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Stakeholders explore avenues to resolve Benue farmers, herdsmen rift

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Stakeholders explore avenues to resolve Benue farmers, herdsmen rift

Besides the branding of cows to avoid incidences of rustling, a gathering of civil society players has also demanded for the fast-tracking of the enactment of the legislation against open grazing of livestock in Benue State. These ideas formed part of a series of recommendations arrived at last Tuesday after a daylong Dialogue On Peace-Building between indigenous farmers and insurgent herdsmen in Markurdi, the state capital.

Fulani herdsmen
A Fulani herdsmn

While ensure that a census of livestock is taken at borders as an interim measure pending the passage of the National Grazing Reserve Bill into law, participants at the workshop organised by the Angel Support Foundation (ASF) likewise want herdsmen to revert to the use of sticks and knives instead of sophisticated weapons in the interim pending the passage of the bill, which recently scaled the Second Reading at the National Assembly in Abuja.

Observers believe that the Tiv/Fulani crisis has become one of the most devastating catastrophes that have bedevilled the state after the Tiv/Jukum crisis of neighbouring Taraba State. Local Government Areas (LGAs) such as Logo, Guma, Agatu, Buruku, Tarka, Kwande, Ukum and a host of others have come under severe attacks arising from the calamity.

As a consequence, lives and property have been destroyed, with women and children bearing much of the attendant consequences. Participants cited the case of the recent incidence in Agatu that resulted in the killing of pregnant women, children and the youth, as well as the destruction of shelter and disruption of farming activities – the lifeline of Benue indigenes. Resulting from the crisis, farmlands were deserted, as indigenous farmers fled for their lives.

The forum, which had stakeholders drawn from government Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), civil society, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), herdsmen, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the media, attempted to explore the immediate and remote causes of the crisis in the state with a view to coming up with workable solutions to curtail, mitigate and prevent future occurrence of the crisis in communities where they have been curtailed. The meeting was also aimed at developing a Tiv/Fulani peace pact.

Armed Fulani herdsmen: Participants at the forum want herdsmen to revert to the use of sticks and knives instead of sophisticated weapons in the interim pending the passage of the bill
Armed Fulani herdsmen: Participants at the forum want herdsmen to revert to the use of sticks and knives instead of sophisticated weapons in the interim pending the passage of the bill

Lead discussant, Gideon Inyom, stressed that the relationship between the Tivs and Fulanis existed for over 100 years, but that it (the relationship) had gone sour for about a decade now. Inyom explained how the Fulanis were hitherto guests in Tiv land and then suddenly became landlords. He attempted to unravel the reason for the twisted relationship and the need for a lasting solution.

Indeed, the forum identified the major cause of the crisis to include over stressed land within the Benue valley, worsened by the fact that the Fulanis are usually around only during the dry season.

Arido Boyiri, a representative of the herdsmen, informed the house that the Fulanis came into Benue in 1943 and that most of them were born and brought up in the state. He appealed to the government to take criminal acts more seriously, underlining the need to arrest and timely prosecute those who cause trouble in communities. He agreed to collaborate with the government to identify the strange Fulanis, and also come up with a concrete data base of Fulanis who graze within the Benue valley.

Mary Sewuese Ugbaa, Executive Director of ASF, lamented that the Tiv-Fulani crisis has been a continuous predicament that has distorted the peace and harmony that was hitherto enjoyed in the state. According to her, past efforts to address the unsavoury development had failed to yield the desired result.

“We strongly desire to make meaningful contributions based on what we know is true. We also hope that at the end of the day we would have generated enough ideas towards the development of a Benue State / Fulani Peace Compact containing all our agreed decisions so as to work with the government in fostering sustainable peace in these communities and Benue at large,” she said, adding:

“Today’s event is a first step in a series of events, as we intend to continually hold forums like this regularly to deliberate on the topical issues bordering the lives of our people within communities in Benue State in particular and Nigeria in general.”

The forum suggested that, in order to find a lasting solution to the problem, the Nasarawa State Government should be involved in issues of peace building, resulting from the shared boundary and the movement of Fulanis.

Participants insisted that the principal duty of government is the protection of lives and property and that, as a result of the crisis, the needs of the IDPs is not just a plate of food but a shelter over their head.

On building lasting peace between the indigenous farmers and insurgent herdsmen (Tiv/Fulani), it was agreed that issues of ranching of cattle, enhancement of security apparatus in the state, effective communication, and a cattle census be given proper attention.

Other recommendations at the forum were listed to include:

  • Coalition of NGOs working against insurgency and insolvency to provide a common front in tackling the problems between farmers and herders
  • Effective warning systems and response to be put in place in the communities prone to attacks
  • Provision of effective security at border posts, local vigilantes, Joint-Task Force established
  • Synergy between border states and Benue, the amnesty programme be replicated in neighbouring states
  • Engaging the telecom players in involving in social responsibility by providing toll-free emergency lines
  • Imperative of a Benue State / Fulani Peace Compact to sustain peace
  • Enlightenment of communities across the state on patriotism and selflessness
  • Proscribed punishment for promoters and actors in the crisis
  • The CSOs and NGOs and MDAs should have a synergy in managing the conflicts and running of the IDPs and humanitarian efforts
  • Increased security presence in the local communities especially the conflict prone areas, that is establishment of barracks and other formations will be of help
  • Provision of agricultural inputs to aid internally displaced persons in addition to the foodstuffs and building materials in rebuilding them rather than occasional visits
  • Enlightenment of non-affected communities on security measures
  • Provision of shelter for affected communities like it is done by the UNHCR in the state
  • Provision of adequate security to the IDPs

Goodwill messages were delivered by representatives of the Benue State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, UNHCR, Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

How water strategy transformed Nile Basin riparian communities

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How water strategy transformed Nile Basin riparian communities

A conceptual structure agreed upon by Nile Basin riparian countries for organising policies, strategies and guidelines for sustainable management and development of the Nile River Basin some five years ago has enabled speedy development within the basin region.

Nzoia River within the Nile Basin
Nzoia River within the Nile Basin

Talking to members of the Pan African Media Alliance for Climate Change (PAMACC) at the sixth session of the Africa Water Week (AWW-6) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, John Rao Nyoro, the Executive Director for the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), said that the Nile Basin Sustainability Framework (NBSF) is now benefiting all the 10 riparian states.

This comes after government officials from other countries attending the AWW-6 confessed that developing projects over trans-boundary shared resources was proving to be difficult, given the political landscape, frequent change of governments due to periodic elections in the neighbouring countries, and different prevailing policies.

“While it is not a legal framework, the NBSF which is a suite of policies, strategies, and guidance documents – functions as a guide to national policy and planning process development and seeks to build consensus among countries that share the resource,” Nyaoro told the journalists.

The skeptical leaders at the AWW-6 singled out the longstanding dispute between Tanzania and Malawi about Lake Nyasa, in which an agreement for a project on the shared water resource has lasted over 40 years without a deal, and the grand mega power generating project in the Democratic Republic of Congo known as INGA, which has stalled for over 40 years.

“What we did at the Nile Basin was to bring together all the stakeholders, and then we asked them to develop a framework that was going to govern activities along the basin, with reference to existing policies at country levels,” said Nyaoro.

As a result, the Nile Council of Ministers approved the NBSF in 2011, which has laid down NBI’s approach to developing guiding principles for water resource management and development across the Nile Basin countries.

“Today, a country like Uganda, which previously imported rice from Kenya, may soon start exporting the product to Kenya after it developed its wetlands, and is now farming rice more than before,” said Nyaoro.

He said that the most important thing was to have all the riparian countries benefit from the basin.

“Without the NBSF, there would be no consistent guidance for the sustainable development of new investments and no coherent guidance for the achievement of cooperation in sustainable water management and development,” he said.

New Dar es Salaam roadmap targets water security, sanitation

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New Dar es Salaam roadmap targets water security, sanitation

Activities at the expansive Julius Nyerere International Conference Centre in Dar es Salaam hit a crescendo on Sunday (24 July, 2016) as over 30 African water ministers and high-level delegations from 53 African nations adopted a roadmap aimed at achieving sustainable and universal access to safe water and sanitation all over the continent.

Water and Irrigation Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania, Gerson Lwenge, emerges the new AMCOW president
Water and Irrigation Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania, Gerson Lwenge, emerges the new AMCOW president

The adoption of the roadmap titled “The Dar es Salaam Roadmap for achieving the N’gor Commitments on Water Security and Sanitation in Africa” drew the final curtains on the 10th AMCOW General Assembly and the 6th Africa Water Week which began last Monday (18 July, 2016) in Tanzania.

With a strategic objective of making considerable progress on water security and sanitation in line with the Agenda 2030 by improving efficiency, transparency and integrity within sector institutions to achieve sustainable services and create a conducive investment climate as well as integrating the agenda for water, sanitation and climate to improve health and nutrition outcomes, the Dar es Salaam roadmap aspires to ensure coherence in policy implementation, increase gender, equity and social inclusion, and transboundary cooperation in Africa.

African water ministers believe that, by increasing transparency and accountability in the sector, governments across Africa would be able to account for financial contributions, focus on complementing existing initiatives with a view to avoiding overlap and redundancy and ensure a participatory environment for civil society and citizens in policy formulation, sector planning and monitoring.

The roadmap also recognises the role of innovative financing and budgetary prioritisation for the water sector, sanitation and monitoring. Other aspects of the ministers’ plan of action for the continent’s water resources include provision of drinking water, improved sanitation, hygiene, effective and efficient management of wastewater, transboundary water resources, and strengthening Africa’s capacity to respond climate change.

The 10th General Assembly of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), which held on the side lines of the biennial 6th Africa Water Week, also witnessed a change of guards as the Water and Irrigation Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania, Gerson Lwenge, took over the reins of AMCOW presidency from his Senegalese counterpart, Amadou Mansour Faye, who held forth from 2014 to 2016 while Dr. Canisius Kanangire was officially unveiled as the new AMCOW Executive Secretary. Dr Kanangire, who hails from Rwanda, is the immediate Executive Secretary of Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) and has over two decades of high level experience in water resources management. He succeeds Mr Bai Mass Taal, who leaves AMCOW after eight years of admirable leadership.

In his acceptance speech, the new AMCOW President expressed delight at AMCOW’s rotational mechanism which led to his emergence and he urged his colleagues to roll up their sleeves for the onerous but achievable task of ensuring the realisation of the SDG-6 in Africa.

“We must build and sustain cooperation among riparian countries in managing transboundary water resources as it is a fact that the more we invest in managing water resources, the more we strengthen AMCOW and the more we advance collectively towards achieving SDG-6,” Lwenge, an engineer, said.

To serve alongside the new AMCOW President are Water Resources ministers from Central African Republic, South Sudan, Egypt, Swaziland and Liberia, who were elected AMCOW Vice Presidents representing central, east, north, southern and west African sub-regions.

Addressing the General Assembly, Vice President Samia Suluhu of Tanzania urged the august assembly of water ministers from across the continent to “tackle present and future challenges by diversifying our sources of water and be innovative in financing mechanisms taking into account the huge funding requirements for the sector, and the urgency of mobilising funds to put the right infrastructure and skilled manpower to develop and manage the sector more efficiently.”

Also speaking at Africa’s flagship water event, the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission, Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, implored Member States to step up efforts to realise the African Agenda 2063 on the Africa we want because, according to her, water is key to reducing poverty in Africa.

“There is need for us to put in place sound policies, legal and regulatory frameworks to support investments from various sources in water, sanitation and hygiene and also promote gender equality and women empowerment,” she added.

Organised by AMCOW in collaboration with the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission alongside regional and international partners, the 6th Africa Water Week represents a political commitment at the highest level for creating platform to discuss and collectively seek solutions to Africa’s water and sanitation challenges.

Kaduna communities get 280 UNICEF hand pumps

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Kaduna communities get 280 UNICEF hand pumps

A Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) specialist in Kaduna State, Mrs Theresa Pamma, has said 280 hand pump boreholes were constructed and 16 others rehabilitated under Phase I of Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN I) project in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kaduna State in Nigeria.

A water hand pump
A water hand pump

The communities are in Chikun, Kachia and Kubau LGAs of the state.

Pamma stated this at the sidelines of a two-day mid-year review meeting held recently in the state.

“As a result, household water safety has improved in the 320 communities, with 220,000 beneficiaries having access to improved water sources. The objective of the project is to ensure that children and women have protected access to sufficient safe water, sanitation and hygiene facilities,” she said.

The WASH specialist said that the three councils had also implemented local government wide Open Defecation Free (ODF) plans, targeting 2,512 communities.

According to her, 748 communities are targeted for attainment of ODF status, out of which 320 communities were certified ODF within the last six months.

She said that 64 primary schools in the three SHAWN council areas were currently promoting group hand washing using taps innovation, adding that 7,200 pupils in 24 primary schools in the area had access to and utilise child-friendly gender-sensitive WASH facilities.

The specialist said that 71 local government officials and teachers had been trained and had acquired capacity for promotion of hygiene practices and management of school WASH facilities in SHAWN benefiting councils.

“Based on the achievement recorded in the three council areas, eight new councils have been selected to commence the second phase of SHAWN project in the state,” she said.

She identified delay in the release of counterpart and operational funds, change in government, dismissal and redeployment of key decision makers and staff verification as major challenges affecting the project.

She said that 84 communities in Chikun, Kachia and Kubau council areas were under security threats, thereby temporarily limiting implementation of intervention programme in the affected areas.

She urged the State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) to liaise with the Ministry of Finance to ensure timely release of funds.

Pamma also urged the Kaduna State Government to conduct training for selected technical officials as supervisors in charge of construction of WASH facilities to improve quality of services.

By Mohammad Ibrahim

Shrinking Kenya rivers endanger Tionosoyiet Wetland in Kericho

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Shrinking Kenya rivers endanger Tionosoyiet Wetland in Kericho

Mzee Richard Kemei has been drinking clean water drawn from the nearby river of “Kipkororiet” since he was a young man over 50 years ago.

There is a dire need for drinking water. Photo redit: Benedict Tirop
There is a dire need for drinking water. Photo redit: Benedict Tirop

The now elderly Kemei says his late mother Mrs. Priscila Sigilai and other women drawn from the nearby village of Keongo in Kapkugerwet ward in Ainamoi have been using the water from Kipkororiet River for the various household needs including drinking, washing utensils and bathing.

Coming from the Kipsigis community, who are largely associated with livestock keeping, the locals also utilized the clean water to quench the thirst of their animals.

“The river has served us very well in all our domestic needs for as long as we can remember,” he says.

They have also been conducting various sacred traditional ceremonies in this river.

However, Kipkororiet River, which is one of the major inflow streams for the Tionosoyiet wetland about one kilometre downstream, might very soon turn out to be a danger to the locals. This is due to the rapid pollution of the water through discharge of raw sewer by the mushrooming residential areas around the river system.

“Again, these days when we drink the water drawn from the river, it tastes and smells of the soap used for washing clothes. This makes it impossible to drink,” he adds.

He attributes the foul taste to the number of people who bathe and wash, which has quadrupled in the last 10 years.

Locals, including the family of Mzee Kemei, are now forced to draw water from other smaller streams which feed Kipkororiet River to avoid exposure to diseases which are associated with pollution by the raw sewerage waste.

Water is essential nutrient for livestock
Water is essential nutrient for livestock

The area Village elder, Peter Marindany, says the water has been some of the cleanest in the country but now the threat of pollution was a risk to the health of the locals.

The Kipkororiet River has also shrunk greatly in the last 50 years, an incident which the locals attribute to clearing of forests, planting of Eucalyptus trees and encroachment of the town which is expanding rapidly.

As a community leader, Mr. Marinday, urges the locals to apply for piped water from the Kericho Water and Sanitation Company (KEWASCO) which he says is safe and reliable.

The shrinking of Kipkororiet river is not an isolated issue, since a neighbouring river of Ainapbelek has also shrunk over five times its size in the last 20 years. The low volume flowing to the wetland, which acts as a reservoir, is a threat to the ecosystem of the region.

Mzee Kemei and many others of his generation might know the meaning of good river water but are not well conversant with wetland conservation.

A survey done by the Ministry of Environment says Kericho town represented one of the most significant diffuse sources of pollution to the wetland, with sewage entering the wetland in the lower parts of the wetland, downstream.

It identified key areas within the town from which pollutants are likely to be derived as the market place, located about 500m from the southernmost point of the wetland, and spans about five hectares.

“Some of the activities at the market include open air sale of fresh food, grains, used and new clothes and household utensils. In addition, there is a terminal for public transport vehicles in the middle of the market area. The market area and matatu terminal are therefore likely to be significant sources of nutrients, sediments and gross pollutants,” it says.

The informal cottage industrial site (Jua Kali) contains artisans who fabricate a wide range of items including cooking pots, farm implements, vehicle spare parts, furniture and collection of recyclable materials among other products. Again this site is likely to contribute significant amounts of sediments, and gross pollutants into the wetland.

Other pollutants to Tionosoyiet include effluent from the KEWASCO Sewage Treatment Plant which is discharged into the wetland.

The densely populated Nyagacho informal residential area hosts a wide range of economic activities such as shops, garages, food outlets and butcheries. The area is not sewered, and has no organised solid waste collection systems. Much of the area drains into the wetland.

To save the situation, over 4,000 wetland-friendly tree seedlings have been planted in the wetland by the government and other stakeholders and, once they grew, the wetland will be turned into a nature trail/arboretum for recreation purposes.

Alternative livelihood activities such as fish farming and bee keeping within the wetland has also been introduced.

By Benedict Tirop

Why monkeys with smaller testicles scream louder, by study

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Why monkeys with smaller testicles scream louder, by study

A new study finds that howler monkeys scream louder when they have smaller testicles.

Howler monkeys
Howler monkeys

The study, published last week in the journal Current Biology, said that howler monkeys with deep roars — used to attract females, deter love rivals and scare off predators — tend to also have smaller testicles and a shortage of sperm compared to their peers.

Biological anthropologist Jacob Dunn and his team from Cambridge University wanted to see if there was a negative correlation between the size of a howler monkey’s vocal tract and the size of his testicles.

The team used 3D laser scanners to analyse a cup-shaped chamber in the howler monkey’s throat called a hyoid that acts an echo chamber.

Dr. Dunn said: “The results of our acoustic analyses show that howler monkeys produce roars at a similar frequency as tigers, which is far lower than we would have predicted from their body size, yet exactly what would be predicted from measuring their giant vocal folds’ which are three times bigger than in a human.”

Howler monkeys can be found in the forests of Central and South America and weigh roughly 15 pounds, but their growl can reach 128 decibels, which is equivalent to the roar of a tiger.

The researchers speculate that this is because howler monkeys want to give the impression that they are bigger than they actually are.

Dr. Dunn proposed: “It may be that investment in developing a large vocal organ and roaring is so costly that there is simply not enough energy left to invest in testes.

“Alternatively, using a large vocal organ for roaring may be so effective at deterring rival males that there is no need to invest in large testes.”

The study furthered that males with bigger hyoids had smaller testicles and lived in smaller social groups where there was a single male dominating a number of females.

Male howler monkeys with bigger testes and smaller hyoids most likely lived in bigger social groups and had to share partners.

Dunn said: “In evolutionary terms, all males strive to have as many offspring as they can, but when it comes to reproduction you can’t have everything.”

According to Charles Darwin, writing on how species’ evolutionary choices impact each other in “On the Origin of Species”: “The whole organism is so tied together that when slight variations in one part occur, and are accumulated through natural selection, other parts become modified.”

By Riley Schatzle, NextShark

Released environmental activist set for interrogation

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Released environmental activist set for interrogation

Environmental activist and erstwhile Chairman of the Cross River State Forestry Commission (CRSFC), Dr. Odigha Odigha, who was last Thursday morning arrested in his home in Calabar and released the following day, will report to the Police Headquarters in Diamond Hill on Monday (25 July, 2016) for further questioning.

Odigha Odigha delivering a speech after being decorated with the 2003 Goldman Prize in San Francisco, California
Odigha Odigha delivering a speech after being decorated with the 2003 Goldman Prize in San Francisco, California

Odigha’s lawyer, who prefers to remain anonymous, made the disclosure at the weekend. He stated that the crusader, who is currently Chairman, Board of Trustees, Non-Governmental Coalition for Environment (NGOSE), is being accused of embezzling over N100 million during his tenure as CRSFC boss. Odigha is also said to be unable to account for money paid to him and officials to cover travel expenses.

His wife, Mrs. Evelyn Odigha, who had earlier accused the Cross River State Government of witch-hunting her husband over his anti-Superhighway stance, confirmed the lawyer’s statement, adding that he was released at about 7pm on Friday on bail.

According to a source, the allegation against Odigha was last week written and personally signed and given to the Police Commissioner by the Attorney-General of the state who, acting on the orders of the governor, instructed that Mr Odigha be arrested and prosecuted.

Observers have, however, condemned the arrest, saying that the governor made up the charges in the bid to silence those opposing the rather unpopular 260km Superhighway Project that is expected to slice through the Cross River National Park as well as a community forest at Ekuri.

But the Special Assistant on Media and Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ben Ayade, Christian Ita, described as ludicrous, attempts to link Odigha’s arrest and detention by the police to the governor.

Reacting to claims that the arrest and detention were due to the activist’s opposition to the construction of a 260km Superhighway, Ita said it was mischievous and preposterous for any right thinking person to make such an inference.

Ita, in a release, said: “Odigha was arrested by the police on the strength of a petition that alleged fraud and embezzlement whilst the self-styled environmental activist held sway as chairman of the state forestry commission.”

AWF commits €1.6 billion to continental water, sanitation projects

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AWF commits €1.6 billion to continental water, sanitation projects

The African Water Facility (AWF) has committed 1.6 billion euros to implement water and sanitation projects in the region.

Suleiman Adamu, African Water Facility (AWF) and Nigeria’s Minister of Water Resources
Suleiman Adamu, African Water Facility (AWF) Chairman and Nigeria’s Minister of Water Resources

AWF Chairman, Suleiman Adamu, said this at the opening of the Sixth General Assembly of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania on Thursday. Adamu said no fewer than 3.2 million people are expected to benefit from access to improved sanitation and over 2.8 million of them would have access to improved drinking water sources.

He said the AWF was ambitious in its goal towards developing the region’s water sector to achieve water security in line with the Africa Water Vision 2025, which entails a sustainable access to a safe and adequate water supply and sanitation to meet the basic needs of all.

Adamu, who is also Nigeria’s Minister of Water Resources, said these bankable projects are direct contributions to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He said already, member states have committed 922 million euros for the implementation of follow-up projects, which were relevant to total development of the sector. He said the AWF was committed to developing the sector, hence the focus on targeting cross-cutting issues of climate change, environment protection, gender and social equity.

“As part of its climate change strategy, the AWF prioritises projects in water harvesting, conservation, storage, recycling and re-use, and the use of renewable energy to power water stations and infrastructures”.

Adamu expressed hope that all member states would reach a consensus on all deliberations, thereby taking the region to its next level. He called on member states to pay up their pledges for project scale-up, saying by the end of 2018, an estimated 44 million euros would be needed.

“I wish to note that pledges made by African countries in 2012 have not been paid up, with the sole exception of Burkina Faso. We want to thank the Nigerian Government who recently committed 1million dollars, of which the disbursement is in process.”

Ms. Rhoda Tumusiime, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission, called for the implementation of bankable projects what would be implemented at national levels. Tumusiime urged member states to dialogue and agree on the direction that Africa needed to take, towards achieving sustainable development and water security.

According to her, AU’s dream is to have an Africa where there is an equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for poverty alleviation and socio-economic development. The AU commissioner called for a baseline that would monitor progress to enable good reporting and promote effective communication of achievement on the sustainable development agenda by 2030.

Tanzanian Vice President, Ms. Samia Suluhu, called on African governments to overcome the existing challenges and take advantage of the available opportunities. “The Africa Union has put together agenda 2063, and water is one of the priorities. “Agenda 2063 is a call for action to all segments of African society to work together to build a prosperous and united Africa based on shared values and a common destiny.

“The Agenda strives to enable Africa remain focused and committed to the ideals envisaged in the context of a rapidly changing world,” Suluhu said. The AWF, managed by the African Development Bank, is a special fund to help member states achieve the objectives of the Africa Water Vision 2025 of equitable and sustainable development of its water resources.

The AMCOW, conveners of the general assembly, is expected to appoint a new Executive Secretary and a new president, following the expiration of the tenure of Mr Amadou Faye and Mr Bai-Mass Taal respectively.

Nations adopt fresh biodiversity pact commitments

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Nations adopt fresh biodiversity pact commitments

One hundred and one Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have now submitted new national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs), setting out their national contributions to the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, a set of 20 global targets to be achieved by 2020.

The thirteenth meeting of the CBD Conference of the Parties (COP13) will hold in Cancun, Mexico, from 4 – 17 December, 2016
The thirteenth meeting of the CBD Conference of the Parties (COP13) will hold in Cancun, Mexico, from 4 – 17 December, 2016

The Aichi Biodiversity Targets are part of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, an overarching framework to protect biodiversity and enhance its benefits for people, approved by governments in 2010 and since recognised by the United Nations as setting the global framework for action on biodiversity.

“Reaching this milestone is an important achievement, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary. “In the lead up to the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13), being held this December in Cancun, Mexico, I encourage all countries that have yet to develop, revise or update their NBSAPs, to do so as soon as possible.”

In adopting the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity invited Parties to establish their own national targets, using the Strategic Plan as flexible framework, taking into account national needs and priorities, while also bearing in mind national contributions to the achievement of the global Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

The majority of NBSAPs include targets that reflect specific Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and many relate to targets on public awareness, pollution reduction, invasive alien species, protected areas, preventing extinction, access to and sharing benefits from genetic resources and sharing information and knowledge.

Several Parties have set targets surpassing the level of ambition set out in the Strategic Plan. For example:

  • Dominica: Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 – “By 2020, at least 20% of terrestrial, inland water and 15% of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem service, are conserved through comprehensive ecologically representative and well connected systems of effectively managed, protected areas and other means, and integrated intothe wider land and seascape.”
  • Finland: Aichi Biodiversity Target 5 – “By 2020, the loss of all natural habitats has been halted, and the degradation and fragmentation of natural habitats have been significantly reduced.”
  • The Gambia: Aichi Biodiversity Target 15 – “By 2020, ecosystem resilience and the contribution of biodiversity to carbon stocks has been enhanced, through conservation and restoration, including restoration of at least 50 per cent of degraded ecosystems.”

However, most of the national targets and/or commitments contained in the NBSAPs set lower levels of ambition than the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, or did not address all elements of the Target. For some Aichi Biodiversity Targets, such as those related to incentives, or the sustainable management of aquatic living resources, or reducing the pressures on ecosystems vulnerable to climate change and ecosystem services, many NBSAPs lacked associated national targets or commitments.

Analysis of national reports submitted by countries indicates that the majority of Parties have made progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets but at an insufficient rate to allow the targets to be met by the deadline unless additional actions are taken. The information in the national reports suggests that, for some Aichi Biodiversity Targets, about a third of Parties are on track to reach or exceed the level of ambition agreed globally. However, the progress is much lower for other targets. Overall, while progress is being made, it is at an insufficient rate, and additional efforts are required to achieve the ambition that Parties collectively agreed in the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.

Issues related to the implementation of the Convention, and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets will be the subject of discussion at the upcoming thirteenth meeting of the CBD Conference of the Parties, to be held in Cancun, Mexico, from 4 – 17 December, 2016.

Poor need better weather alerts for climate risk, says Kofi Annan

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Poor need better weather alerts for climate risk, says Kofi Annan

Growing up in Ghana, I learned how harsh the harmattan can be. The dry, dusty wind from the Sahara sweeps across West Africa from November to March. It brings dust storms that damage airways, eyes and skin, and sudden cold spells that can jeopardise vulnerable people. Now climate change threatens to magnify its threat, as the harmattan becomes more severe and less predictable, and carries more dust.

Fisheries Transparency Initiative
Kofi Annan, chair of the Africa Progress Panel

The evolving threat of the harmattan is a stark example of how we need to collaborate to protect public health from the effects of climate change. In the case of the harmattan, we need to make sure that accurate weather forecasts travel the “last mile” to reach people in the wind’s path so they can take shelter.

The overall threat that climate change poses to human health is huge. The 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change was unequivocal: “Climate change has the potential to undermine the last 50 years of progress in public health and development.”

Climate change will magnify and multiply existing health threats – in many cases dramatically. The effects will be felt hardest in low and middle-income countries in Africa and South Asia.

The Paris Agreement, which has focused unprecedented government attention on climate change, underlines the climate threat to health. Now we need a comprehensive programme of action that places people and their health at the centre of the global response to climate change.

The threat from the harmattan shows us a good place to start: by improving collection of climate and weather information, preparation of forecasts — including forecasts of dust and sand storms — and distribution of weather warnings to those who need them.

The Regional and Global Prediction Centres of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) have the supercomputers, models and experts needed to generate forecasts and distribute them to national authorities.

However, national weather services often don’t have the means to interpret and distribute forecasts to authorities, health professionals and the general public. It would take a small investment to provide these services with the equipment, communications, staffing, training and coordination they need to distribute accurate, timely warnings to some of the world’s poorest regions.

To protect people’s health from climate risks, we need to transform the way we approach such complex problems. That’s why the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the WMO are working together to help public health professionals become more “climate smart”, using climate and weather information to make the best decisions.

In the areas that need to become climate-smart the fastest, however, such as Africa and small island developing states, many health professionals are not yet using forecasts of droughts, floods or extreme temperatures – mainly because national weather services don’t have the funding, tools, training or institutional arrangements necessary to generate or share such forecasts.

How can we change this? We need to support weather and climate services in developing countries so that rather just collecting and providing data, they can become trusted suppliers of information and knowledge to the public.

To do that, they need access to data management and communication technologies that have already been tried and tested in other sectors, such as agriculture, where being climate-smart is becoming the norm.

We need to place greater emphasis on providing people with the timely information they need to protect themselves from extreme weather. Early warnings of hazards cannot only help communities respond and adapt to health risks posed by climate change, but also raise awareness of the causes and effects of climate change — and hence build public support for policies that strengthen resilience and mitigate against the impact of climate change.

Climate change is complicating the already enormous challenges of providing health services around the world — and those complications are felt most keenly in the world’s poorest countries. But I am confident that the growing awareness of the links between health and climate change will encourage health professionals, UN and government agencies, policy makers and the scientific community to come together to tackle these problems.

The last time the harmattan swept through Ghana, I was there to see it. The skies were dark for days. I thought of the people in remote and rural areas, caught unawares by sudden storms of sand and dust. We have the means to help them — not just now but in the future, when climate change makes things worse — so we should join forces to do everything we can.

By Kofi Annan (chair of the Africa Progress Panel. He is also a nobel laureate and former secretary general of the United Nations)

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