SUSTAINABILITY - The African Mirror

Jul

20

2020

Kenya fishermen say they are squeezed by Ethiopian mega-dam

SUSTAINABILITY

BAZ RATNER FISHERMEN on the shores of Kenya's Lake Turkana, the world's biggest desert lake, have no doubt about what is to blame for their dwindling fish stocks: a giant hydroelectric dam built by Ethiopia on the River Omo, which feeds the lake. "We are now seeing Nile perch stocks drastically reduce," said fisherman Fitbo Lalukol. He says boats must sail much further out into the lake to get a good catch. Officials at Ethiopia's ministry of water, irrigation and energy did not respond immediately to a Reuters request for comment on the fishermen's claims. Complaints about the Omo dam…

Aug

08

2020

By The African Mirror

Central African states seek to make forests work for people and planet

SUSTAINABILITY

MEGAN ROWLING COUNTRIES home to the Congo Basin rainforest, including Gabon and the Republic of Congo, are working on ways to harness their majestic trees to benefit their people while maintaining climate protection and other natural services the forests provide. This week, the Republic of Congo - also known as Congo-Brazzaville - officially published a new law, approved by the president in July, to ensure more sustainable management of the country's vast forests. Gabon, meanwhile, hopes to have a new forest law in place by next summer, marrying efforts to safeguard the climate and biodiversity with creating jobs in forestry,…

Aug

01

2020

By The African Mirror

Solar beats salt, bringing clean water to coastal Kenyans

SUSTAINABILITY

BENSON RIOBA MIRIAM Bahero Musa sat on a yellow 20-litre jerrycan, a smaller white one in her hand, as she lined up with 20 other women to collect water at the Kiunga desalination plant on Kenya's coast. The solar-powered water farm converts salty seawater to clean water for drinking and washing. "Water is scarce in the area," said Musa, adding that local people are pretty much used to shortages. "We only get a temporary reprieve during rainy seasons," she added. The plant in Lamu County, near the border with Somalia, about 470 km (292 miles) east of Nairobi, is fitted…

Aug

10

2020

By The African Mirror

Grounded Mauritius ship operator apologises for oil leak

SUSTAINABILITY

THE operator of a Japanese bulk carrier which ran aground off Mauritius in the Indian Ocean apologised on Sunday for a major oil spill which officials and environmentalists say is creating an ecological disaster. The MV Wakashio, operated by Mitsui OSK Lines, struck the reef on Mauritius' southeast coast on July 25. Fuel started leaking from the cracked vessel on Thursday. "We apologise profusely and deeply for the great trouble we have caused," Akihiko Ono, executive vice president of Mitsui OSK Lines said at a new conference in Tokyo. He added that the company would "do everything in their power…

Aug

12

2020

By The African Mirror

Mauritius prepares for the worst as vessel at centre of oil spill disintegrates

SUSTAINABILITY

ZEENAT HANSROD Follow THE ship responsible for an oil spill in Mauritius is likely to break into two, worsening what is already an unmitigated ecological and economic disaster. Indigenous species are at risk of becoming extinct. Locals’ livelihoods are in danger. The island will take years to recover from the oil spill at Pointe d’Esny. The population in Mauritius is oscillating between anger and despair. Anger because Mauritians feel that this catastrophe could have been avoided, and despair because of the extent of the damage. Grown men are crying who can no longer recognise the place where they grew up.…

Aug

11

2020

By The African Mirror

Kenya’s famed wildebeest migration begins without foreign tourist crowds

SUSTAINABILITY

JACKSON NJEHIA NORMALLY, the magnificent plains of Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve are crowded with international tourists hoping to see a lion hunt during the annual wildebeest migration - but this year COVID-19 means Kenyans had it all to themselves. That's good news for animal watchers but bad for conservationists who rely on the funds to pay for rangers and protection. By June, Kenya had already lost 80 billion Kenyan shillings ($740 million)in tourism revenue, about half of last year's total, due to the coronavirus crisis. This weekend, thousands of mostly Kenyan visitors travelled to the park to witness the…

Aug

10

2020

By The African Mirror

Chimpanzees once helped African rainforests recover from a major collapse

SUSTAINABILITY

ALEX CHEPSTOW-LUSTY, Associate Researcher, Quaternary Palaeoenvironments Group, University of Cambridge MOST people probably think that the rainforest of central and west Africa, the second largest in the world, has been around for millions of years. However recent research suggests that it is mostly just 2,000 or so years old. The forest reached roughly its modern state following five centuries of regeneration after it was massively fragmented when the dry season suddenly became longer some 2,500 years ago. This process was not linked to humans. The forest recovery was instead made possible by seed dispersers including chimpanzees, which helped spread the…

Aug

10

2020

By The African Mirror

France helping Mauritius over MV Wakashio oil spill accident

SUSTAINABILITY

FRANCE is sending a military plane and a naval boat to Mauritius to help the government deal with the oil spill caused by the MV Wakashio accident, said the French defence ministry has announced. The MV Wakashio, operated by Mitsui OSK Lines, struck a reef on Mauritius' southeast coast on July 25. Fuel started leaking from the cracked vessel last week and officials and environmentalists say the incident risks becoming an ecological disaster. The operator of a Japanese bulk carrier which ran aground off Mauritius in the Indian Ocean has apologised. The MV Wakashio, operated by Mitsui OSK Lines, struck…

Aug

13

2020

By The African Mirror

Kenya elephant numbers more than double in 1980-2018 – tourism minister

SUSTAINABILITY

BAZ RATNER KENYA's elephant numbers more than doubled between 1989 and 2018, thanks to increased anti-poaching efforts, the tourism minister said on Wednesday. Kenya had just 16,000 elephants in 1989, and this rose to more than 34,000 in 2018, Minister Najib Balala said. "In the last couple of years, we have managed to tame poaching in this country," he told reporters during a visit to the Amboseli National Park. The number of elephants poached so far this year stood at seven, down from 34 in all of 2019, and 80 in 2018. While at the park, Balala participated in attaching…

Aug

15

2020

By The African Mirror

These African World Heritage Sites are under threat from climate change

SUSTAINABILITY

JOANNE CLARKE, Senior lecturer, University of East Anglia; ELIZABETH EDNA WANGUI, Associate professor, Ohio University GRACE W. NGARUIYA, Lecturer, Kenyatta University NICK BROOKS, Research fellow, University of East Anglia VERY few academics or policymakers are talking about the impact of climate change on heritage. Yet heritage is essential for social wellbeing, for identity creation, for safeguarding traditional knowledge and livelihoods and for sustainable development. The conversations taking place are mainly on the effects of climate change in wealthier countries. One recent study estimates that only 1% of research on the impacts of climate change on heritage is related to Africa.…