Plastic Bags the Environmental Plague that Keep African Gov’ts Worried

By Elias Ntungwe Ngalame

Heap of non-biodegradable plastic bags in Nkoldongo neighbourhood in Yaounde.

It is ubiquitous – the plastic shopping bag, so handy for everything from toting groceries, newly bought dresses to disposing of pooh, may be a victim of its own success.

Plastic bags are a true menace to our ecosystems and our waste disposal goals. Barely recyclable, once discarded, they either enter our landfills or our marine ecosystem.

COMIFAC’s Forest Governance Meeting Holds in Douala- Cameroon

By Elias Ntungwe Ngalame

In a bid to putting in place a roadmap to make forest governance in the Central African region more appropriate,forest experts grouped in different themes are meeting in Douala- Cameroon to participate in different adhoc committees on the subject.  The meeting organized by the executive secretary of COMIFAC with the support of CEEAC,  GIZ/COMIFAC project, the World Bank and JICA held on July 29-30, 2014.

Cameroon Cocoa Producers Ressolve to Iprove Quality, Fight Climate Change

By Elias Ntungwe Ngalame

Stakeholders in the Cocoa sector in Cameroon have taken measures to ensure that the quality of Cameroon cocoa is improved through application of climate friendly mechanisms. Meeting in Kumba  in the Southwest region of the country recently to evaluate the 2013/2014 cocoa season, actors resolved to engage in sensitization of farmers to carry out measures that will help mitigate the effects of climate change that has greatly affected cocoa production in the country.

Nigerian manufacturers deserve the stick

 By Greg Odogwu

A friend of mine once told a story of how he made money by simply adhering to the environmental laws of one European country. It was during UNFCCC COP 15 in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009, when he travelled as a civil society delegate from Nigeria. Towards the end of the heated climate talks he discovered that he did not have any money to shop with; and naturally, anybody coming back from foreign travel is expected to “bring back something”. He had earlier used his pocket money to buy warm clothing because during that period Copenhagen was unbearably cold.

East Africa Hosts First international Green Economy conference.

Peter Labeja, PAMMAC Uganda Coordinator

The East African country of Tanzania will this week hosts the first ever international conference on Green Economy in the South - South conference. 

The three days meeting (July 08 – 10^th) will take place at University of Dodoma, Tanzania, hosted by the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. The summit has been organized to critically examine different tools and approaches that inform Africa’s green economy strategies.

Entrepreneurship opportunities in climate change adaptation and mitigation

By Busani Bafana

A new report by The Montpellier Panel, says Africa can achieve food and nutrition security through investment in entrepreneurship in the rural and food sectors to spur rural and urban economic growth on the continent.

The Montpellier Panel - a group of 12 experts in the fields of agriculture, policy, sustainable development, policy, trade and global development - in a June 2014 report, Small and Growing: Entrepreneurship in African Agriculture, says developing entrepreneurship from the farm will transform Africa's agriculture. The World Bank estimates that by 2030 African agriculture and agribusiness in Africa could be worth 1 trillion dollars.

Joe DeVries of AGRA speaks about seed projects in Mozambique

By Isaiah Esipisu

Joe DeVries, Director for the Program for Africa's Seeds Systems (PASS) at the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa talks about involvement of AGRA in improving seed system in Mozambique.

Kwame Awere-Gyekye of UNCCD talks about Financing Integrated Landscape Management in Africa

By Isaiah Esipisu

Kwame Awere-Gyekye, the Global Mechanism Program Coordinator at the UN Convection to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) talks about Financing Integrated Landscape Management in Africa

Africa should work with nature and not against it in addressing the impacts of climate change

Busani Bafana

Climate change is impacting on agriculture and food security in Africa

Climate change is a wakeup call for Africa to use its own resources to build resilience in its agriculture and food systems, says Dr. Richard Munang, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)'s African Regional Climate change Coordinator.

"Africa must exploit its potential in addressing climate change," Dr. Munang, who has researched and published on climate change policy, said. "Africa must work with nature and not against nature by tapping into generations-old farming and conservation approaches infusing them with what science has to offer thereby ensuring food security but also environmental protection."

Climate change and the journalist

By Greg Odogwu

Scientists are increasingly confident that we are already seeing the impact of climate change. That means journalists have a real opportunity to tell local, personal stories about climate change that are both scientifically accurate and relevant to people’s daily lives.

 

– Dr. Heather Goldstone, Boston, USA.