in Tanzania and Botswana. As I flew in on a small single-engine plane, I was overwhelmed by the majestic view.
The vast green expanse and extensive wetlands, cut through by the muddy enchanted snake-shaped Rufiji river. But on the ground I encountered a different, sad story. The place felt empty. The large African wildlife was scarce and even the most common species like impalas and warthogs were extremely shy. In three days, we only saw one single shy elephant. However, the biggest shock was the change in the habitat. Trees and shrubs now encroach on the open spaces that, as I remember, teemed with wildebeest, zebras and impalas. When the ‘Architects of the Savannah’ are gone, the landscape changes and the impact on another grassland species is inevitable.
This is the Selous, the largest game reserve in Africa, at over five million hectares. 90 per cent of its elephants have been lost to poaching – an average of almost 2,500 per year since 1976. Thankfully, there is hope, which resides with the new Tanzanian Government. The Government has shown gritted determination to pursue and prosecute ivory trade kingpins. This resolve, if it continues, will make a difference.
We have done it before. We can do it again. Let’s bring elephants back to the many empty “Selous of Africa.” How exciting.
August 9 is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2016, and is devoted to the right to education
Indigenous communities across the world have a key role to play in tackling climate change and in achieving the climate goals set out in the historic Paris Climate Change Agreement. Indigenous peoples not only have a right to education, they can educate other groups in sustainable life-styles.
Farmers in Peru. Photo credit: International Institute for Environment and Development
For indigenous peoples, resilience to climate change is rooted in traditional knowledge, and their capacity to adapt to environmental change is often based on in-depth understanding of the land.
As climate change increasingly impacts indigenous landscapes, communities are responding and adapting in unique ways. Others can learn from these best practices.
For example, the indigenous Quechua community in Parque de la Papa, Peru, maintain a Potato Park in the Andes with a bank that holds over 1,000 varieties of the vegetable.
Climate change is threatening biodiversity and forcing them to change centuries-old agricultural practices.
But having many types of potato crop which grow under harsh conditions, some of which can also be planted in other countries, constitutes an important form of resilience. Indigenous communities are increasingly offering their generations of traditional knowledge to further science. Knowledge about these and other best practices is discussed and shared by the Adaptation Committee of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Indigenous peoples who live near or in forests are also stewards of the world’s most valuable remaining ecosystems. These ecosystems are a source of food and water for millions of people, and at the same time they play a crucial role in regulating the climate and absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide.
According to the UN Development Programme, approximately 70 million indigenous peoples depend on forests for their livelihoods and another 350 million rural people reside in or near them.
Indigenous land rights and education are a vital part of preserving these carbon stocks by reducing deforestation, managing forests sustainably and restoring tree cover as part of productive rural economies.
Indigenous peoples also have a powerful interest in sustainable, clean energy in order to preserve their life-styles.
UN University has been convening indigenous peoples to discuss how they can contribute to and build energy independence, notably with renewable energy.
Climate finance totaling some $81 billion was mobilised for projects funded by the world’s six largest multilateral development banks (MDBs) in 2015. This included $25 billion of MDBs’ direct climate finance, combined with a further $56 billion from other investors.
Bambang Susantono, ADB Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development
The latest MDB climate finance figures are detailed in the 2015 Joint Report on Multilateral Development Banks’ Climate Finance, prepared by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) together with MDB partners: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDBG), and the World Bank Group (WBG).
This noteable contribution to the global climate change challenge was reinforced last year by pledges from all of the MDBs to significantly increase their climate finance in the coming years. They made these pledges in the run up to the COP21 Paris Agreement, the world’s first universal climate accord adopted in December last year by 195 countries.
The report covers the 2015 year and shows that MDBs delivered over $20 billion for mitigation activities and $5 billion for adaptation. Mitigation activities involve the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency measures and the use of clean, renewable energy sources, while adaptation measures reduce climate vulnerability and increase resilience to climate change through, for example, investing in climate-resilient land-use and water resource management. Since 2011, MDBs have jointly committed more than $131 billion in climate finance.
Among the regions, non-European Union (EU) Europe and Central Asia received the largest share of total funding at 20%; with South Asia receiving 19%; Latin America and the Caribbean 15%; East Asia and the Pacific 14%; the EU 13%; sub-Saharan Africa 9%; and the Middle East and North Africa 9%. Multi-regional commitments made up the other 2% of the total.
On a sectoral basis, the largest recipient of adaptation funding was for water and wastewater systems (27%), followed by energy, transport and related infrastructure (24%), and crop and food production (18%). Renewable energy received the bulk of mitigation finance (30%), lower-carbon transport received 26%, and energy efficiency activities 14%.
ADB contributed over $2.5 billion for mitigation finance and $356 million for adaptation finance in 2015, a slight increase from 2014.
“MDBs will play a central role in generating the pipelines of quality climate action projects needed to deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement,” said Bambang Susantono, ADB Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development. “The Asia-Pacific region includes economies which are among the world’s most vulnerable to climate change extremes. To that end, ADB has committed to double climate finance from its own resources to around $6 billion annually by 2020, as well as to seek out and mobilize cofinance from a wide range of public and private sector sources.”
Given the role of MDBs in catalysing finance, the inclusion in this year’s report of a common tracking approach for climate cofinancing is a significant step forward in making the reporting of climate finance flows more robust and transparent. MDBs have also been working closely together to harmonise reporting on greenhouse gas emissions and the use of proceeds from MDB green bonds.
Moving forward, the report notes that the MDBs will scale up climate finance activities across multiple sectors, in particular in renewable energy and energy efficiency; low-carbon and climate-resilient cities, regions and industries; low-carbon transport; natural resource efficiency; and climate-smart agriculture and food security. These efforts will help countries meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement, moving to a low-carbon, more resilient future.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB in December 2016 will mark 50 years of development partnership in Asia. It is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2015 alone, ADB assistance totaled $27.2 billion, including cofinancing of $10.7 billion.
At the 7th Environment Outreach Magazine Public Lecture held recently in Abuja, awards were conferred on eminent Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in the protection of the environment through positive action and years of dedicated service.
Some of the recipients include the Minister of Environment, Amina J. Mohammed; Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State; Professor Sani Abubakar Mashi, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Admin) of the University of Abuja; Kingsley Chinda, former Commissioner for Environment, Rivers State and presently Chairman of Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives, Abuja; and, Professor I. K. E Ekweozor, Secretary, Board of Trustees, Nigerian Environmental Society.
Others include Dr. Daru Owei, former Deputy Managing Director of AGIP; Dr. Victor Fodeke, environmentalist and former Technical Adviser to the African Union; Mr. Akin Awobamise, retired Zonal Director of NESREA; Elder Uche Agbanusi, former National President of the Nigerian Environmental Society; Mr. Salisu Dahiru, National Project Coordinator of NEWMAP; and, Mr. Pyagbara Saro Legborsi, President of MOSOP.
Former Minister of Environment, Sir John Odey (right) presenting an Environmental Award to the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, through her representative, Dr. Lawrence Anukam, DG of NESREAThe Vice Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt, Professor Ndowa Lale presents an award to Professor I. K. E. Ekweozor of the River State University of Science and Technology Port HarcourtDr. Daru Owei, former DMD of Agip receives an award from the Director-General of NESREA, Dr. Lawrence Anukam while Publisher of the Environment Outreach Magazine admiresNigeria’s former climate change chief, Dr Victor Fodeke (left), was likewise decoratedPresident of MOSOP, Mr. Legborsi Saro Pyagbara (left) with Publisher of the Environment Outreach Magazine, Chief Noble AkengeSpecial Guest of Honour and former Deputy Managing Director of AGIP, Dr. Daru Owei (left) and Chairman of the occasion, Sir John Odey, former Minister of Environment
Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, has urged civil society and the people to work closely with government to fight the menace of insurgency and other militant acts in the country.
Left to right: Madam Anne Ene-Ita, former Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Aviation; Representative of the Emir of Potiskum, Alhaji Muhammad Yusuf; Representative of the Minister of Environment and DG of NESREA, Dr. Lawrence Anukam; and former Minister of Environment, Sir John Odey at the 7th Environment Outreach Magazine Public Lecture in Abuja recently
The minister, who spoke recently in Abuja at the 7th Environment Outreach Magazine Public Lecture, reiterated the fact that government alone cannot win the war against insurgency in any form without the active collaboration of the people.
She stressed the need for closer cooperation in view of the enormous damage the scourge has cost the country in material terms and general damage to the environment.
According to her, Nigeria’s economy has suffered greatly in the last two decades since the activities of militants escalated in the Niger Delta. “Pipeline vandals have wreaked havoc on our environment due to the huge amounts of crude oil spilled into the environment by their nefarious activities. This has in turn reduced our oil production output with attendant consequences for the economy,” she disclosed.
The minister, who was represented by the Director-General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr. Lawrence Anukam, lamented the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents that have in the last few years caused serious dislocations and untold hardship to the people of the north-east and other parts of the country. She called for an immediate end to the activities of insurgents in all parts of the country so that developments can thrive.
Chairman of the occasion and former Minister of Environment, Sir John Odey, commended the publication for its commitment in ensuring an enduring and well protected environment for the country by creating awareness of environmental issues across the country. He called on the authorities and other corporate bodies to support and partner with the magazine in sustaining the fight against environmental abuse and degradation in the country.
He described the topic of the lecture, “Insurgency and its effect on Nigeria’s economy and environment”, as very apt and urged all stakeholders to close ranks and ensure that the environment is protected from abuse in all forms.
Special Guest of Honour, Dr. Daru Owei, former Deputy Managing Director of AGIP, stressed that the environment has become a strong issue now both locally and globally, not only to the oil industry but to all strata of society.
Publisher and host of the event, Chief Noble Akenge, stated that the reason for initiating the Public Lecture Series was to create awareness and also bring environmental issues to the front burner of national discourse and action.
He described the theme of the Lecture as very appropriate in the light of the heavy damage insurgents, militants and pipeline vandals are doing to the Nigerian environment and economy.
He said: “From the Boko Haram insurgency in the north which has devastated our environment and virtually halted most of the desertification projects in the frontline states to the activities of militants and vandals that have made life virtually unbearable for the people of the Niger Delta and Nigerians in general, the story is the same.”
He lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for his positive response to the recommendations of the UNEP Report on Ogoniland and the launching of the clean-up process and urged the President to speed up the process through appropriate institutional mechanisms and action and also extend it to other states in the Niger Delta where oil exploration and exploitation has caused considerable damage to the ecosystem over the years.
He appealed to the Federal Government to strengthen the Federal Ministry of Environment and Regulatory Agencies like NESREA and NOSDRA through capacity building and adequate funding of their operations to enable them carry out their statutory functions effectively.
He called on corporate bodies and other institutions in the country to begin to respect and place value on the nation’s collective heritage – the environment.
“A percentage of the huge profits being declared annually by many of these corporations and financial institutions can be ploughed into environmental protection and sustainable development activities in our country,” Akenge stated.
As part of activities marking the event, Environmental Awards were conferred on eminent Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in the protection of the environment through positive action and years of dedicated service.
Some of the recipients include the Minister of Environment, Amina J. Mohammed; Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State; Professor Sani Abubakar Mashi, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Admin) of the University of Abuja; Kingsley Chinda, former Commissioner for Environment, Rivers State and presently Chairman of Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives, Abuja; and, Professor I. K. E Ekweozor, Secretary, Board of Trustees, Nigerian Environmental Society.
Others include Dr. Daru Owei, former Deputy Managing Director of AGIP; Dr. Victor Fodeke, environmentalist and former Technical Adviser to the African Union; Mr. Akin Awobamise, retired Zonal Director of NESREA; Elder Uche Agbanusi, former National President of the Nigerian Environmental Society; Mr. Salisu Dahiru, National Project Coordinator of NEWMAP; and, Mr. Pyagbara Saro Legborsi, President of MOSOP.
Health Minister, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said on Tuesday in Abuja that Nigeria would end malaria mortality by 2020.
Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole
The minister stated this at a town hall meeting and policy dialogue for good governance jointly organised by the Alumni Association of the National Institute and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.
Adewole said: “We have set some time frame for ourselves. We are committed to reducing maternal mortality before the life span of this administration. We want to end malaria mortality by the end of 2020.”
Adewole said government was on the verge of putting in place a new health policy for the country.
He recalled that attempts had been made twice, in 1988 and 2004, to develop a health policy for the nation.
He said: “This year, government is designing a new health policy deliberately captured to promote the health of Nigerians to accelerate socio-economic development.
“We want to make a statement that when we improve the health of the people, we can engender socio-economic development.”
The minister said the 2016 budget features three prominent areas in the health sector – immunisation, management of disease outbreak, maternal and child mortality.
He said government is committed to ensuring accountability, transparency and reducing inefficiency in the health sector.
Adewole said government was also looking beyond the budget and had secured a $500 million loan from the World Bank to address maternal and child mortality.
In utilising the fund, the minister said the Federal Government would partner with the states.
He said: “The loan will be accessible to states but with close assessment and monitoring to ensure its proper usage for maternal health, child birth, malarial, nutrition, immunisation and contraception.
“States that perform well on the indicators will be given more money.”
Besides, the minister said government launched a new programme called: “Better Health for All Nigerians,” an initiative for taking care of the poor people.
He said through the programme, government will offer free surgery to the poor, screen 500,000 for diabetes and hypertension, 40,000 for hepatitis, 40,000 for cervical cancer and 20,000 for breast cancer.
He said the programme would also be used to handle the nutritional emergency in Borno State.
Adewole said seven tertiary health institutions have been selected for upgrade to handle cancer, renal and cardiac problems, which takes many patients abroad.
He said the step would help to reverse medical tourism, which is costing the country over $1 billion annually on capital flight.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in a contribution at the town hall meeting, said: “Nigeria is a mineral rich nation, but not a mining nation.”
Fayemi said the ugly trend was because the country abandoned mining in the better parts of the last 40 years.
The minister said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to changing the trend with its economic diversification programme.
Fayemi said government will support investors in the mining sector to ensure it takes vantage position in economic diversification programme.
He also disclosed that the government is working on a full data of available mineral resources that investors can access on-line.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said that about 21 Local Government Areas will be affected by flood in the North West zone.
Flooded parts of Lokoja in Kogi State in 2012
The North West Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Musa Ilallah, made this known while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Tuesday.
The coordinator said the agency has taken all a proactive measures to curtail the flood menace in the zone.
According to Ilallah, NEMA has reached out to relevant agencies in the affected states and within the zone to be on alert.
He mentioned the Local Governments to be affected in Kaduna State as Kaduna North and South, Igabi, Kubau, Soba Kajuru and Kachia, while in Kano State, Wudil, Warawa, Tudun Wada, Bebeji, Gwarzo, Dawakin Tofa, Kiru and Bagwai were named.
Others are Katsina State: Malumfashi, Funtua, Daura and Baure; Jigawa State: Hadejia, Auyo, Kafin Hausa, Ringim, Taura and Jahun.
Ilallah also disclosed that the river basin cuts across Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara and Katsina States, while River Hadejia cuts across Jigawa, Kano and part of Bauchi States.
He urged the state governments to urgently embark on massive sensitisation programme of the affected communities to see the need of moving away from the prone areas.
He said: “On our part, NEMA and Executive Secretary of Hydrological Services Agency already carried out a Hausa programmes on radio in cognizance of targeting these communities that are likely to be affected.
“The alert shows that if the rain continues as experienced in the last one week for the next four days, it is a signal that part of River Niger will be flooded.
He added: “And by implication, a number of places will be affected with flood and going by the warning, the experience of flood in 2012 will be a child’s play this year, while several states will be affected.
“My concern is the North West, particularly Kaduna, Jigawa, Kano and Katsina states following the warnings by the Director General of the agency.
“Though we are able to reach out to States Emergency Management Agencies to enable them alert the communities living along the river banks linked with River Niger.
“It was just two days ago the Nigerian government received an alert from Niger Republic issuing a warning that all people living along the river banks should be evacuated.”
Illalah warned residents against indiscriminate dumping of refuse and building along water ways.
He enjoined relevant authorities in the states to be up and doing to check flooding.
The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has reiterated Federal Government’s commitment to the reduction of tobacco use among citizens particularly exposure of underage children to smoking.
Yemi Osinbajo, Vice-President of Nigeria. Photo credit: profyemiosibanjo.com
Osinbajo, who spoke at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday while receiving leaders of anti-tobacco civil society groups, lamented inadequate information about the dangers of smoking “which has made it difficult to convince many to quit the dangerous habit.”
He said: “We need the public behind us in this engagement. We need to change the public perception that smoking is a matter of choice. We also need to be more creative in passing our messages and in developing policies.”
While lamenting tobacco products “proliferation” in the country, Prof. Osinbajo hinted that government would be exploring strategies on how to reduce tobacco consumption.
“The Presidency will give every support that is needed to ensure that tobacco control laws and policies are effectively implemented in Nigeria,” he assured.
He charged the NGOs to work more closely with youths to ensure that under-age initiation into smoking is reduced in the country.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Akinbode Oluwafemi, who is Deputy Director of Environmental Rights Action /Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), urged the Federal Government to provide all the necessary support for the effective implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA) 2015.
“We want the Federal Government to demonstrate that the era of impunity is over by bringing all tobacco companies flouting our laws to justice,” said the activist.
Hilda Ochefu of the Washington-based Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) expressed the readiness of her agency and other international NGOs to support Nigeria in implementing effective tax policy for the tobacco industry.
The 23rd session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO23), which took place in Rome, Italy 18 to 22 July 2016, took an effective approach that focused on the interlinkages between forest and other sectors and issues, including biodiversity and climate change.
The 13th meeting of the CBD Conference of the Parties (COP13) will hold in Cancun, Mexico, 2 – 17 December, 2016
COFO23 helped to showcase how countries have been devising forest policies which provide mutual benefits for the forestry sector as well as for agriculture, watershed management, biodiversity, recreation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and sustainable development. Major steps are being taken to integrate different policy agendas through a comprehensive and coordinated land use management perspective.
Among the key outcomes of COFO23 was a decision requesting the FAO to collaborate with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and with the ministries responsible for forests and the forest sector to support the preparations for COP13.
A dialogue event was organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the Government of Mexico, at which representatives from the Committee on Forestry, FAO Permanent Representatives, representatives from other Departments of FAO, World Resources Institute (WRI), other organisations and stakeholders exchanged experiences on the mainstreaming conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the forest sector, one of the key topics to be discussed at the Thirteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP13) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its High-Level Segment (HLS), to be held in Cancun, Mexico, 2 to 17 December 2016.
“One of the main areas of focus for COP13, and its High-Level Segment, will be on the need to enhance efforts to mainstream biodiversity in four key sectors – Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry and Tourism. The fact that the forestry sector is already demonstrating its recognition of these linkages is a significant sign that we are on the right path”, said Mr. Alberto Glender, Special Adviser of Mexico for COP13.
One of the key outcomes of the High-Level Segment, taking place prior to the opening of COP13, from 2 to 3 December 2016, is the Ministerial Declaration that will emphasise the need for increased action to mainstream conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in sectoral and cross-sectoral policies, plans and programmes. The Zero Draft of the Declaration was circulated by Mexico through official channels in July, and replicated by a notification of the Executive Secretary of the CBD around the time of the COFO23 meeting.
Discussion during the dialogue session noted shifts in the perception of forests and on the pivotal role of the forest sector for advancing other policy agendas. The importance of land use planning and policies, as well as governments role in creating an enabling environment for community and private sector involvement, through the role of economic instruments and measures to better value biodiversity and their impacts to other sectors, were factored in by several participants throughout the discussion. Moreover, efforts taken to integrate conservation and sustainable use practices into commodity supply chains at different scales were also mentioned.
In closing the dialogue event, Mr. Rene Castro, Assistant Director General, Forestry Department of FAO, noted: “The discussions that took place at this Committee on Forestry and the technical support that FAO can provide are highly relevant to the biodiversity community”. FAO has prepared a variety of tools which can assist Parties to the CBD in meeting their national biodiversity commitments and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Targets and the SDGs.
He added: “One recent example is FAO’s new partnership with Google Earth for more frequent updates of tree cover and other land use elements that will enable FAO and the public to monitor earth ecosystems almost in real time.”
Furthermore, Mr. Hesiquio Benitez Diaz, General Director of International Cooperation and
implementation, CONABIO-Mexico, stated: “Governments around the world have recognised the essential role that biodiversity plays in achieving sustainable development, human well-being, and prosperity in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The discussions at COFO23 provided a major contribution from the forest sector towards coherence between agendas, and we look forward to continuing our close collaboration with the CBD Secretariat and FAO to achieve results for our common objectives at COP13.”
“Momentum towards a successful COP13 is building,” noted Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. “Clearly this event shows that the future of our forests can continue to provide multiple benefits for biodiversity, people and sustainable development, if we ensure that they are safeguarded and managed sustainably. As we head into COP13, we will be counting on the forestry community to underscore the benefits that biodiversity and ecosystem services provide to the sector and the verse how the sector can ensure viable productivity without depleting the natural capital that biodiversity underpins”, he added. Similarly, the interlinkages between the biodiversity and the fisheries agendas were discussed in the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) meeting in July 2016 in Rome.
To enhance further engagement and interaction with other sectors, a similar dialogue event will be convened during the Committee on Agriculture (COAG), in September 2016, in Rome, Italy to address the links between biodiversity, agriculture, food security and rural livelihoods.
New research has revealed some alarming insights about the effects of climate change on one of the world’s oldest and largest lakes. A study published on Monday in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” suggests rising temperatures have been responsible for significant declines in the fish that populate Africa’s Lake Tanganyika and feed the surrounding communities – and that these declines may only worsen as global warming continues to progress.
Lake Tanganyika’s waters lap Tanzania, Burundi, Congo DR and Zambia. It is the longest fresh water lake in the world and the second deepest after lake Baikal in Russia. Photo credit: boomsbeat.com
The research suggests that sustained warming throughout the decades has hindered a vital “mixing” process, common to lakes all over the world, that helps to spread nutrients and oxygen throughout the water. Typically, this process occurs when oxygen-rich water near the surface of a lake sinks down to deeper areas (a churn often aided by the wind), and nutrient-rich water rises up from the bottom to take its place.
The problem is that when the air temperature rises, it can cause water near the surface to heat up – and because warm water is less dense than cooler water, the differences in temperature between the surface and the bottom of the lake make it much more difficult for two to mix together. When this happens, some parts of the lake don’t receive enough oxygen while other parts don’t receive enough nutrients, and marine organisms in both areas suffer as a result.
This is the effect the research team believes has been occurring in Lake Tanganyika – which is a serious problem, given how important the lake is to nearby human communities.
Lake Tanganyika is one of Africa’s Great Lakes and the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume. It’s also one of the oldest lakes in the world at about 10 million years in age, and it’s known for having some of the highest levels of endemic species, or organisms found nowhere else in the world.
Bordered by Tanzania, Burundi, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is a vital source of food in the region. The lake has been known to produce more than 200,000 tons of fish in a year, and it’s estimated that its yields may account for up to 60 percent of the animal protein consumed by humans in the region.
In recent decades, though, it’s become apparent that fish populations in the lake are not what they used to be. The question that’s been occupying scientists’ minds is what’s behind the declines. While experts have hypothesised that climate change has played a role, many researchers have also pointed to the pressure of commercial fishing – which took off in Lake Tanganyika in the mid-20th century – as a major culprit.
“There has been an ongoing debate between various scientific communities as to the relative importance of climate change and fishing pressure,” said Andrew Cohen, the new study’s lead author and a distinguished professor and expert in paleolimnology – the study of lake history using ancient sediments – at the University of Arizona.
The new study suggests that declines in the lake’s fish predate the onset of commercial fishing there, he said, meaning climate change was having a negative impact before overfishing ever became a concern.
The researchers demonstrated this effect by drawing sediment cores from various sites in the lake and analysing them in the lab. Certain chemical components of ancient sediments can reveal a lot about a region’s climate history – it’s a method that’s commonly used by climate scientists to determine how an area has changed over thousands of years.
The researchers were also able to use certain aspects of the sediment samples to determine how algae production – the foundation of the lake’s food chain – has changed over time. And they also examined the lake’s fossil record to see how fish and mollusk populations have grown or declined throughout the ages.
After constructing a history going back about 1,500 years, the researchers found that as the lake temperatures have risen, the fish and mollusk fossils have declined, suggesting warmer temperatures have been bad for the lake’s biodiversity. The results indicate this pattern has been particularly striking since the late 19th century, when the lake began to experience sustained warming.
In fact, the study suggests that the area of suitable habitat on the lake floor has shrunk by about 38 percent since the mid-20th century.
A reduction in the mixing of the water can be identified as “the fundamental problem that this lake is facing,” Cohen said. “And the decline in fishery is in large part a consequence of this climate change phenomenon.”
This is not to say that commercial fishing has played no role in recent declines, Cohen added. Since the middle of the 20th century, the two factors have likely been working together in concert. Rather, the new study confirms that climate change also is a major culprit – and has been for a much longer period of time.
Furthermore, the results serve as a kind of warning bell for the future, given that temperatures in the region will likely continue to warm in the coming decades. Future management of the lakes fisheries will need to account for the fact that fishing is not the only force placing pressure on fish populations, and that current levels of commercial fishing may already be unsustainable there.
Cohen cautioned that the effects observed in Lake Tanganyika don’t necessarily apply to lakes all over the world. In the Arctic, for instance, there’s some evidence to suggest that rising temperatures may actually increase productivity in some lakes.
And even in other tropical lakes, there are additional factors that need to be considered when making predictions about the future. It’s possible that an increase in a region’s windiness could help counteract a rise in temperature, since wind helps to mix up the water.
“We don’t have any evidence of that in the Tanganyika region,” Cohen added. “But the importance is we need to look at these big, deep lakes in the tropics on a case-by-case basis and think about all the types of climate processes.”
