SUSTAINABILITY - The African Mirror

Mar

04

2022

Rapidly increasing climate change poses a rising threat to mental health, says IPCC

SUSTAINABILITY

CLIMATE change poses serious risks to mental well-being. For the first time, a new climate report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has assessed how climate change is having widespread and cumulative effects on mental health globally. Authors ASHLEE CUNSOLO, Founding Dean, School of Arctic & Subarctic Studies, Labrador Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland BREANNE AYLWARD, PhD Student in Public Health, University of Alberta SHERILEE HARPER, Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Health, University of Alberta Over the past decade, research and public interest on the effects of climate change on mental health have been increasing, as…

Mar

02

2022

By The African Mirror

From food to floods, Africa ‘not ready’ for climate stress, its scientists say

SUSTAINABILITY

AFRICA'S population is set to nearly double by 2050 - but growth in food production is slowing faster than in any other region of the world as climate change-driven droughts, floods, heat and pests take a toll, African scientists said this week. As rains grow more erratic, the hydropower many African countries depend on to run their economies is becoming unreliable, while coastal communities face worsening erosion, heat, flooding and migration of fish stocks they depend on. But the money African nations need to tackle those threats is largely missing or coming only in the form of loans, while poor governance…

Mar

01

2022

By The African Mirror

Rising sea levels may threaten 70% of Africa’s heritage sites by 2050

SUSTAINABILITY

THE value of heritage has been underestimated in climate policy and sustainable development circles, but heritage is crucial to people’s identity, culture and wellbeing. It is also critical to the sustainability of communities, ecosystems and biodiversity. Authors JOANNE CLARKE, Senior lecturer, University of East Anglia LENA REIMANN, Postdoctoral Researcher of Water and Climate Risk, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam MICHALIS VOUSDOUKAS, Coastal oceanographer , European Commission's Joint Research Centre NICHOLAS P. SIMPSON, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town, University of Cape Town We already know that climate change is having an…

Feb

26

2022

By The African Mirror

Red tape, conflict stop Uganda’s herders moving to cope with climate change

SUSTAINABILITY

LIAM TAYLOR ELDER Loit Paul Lobunei gazed west across the parched plains of Karamoja in northeastern Uganda. "The water has gone to the lake," he said - and it was time for him to follow. When the dry season sets in, cattle-keepers like Lobunei prepare to drive their herds across the region towards dams or other distant water bodies, negotiating access with communities they find along the way. The time-honoured practice helps local people - known to outsiders as the Karamojong - survive in a harsh environment where rainfall patterns were already volatile from one year to the next before…

Feb

22

2022

By The African Mirror

The new world wonder: a 100 million hectares wall to protect Africa

SUSTAINABILITY

BAHER KAMAL ONCE completed in 2030, it could well be considered the world’s eighth wonder, this time natural. It is the African-led Great Green Wall or the largest living structure on the planet – an 8.000 kilometres natural hit stretching across the entire width of the continent. It is a symbol of hope in the face of one of the biggest challenges of our time – desertification, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) informs. And it aims at restoring Africa’s degraded landscapes and transforming millions of lives in one of the world’s poorest regions, the Sahel. Launched in 2007 by…

Feb

10

2022

By The African Mirror

No perfect solution: Africa’s smallholder farmers must use both traditional and new practices

SUSTAINABILITY

AS an agricultural and environmental scientist, I’ve worked for decades exploring the practical challenges that smallholder farmers encounter in East Africa. These include controlling weeds that can choke their crops and looking for new ways to deal with pests or diseases that threaten their harvests. Author RATEMO MICHIEKA, Professor , University of Nairobi I focus on smallholder agriculture because most of the food in the region is generated by farms that are only a few acres or hectares in size. And, while African economies are diversifying, most Africans still depend on crops and livestock production for income. Across the region…

Feb

09

2022

By The African Mirror

Consumers left in the dark as corporate net-zero plans fail to add up

SUSTAINABILITY

LAURIE GOERING MANY top corporations with ambitious "net-zero" emissions pledges to tackle climate change lack a clear plan to achieve them, and are misleading consumers about how "carbon neutral" their products and services are, researchers warned on Monday. Taken together, net-zero pledges by 25 top global companies - from Amazon to Google - add up to at best an average 40% reduction in emissions, they said in a report scrutinising firms responsible for 5% of the emissions driving global warming. Only Maersk, a Denmark-based global shipping firm, was found to have a pledge of "reasonable integrity", while companies from Nestle to Unilever were…

Feb

07

2022

By The African Mirror

Egypt’s tuk-tuk drivers wary of plans for green streets

SUSTAINABILITY

MENNA A. FAROUK AHMED Samir zips expertly through the Cairo traffic in his tuk-tuk, making a meagre living by ferrying Egyptians around the chaotic mega-city in his three-wheeled people carrier. But Samir's daily routine of beeping, swerving and cursing Cairo's congestion could all come to a crashing halt under an ambitious government plan to turn Cairo's streets more green. Ahead of hosting a COP27 climate conference this year, the government has announced its intention to begin eliminating all fuel-powered tuk-tuks in the years ahead and make other forms of public transport more environmentally friendly. Drivers fear that saving the planet will come at their cost. "I…

Feb

05

2022

By The African Mirror

Snowfall in the Sahara desert: an unusual weather phenomenon

SUSTAINABILITY

SNOWFALL in a hot desert may seem a contradiction but snow has been recorded several times in the Sahara Desert over the last decades, most recently in January 2022. Thus, snowfall may be unusual but is not unprecedented in the region. Author JASPER KNIGHT, Professor of Physical Geography, University of the Witwatersrand In order for snow to form, two distinctive weather properties are needed: cold temperatures and moist air. The presence of snow reflects a special combination of air circulation in the atmosphere and the nature of the land surface upon which the snowfalls. Although the Sahara commonly experiences very…

Feb

01

2022

By The African Mirror

Africa’s green hydrogen initiatives gain steam

SUSTAINABILITY

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY AFRICA is aiming to start large scale commercial production of green hydrogen to tap into the nascent industry that has the potential to price out diesel and petrol by 2030. Despite the slow pace in the development of hydrogen infrastructure, hampered by high costs of production, the African market is fast gaining steam, headlined by a rise in local and international investments, partnerships and alliances. South Africa is the latest country on the continent to tap into the carbon-free hydrogen market, with a planned new green hydrogen plant in its Northern Cape province that will…