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Africa-wide Civil Society Climate Change Initiative for Policy Dialogues - ACCID
- News Digest - |
| Week ending 29 May 2009 |
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Food security and agriculture: SADC ministers meet Bizcommunity, 25 May 2009 Johannesburg: Ministers of Agriculture of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) met at the Hilton Hotel in Johannesburg, Thursday, 21 May 2009, to discuss the way forward amid the global economic downturn that has strained their respective economies and now threatens the region's food security and agriculture production... CSD17 puts agriculture at the centre of sustainable development Drinks Media Wire, 26 May 2009 New York: After two intense weeks of negotiations, the Seventeenth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, which took place from May 4-15 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, adopted by acclamation "a text a prepared by the Chair". The text gives conclusions on policy options and practical measures to expedite implementation of sustainable practices in agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa... Slow forest tenure reform threatens action Africa's' against climate change Africa Science News Agency, 26 May 2009 A new report released today at a major global forestry conference in Cameroon has found that deforestation rate in Africa - where the population density relative to forest area is close to the world’s average - is four times the world’s average and that governments retain control over the world’s tropical forests’ globally, hindering action to stop deforestation and alleviate poverty among some of the world’s poorest rural peoples... Kenya ill-equipped to fight climate change, UN body says Africa Science News Agency, 26 May 2009 Nairobi: As preparations for the World Environment Day gets underway, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) has warned that Kenya is ill-equipped to mitigate the effects of climate change. UNEP's Climate Change Adaptation Unit says despite the fact that the effects of climate change such as floods, droughts and diseases are evident in Kenya, the country lacks the capacity to address the environmental disasters... Farmers need innovative approach to confront climate change ThisDay, 27 May 2009 Dar es Salaam: Water is increasingly becoming a contested natural resource in many parts of Africa, with imminent threats that are likely to be exacerbated by climate change. As the population increases amidst critical economic situations, a challenging time lies ahead for authorities in water scarce countries to come up with practical ways for mitigating the impact of water-related conflicts on human security... Climate change: Progress seen on funding problem AFP, 27 May 2009 Paris: The world's biggest carbon polluters made headway in talks here Tuesday on how to beef up funding to help poor countries in the firing line of climate change, senior officials said. The so-called Major Economies Forum (MEF) advanced on one of the key issues troubling negotiations for a new global treaty due to be crafted in Copenhagen in December, they said... SADC discuss strategies of enhancing ground water resources to fight poverty afrol News, 27 May 2009 Johannesburg: The Southern African Development Community (SADC) multi-stakeholders are convening in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss issues of groundwater use and how it could be enhanced to to fight poverty... Food, health and adaptation to climate change in East and Southern Africa: an IDRC call R4D, 27 May 2009 Ottawa: The Ecosystem Approaches to Human Health Program of Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC-Canada) have announced a call for concept notes on food, health and adaptation to climate change. Concept notes should entail research and capacity building activities that use ecosystem approaches to human health to help understand and address health vulnerabilities related to food and nutritional security or food safety arising from climate change and climate variability in eastern and southern Africa... Botswana might get electricity from the sun Sunday Standard, 27 May 2009 Gaborone: The Department of Energy and Minerals is currently consulting with Fichtner Solar Consultants from Germany on the possibility of installing a power station that will use solar energy to produce electricity. The aim is for the Department of Energy to come out with a 200MW power station... Kikwete advises African countries to insure crops The Citizen, 27 May 2009 Dar es Salaam: President Jakaya Kikwete has called for the introduction of a crop insurance schemes to cater for the needs of small farmers in the African continent. In a speech read on his behalf by the Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, President Kikwete urged the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), to start up crop insurance schemes to eliminate risks associated with farming in Africa... Africa's smallholder farmers risk being excluded from future climate deal Africa Science News Agency, 28 May 2009 When African Environment Ministers meet in Nairobi this Thursday and Friday to iron out a common position for negotiations for a post-2012 global climate agreement in Copenhagen, Denmark later this year, the fate of millions of Africa's poor farmers is in danger of being left off their agenda. However, the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) will be looking for agreement on a climate change strategy that takes into account the key role African agriculture can play in reducing emissions and increasing carbon stocks across the whole continent... Nigeria shut out of $40bn carbon trade ThisDay, 28 May 2009 Kaduna: Nigeria's energy sector is missing out on the world carbon trade market estimated to have hit over $40billion annually. Also, there were indications that the country's revenue profile may witness significant decline by 2015 and beyond, due to the spill-over effects of climate change, global warming and measures being adopted by developed countries to deal with the phenomenon... Representatives flay Yar'Adua over climate change The Daily Trust, 28 May 2009 Lagos: President Umaru Musa Yar'adua has never taken climate change issues very seriously despite the fact that Nigeria is adversely affected by the menace, chairman of the House of Representatives' committee on Climate Change,Rep Eziuche Ubani (PDP Abia state), has said. He spoke at a three-day capacity building workshop for House of Representatives' committee on Climate Change and the Media in Kaduna... Climate change: financing opportunities and challenges to achieve the MDGs in Africa UNECA, 28 May 2009 We, the African Finance, Economic Planning and Environment Ministers met in Kigali, Rwanda, for the Third Conference on Financing for Development, from 21 to 22 May 2009 under the theme "Climate Change: Financing Opportunities and Challenges to Achieve the MDGs in Africa." We thank the Government of Rwanda for hosting the meeting with the support of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)... Angola: Smart relief needed as floodwaters fall Inter Press Service, 28 May 2009 Luanda: The flood waters are starting to recede as the rainy season ends for another year, but while the emergency is over in southern Angola, the long term outlook is bleak. Because of the water damage, many families have been unable to return to their villages and tens of thousands are clustered in IDP camps where there is a high risk of an outbreak of water-borne diseases due to pressures on sanitation... FAO: Anchoring agriculture within a Copenhagen agreement FAO, 29 May 2009 Rome: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released a policy brief providing options for addressing agriculture in a global climate change agreement. The brief provides an overview over the technical mitigation potential in the agricultural sector, noting that most of this potential is in developing countries... Climate change adaptation can't wait Irin, 29 May 2009 Johannesburg: A detailed study of the effects of climate change on Mozambique has confirmed what many experts feared: unless immediate action is taken, the country will be overwhelmed by the impacts of cyclones, floods, droughts and disease outbreaks. "I am alarmed by many of the findings presented in this study," said Ndolam Ngokwe, the UN resident coordinator in Mozambique... Communique: G8, G5 energy ministers G8, 29 May 2009 The G8 Energy Ministers, the European Energy Commissioner, the G5 Energy Ministers (Brazil, the People’s Republic of China, India, Mexico and South Africa), and the Ministers of Algeria, Australia, Egypt, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Turkey met in Rome on May 25th, 2009 to discuss the globally significant issues of energy investments and a programme of action to increase energy access in developing countries, with special focus on Africa... |
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Disclaimer: This newsflash was made possible through financial support provided by the Government of Norway to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). FANRPAN is mandated by COMESA to implement the Africa-wide Civil Society Climate Change Initiative for Policy Dialogues (ACCID). The opinions expressed in the articles carried in this newsflash are those of the author(s) and quoted sources, and do not necessarily reflect the views of COMESA, FANRPAN and the Government of Norway. For more details visit www.africaclimatesolution.org and www.fanrpan.org |