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Environment in North Africa

  • More than 41 million in southern Africa face food insecurity

    AFRICA, 2016/06/17 An estimated 41 million people are food insecure with 21 million people requiring immediate assistance in Southern Africa, a regional economic bloc said on Wednesday, next a drought ravaged the region. The Southern African Development Community director for food, agriculture and natural resources, Margaret Nyirenda, said in a statement that a new statement as well showed that nearly 2.7 million children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
  • Smallholder farmers can overcome the negative effects of the climate change by using new varieties of seeds.

    AFRICA, 2016/06/04
  • Africa: To Burn or Sell Ivory - Which Can Put an End to Elephant Poaching?

    AFRICA, 2016/04/30 Tens of thousands of elephants are killed each year for their tusks. The Kenyan government plans to burn additional than 100 metric tons of ivory, the majority ever to be destroyed. But can burning ivory really help end poaching? A towering pyre of burning ivory - it's a powerful image, and one that the Kenyan government hopes will send a clear message: the illegal trade in ivory, which kills around 30,000 elephants across Africa each year, will not be tolerated. Hollywood stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman have been invited to join conservationists and politicians to attend the mass burning on April 30, 2016, at the same time as Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta will set fire to 105 metric tons of ivory - that's seven times the size of the major stockpile before destroyed - along with 1.35 metric tons of rhino horn.
  • Egypt: Planning Minister Says Working to Create Attractive Climate for Skilled Personnel

    EGYPT, 2016/01/18 Planning Minister Ashraf el Araby has said that a plan to upgrade the Institute of National Planning (INP) is meant to create an attractive climate for skilled personnel. A lot of graduates of the institute are presently working at international organizations and Arab nations, Araby said in the inauguration ceremony of the renovated INP on Saturday.
  • Working Together For Migratory Birds And People Across Africa And Eurasia

    BOTSWANA, 2015/11/17 One lesson that has been well and truly learned in nature conservation is that for policies to be really effective nations have to collaborate to address common problems. Within the UN system it is as well recognized that this applies to the different Programmes, Conventions and Agreements set up over the years. That each of these bodies has a distinct niche and a clear role does not justify a bunker mentality. By synergizing, cooperating and collaborating they can find common cause with natural allies and seek compromises with those whose agendas do not necessarily match their own. AEWA, the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, is a prime example of an organization that embodies this approach.
  • Hunting in Africa - to Ban or Not to Ban Is the Question

    BOTSWANA, 2015/07/21 Hunting has long been a highly controversial activity, whether as a sport (leisure or recreational), for commercial purposes or if done for cultural reasons. African nations that legalise hunting activities experience scrutiny around their conservation efforts, and how much money they make from it. Trophy hunting, which is offered in 23 sub-Saharan African nations, generates an estimated US$201 million per year. Out of the 23 nations taking part in legal hunting activities, Tanzania, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa have the majority effective controls and the highest levels of transparency.
  • What Can Be Done to Make Sure That Wind Energy and Africa's Vultures Co-Exist

    AFRICA, 2015/07/04 A lot of people see wind energy as one of the key solutions to conference Africa's growing energy request and mitigating climate change. As a result, wind farms are by presently under construction or are being planned in a lot of nations across sub-Saharan Africa. But wind farms can pose real threats to bird species, and they have the potential to jeopardise threatened bird populations. So far, the biggest impact of inappropriately sited wind turbines has been on populations of large birds of prey, in particular eagles and vultures. In some extreme cases turbines have led to the death of hundreds of the birds as they collide with the turning blades.
  • Africa: Climate Change Threatens Irreversible, Dangerous Impacts

    WORLD, 2015/03/02 HUMAN influence on the climate system is clear and growing, with impacts observed on all continents. If left unchecked, climate change will increase the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems. However, options are available to adapt to climate change and implementing stringent mitigations activities can ensure that the impacts of climate change remain within a manageable range, creating a brighter and additional sustainable next. These are part the key findings of the Synthesis Statement released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Nov. 2, 2014. The Synthesis Statement distils and integrates the findings of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Statement produced by over 800 scientists and released over the completed 13 months -- the majority comprehensive assessment of climate change ever undertaken.
  • Africa: New Report Tracks Illegal Ivory, Rhino Horn Trade

    AFRICA, 2014/11/10 Illegal rhino horn trade has reached the highest levels since the early 1990s, and illegal trade in ivory increased by nearly 300 % from 1998 to 2011, according to a new statement by U.S. Agency for International Improvment(USAID) partner TRAFFIC. "This statement provides critical insights into often violent and complex trade networks that will help nations target their law enforcement efforts. Wildlife trafficking not only endangers rhinos, elephants and a lot of other wildlife species, but as well threatens national and international security inclunding local livelihoods," said Eric Postel, assistant administrator at USAID. The statement, Illegal trade in ivory and rhino horn: an assessment to improve law enforcement, is a key step to achieving USAID's vision to adapt and deploy a range of development tools and interventions to significantly reduce illegal wildlife trafficking, USAID said in a September 22 press release. The statement was prepared by the wildlife monitoring network TRAFFIC in partnership with USAID. The assessment uses robust analysis to identify capacity gaps and key intervention points in nations combating wildlife trafficking.
  • Sudan's cabinet met in emergency session Tuesday next flooding

    SUDAN, 2014/08/06 Sudan's cabinet met in emergency session Tuesday next flooding killed 23 people, destroyed thousands of homes and sparked complaints of government negligence. Khartoum national Governor Abdel Rahman al-Khidir announced "the death of 17 persons and collapse of 3,077 houses," the official SUNA news agency said. An extra six people died in Gezira national, south of the capital, SUNA said before, citing a local government minister. Five were electrocuted and one died at the same time as his home collapsed.