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Environment in Africa

  • Flooding, Landslides Devastate Muhuta, Burundi

    BURUNDI, 2015/04/18 "We are here homeless, without food because our fields were destroyed, no cover for the night, nothing... God has forgotten us," said Vincent Hakizimana, a resident in Muhuta, a commune in western Burundi, next torrential rains triggered flooding and landslides at the end of March. The disaster destroyed over 300 houses inclunding schools and a health facility, according to reports from the International Federation of the Red Cross. Vital infrastructure has as well been damaged, with boulders weighing up to 2 tonnes blocking roads, interrupting transport. Some 3,000 people are estimated to be affected. Following the disaster, which occurred on 29 March, UNFPA responded with an emergency assessment and the distribution of hundreds of dignity kits containing essential hygiene items for women and girls.

  • Armed rangers fight to protect the last male northern white rhino left on Earth

    AFRICA, 2015/04/13 In the last 50 years, the rhino people of Africa has dropped 96 %. This is largely due to the greed and ignorance of poachers. Rhino horn has two major uses – ornamental use and traditional use in Chinese “medicine”. According to The Guardian, the horn is ground up into a fine dust and sold as a medicinal product, which can be sold for up to $75,000 per kg. An article for The Telegraph says that rhino horn holds no medical properties and is composed of keratin, a protein that is the key structural component in hair and nails. The reason for all of this rhino slaughter is based on a deeply-rooted myth that the horn can reduce fever and cure illness. In some places, East Asia most commonly, it is aggressively marketed as a cure for everything from hangovers to cancer. Presently, with only five northern white rhinos left in the world, people are starting to take action.

  • China to Make More Efforts On Elephant Conservation

    CHINA, 2015/03/28 A Chinese official has said that China will make additional efforts on the fields of management, law enforcement, education and capacity building to help African nations battle elephant poaching. Meng Xianlin, executive director-general of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Import and Export Management Office of China, made the remarks Monday next the African Elephant Summit in Kasane, Northern Botswana. China has as well strengthened law enforcement, Meng said next the conference, adding that in 2014, China worked together with 28 nations and international organizations where a lot of illegal wildlife trades were seized and involved criminals were captured.

  • Africa: Climate Change Cap Must be Lowered

    AFRICA, 2015/03/28 World leaders must reduce the long-held target of limiting world warming to below two degrees Celsius to avoid catastrophic impacts on the world's poorest people, says a leading climate scientist. Industrialised nations must stop ignoring the sustained calls from the developing world - backed by scientists - and set a 1.5 degree cap at the same time as the internationally agreed limit comes under review at UN climate talks later this year in Paris, France, says Petra Tschakert, a geographer from Pennsylvania National University, United States. "Anything else is unacceptable," she says.

  • Tanzania floods sweep Shinyanga 'killing 38 people'

    TANZANIA, 2015/03/05 Flooding in north-western Tanzania has killed at least 38 people and left hundreds of others homeless, police in the Shinyanga region . The downpours were accompanied by hail and strong winds meaning many people had no chance of escaping, senior police officer Justus Kamugisha said. The rains have severely damaged mud houses and blocked roads, making rescue operations difficult, he added. More than 60 rescued people are being treated for their injuries in hospital.

  • 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.

  • Flooding in Mozambique

    MAPUTO CITY, 2015/03/02 Mozambique's major north-south highway (EN1) is presently cut in two places in Zambezia province, where bridges have collapsed in the current flooding, thus making overland transport from the northern provinces to the centre and south impossible. At the town of Mocuba, a massive flood on the Licungo river has overwhelmed the bridge carrying ENI across the river. A crew from the independent television station STV filmed the raging Licungo as it destroyed part of the bridge on Tuesday. These are the worst floods on the Licungo since 1971. On Monday the river was flowing through Mocuba at a rate of 6,500 cubic metres a second. It is impossible to judge whether it rose much higher, since the measuring equipment was again submerged.

  • AfDB Awards U.S.$1 Million Emergency Relief Assistance for Drought Victims in Somalia

    SOMALIA, 2015/03/02 The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has awarded US $1 million emergency relief assistance to Somalia where over one million people affected by drought and famine are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The Emergency Humanitarian Relief Assistance to Victims of Drought in the country approved by the AfDB Board of Directors on Monday, February 9, 2015 will support the efforts being made by the Federal Government of Somalia in conjunction with the United Nations to provide urgent food aid distributions and food deliveries to drought-affected families in several parts of the country.

  • AFES Planted Over 30, 000 Mangroves in Jokadou in Gambia

    GAMBIA, 2015/01/02 The Association for Food Environmental Security (AFES), a Community Based Organization situated in Jokadou Darsilami in the North Bank Region, recently planted over 30,000 mangroves in the community of Jokadou. The move is part of the association's quest to promote regeneration and restoration of mangrove forests in the north bank. Speaking at the exercise, Ansumana Manneh, the admin and Finance Officer of AFES, believes the move will help mitigate disaster prevention in adaptation inclunding curb climate change in the area. He stressed the need for local communities to be empowered with the knowledge of mangrove's life protecting shields and its economic and environmental benefits.

  • Andrew Seguya, the executive director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA)

    UGANDA, 2014/12/15 Andrew Seguya, the executive director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has been suspended by Maria Mutagamba, the Minister of Wildlife, Tourism and Antiquities to pave way for a smooth investigation into the missing ivory. The letter dated Nov.21 and titled, "Alleged Ivory Scam," is addressed to the UWA board chairman and copied to the Prime Minister, the commander of the Uganda People's Defence Forces, the tourism ministry's permanent secretary, Andrew Seguya and Raymond Engena, the director of tourism and business services at UWA.
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