SUSTAINABILITY - The African Mirror

Feb

16

2021

Zimbabwe’s too-productive mango growers look to the sun to boost incomes

SUSTAINABILITY

LUNGO NDHLOVU BEFORE agronomist Peter Sena retired, he planted a variety of mango trees on his rural homestead in Zimbabwe's Midlands province, aiming to ensure an ongoing income for his family. This year, an unusually wet rainy season combined with coronavirus restrictions that closed down most of the markets in the country threatened to leave him with a bumper mango harvest - and nobody to sell it to. But a new dried fruit processing centre, which opened in the nearby town of Gokwe in November last year, means Sena can save his mangoes from spoiling and turn them into a…

Jul

26

2021

By The African Mirror

EXPLAINER – U.N. summit seeks to shape a food system fit for the future

SUSTAINABILITY

MEGAN ROWLING PEOPLE don't agree on much when it comes to food. But most think how we produce it isn't working for everyone on the planet, nor for crucial natural systems vital to food production, including soils, water and the climate. In response, an upcoming U.N. summit on food systems aims to curb damage to the environment and wildlife from what's on our plates, as well as tackle hunger made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate-heating emissions from agriculture and food waste. Preparations for September's event, due to take place in New York, have already brought together governments, farmers,…

Feb

14

2021

By The African Mirror

Adaptation no longer ‘Cinderella’ of climate action – but barriers remain

SUSTAINABILITY

LAURIE GOERING EFFORTS to adapt to worsening climate change impacts are no longer playing "Cinderella" to better-financed work to cut emissions - but big obstacles still stand in the way of staying safer from climate threats, adaptation experts said on Thursday. Those range from inadequate investment in adaptation work, to over-zealous accountability mechanisms for public spending and a failure to include local people in developing plans and judging their success, they told an online discussion. Too many poor countries, meanwhile, are waiting to receive donor cash to adapt to more extreme weather and rising seas, when rethinking their own spending…

Feb

26

2021

By The African Mirror

How extractive industries manage to carry on harming the planet

SUSTAINABILITY

AROUND the globe, concern is mounting about the unfolding climate and ecological catastrophe. Yet the extraction of natural resources through mining and energy projects continues on a large scale, with disastrous environmental consequences. JUDITH VERWEIJEN, Lecturer, University of Sheffield ALEXANDER DUNLAP, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Oslo To understand how this is possible, one place to start is recognising that extraction is not just a physical engineering process. It requires social engineering as well. To be able to function smoothly, extractive corporations and their governmental allies sculpt social conditions. They “manufacture” consent and “manage” dissent towards their ventures. These industries…

Jul

20

2021

By The African Mirror

African first: Gabon paid to protect tropical forests

SUSTAINABILITY

SETH ONYANGO GABON has become the first African state to receive payment for protecting its forests, in what could further incentivise other forested nations to double up on conservation efforts Dense, deep and almost impenetrable, the tropical forests of the Central African region – dubbed the "second lungs of the world" − extend over 200 million hectares. It is vast and darkly foreboding and defines life for some of the planet’s rarest and most endangered plants and animals. However, decades of illegal logging and unsustainable farming is shrinking forest cover in key forested countries like the Central African Republic, Democratic…

Feb

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Farmers fight back: Making animal feed from a locust plague

SUSTAINABILITY

BAZ RATNER KENYA is battling some of the worst locust plagues in decades, but start-up The Bug Picture hopes to transform the pests into profits and bring "hope to the hopeless" whose crops and livelihoods are being destroyed by the insects. Unusual weather patterns exacerbated by climate change have created ideal conditions for surging locust numbers, which have destroyed crops and grazing grounds across East Africa and the Horn. Scientists say warmer seas are creating more rain, waking dormant eggs, and cyclones that disperse the swarms are getting stronger and more frequent. The Bug Picture is working with communities around…

Jul

18

2021

By The African Mirror

Uganda helps farmers grow trees for money in bid to reverse forest loss

SUSTAINABILITY

CHRISTOPHER BENDANA FROM tree-planting drives to tighter laws on illegal logging, countries worldwide are searching for a silver bullet to stop the loss of forests vital for nature and climate protection. After decades of losing thousands of hectares each year, Uganda has found a way not only to slow deforestation but to reverse it - mainly by helping people grow their own trees to cut down instead of clearing ecologically valuable rainforest. New data released by the state-run National Forestry Authority (NFA) in May showed the proportion of the country covered by trees rose from 9% in 2015 to 12.4% in 2017.…

Apr

07

2021

By The African Mirror

New decisions by global conservation group bolster efforts to save Africa’s elephants

SUSTAINABILITY

TWO big decisions have been made in the last few weeks in relation to African elephants that will have major implications for the survival of the giant mammals. ROBIN WHYTOCK, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Stirling FIONA MAISELS, Wildlife Conservation Society, African Elephant Specialist Group (IUCN) and Honorary Professor, University of Stirling The first is that a global body devoted to the conservation of elephants in Africa recognised the African elephant as two species: forest and savanna. Previously they had been considered a single species. This matters because their individual populations are smaller than when recognised as a single…

Jul

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Africa’s world-leading example on single-use plastics

SUSTAINABILITY

NEST, BIRD'S VIRTUAL NEWSROOM AFRICAN countries are leading global efforts to eradicate single-use plastics, with 34 out of 54 states having passed laws proscribing disposable plastics, according to a Greenpeace report. The report refers to the latest Plastic Waste Makers index, revealing that just 20 companies produce more than half of the world’s single-use plastic waste. None of them is in Africa. Rich countries driving single-use plastics production The Plastic Waste Makers Index identifies countries and entities driving climate crisis with virgin polymer production. These range from face masks to plastic bags and bottles which often end up in oceans…

Jul

14

2021

By The African Mirror

Pope to attend November U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, health permitting

SUSTAINABILITY

PHILIP PULLELLA POPE Francis will attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November, health permitting, Scotland's Roman Catholic bishops said on Monday. The bishops confirmed the pope's presence among other world leaders in a statement on their website. "Having written to the Holy Father to assure him of a warm welcome, should he attend the conference, they are delighted to hear that he does hope to attend and would be glad to meet with them in Glasgow," a statement said. Francis is in a Rome hospital recovering from colon surgery and will remain there for a…