SUSTAINABILITY - The African Mirror

Feb

22

2022

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…

Nov

01

2022

By The African Mirror

13 young activists fighting for climate action in Africa

SUSTAINABILITY

FROM toolkits to snacks, Africa's Gen Zs and Millennials are on the frontlines, creating awareness and inspiring action against climate change. Kelo Uchendu: A voice for youths and children at “Africa’s COP” Kelo Uchendu leads policy developments at YOUNGO, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) youth and children constituency. The 26-year-old witnessed the effect of acid rain along the oil-rich Niger Delta, which provoked him to seek a solution to the health hazard caused by acidic aerosols from gas and refinery operations in the region. The young climate activist is responsible for ensuring the voices of children and…

Jun

08

2020

By The African Mirror

Boosting national plans to meet global climate goals

SUSTAINABILITY

MEGAN ROWLING THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic may have delayed the 2020 U.N. climate summit by a year, but for Jamaica, COVID-19 was no reason to stall delivering a stronger climate action plan, just completed as the Atlantic hurricane season starts. Una May Gordon, director of the climate change division at the island's Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, said the Caribbean nation aimed to submit its updated "nationally determined contribution" (NDC) to the global effort to battle climate change later this month, after approval by the cabinet. Jamaica benefited from starting work on its second climate plan early, last July,…

May

20

2020

By The African Mirror

Under the cover of lockdown, illegal logging surges in Tunisia

SUSTAINABILITY

There have been more than 200 forest code violations in the past month - ten times the number in the same period last year LAYLI FOROUDI AS TUNISIA's streets emptied and shops shuttered after the 6pm national curfew to stem the novel coronavirus outbreak, a clandestine group headed to the forest. Over two nights in early April, a group of people in the northwest region of Ain Draham illegally felled 400 trees, a species known as Algerian oak which is listed as endangered by the United Nations, the country's forestry agency said. When the authorities arrested eight people a few…

May

20

2020

By The African Mirror

Global push urged for COVID-19 vaccine could help climate too

SUSTAINABILITY

Building the international cooperation needed to swiftly create and distribute a coronavirus LAURIE GOERING AROUND the world, countries and individuals are isolating themselves to try to stem the spread of COVID-19. But to find a solution to the crisis - particularly a vaccine - global cooperation will be crucial, say a growing number of leaders. "We will not be able to get out of this health crisis by simply boarding ourselves in," former U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres has told an online event. Creating, distributing and administering an affordable, accessible vaccine will take a coordinated international effort - similar to…