Just Africa

W.A. Flooding and Climate Change in Africa

      It has been a wet summer in West Africa as severe flooding has taken a huge toll on the region. The Horn of Africa underwent a similar situation in 2006 when extreme droughts through the end of 2005 were followed by unseasonably heavy rains, which resulted in widespread flooding. At the time, Simon Mechale, the head of Ethiopia’s disaster agency, characterized the devastating flood problem as "the worst that has been observed in a generation." 1 This year, U.N. officials estimate some 600,000 people across West Africa have been hit by heavy flooding, killing at least 25 in Ghana and seven in Burkina Faso. Africa is already infamous for its natural flood and drought cycles 2. The effects and degree of these natural disasters has grown over the decades due largely to the effects of global warming and continued poor land use. This imbalance will make subsistence farming, upon which millions of Africans depend, even more precarious. It will also exacerbate famine and disease.  Oxfam and Christian Aid relief estimate climate change is increasingly hampering the efforts of millions to escape poverty and that 182 million people in Africa are at risk of dying as a consequence of climate change by the end of the century 3.
    Although a number of relief organizations have brought to the fore the effects of global warming and climate change on Africa, the dire situation has largely been ignored. This cannot continue. World leaders should not only work to address the underlying causes (as demonstrated in the G-20’s commitment to end Fossil-Fuel subsidies by 2020) 4 but continue working toward helping poor countries that are struggling to mitigate the effects of global warming. African Governments face difficult decisions regarding balancing job creation with environmental conservation. The international debate over conservation is often a touchy one for developing nations, largely because they feel that the developed world benefited from a time of unbridled carbon-fueled industrial development. As the world’s leading nations and the U.N. work to fight global warming, they must reach out to include leaders of the developing world, especially Africa which is suffering the harshest consequences with the least ability to withstand it. Embracing the input of third-world leaders offers not only a more consolidated approach to the issue but offers a much stronger chance of actual reform.
    Unfortunately Africa’s problems with global warming cannot only be attributed to the actions and attitudes of the West. The overwhelming numbers of those affected are unfortunately part of the problem itself. According to the UN the continent is losing forest twice as fast as the rest of the world. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, only 7.5% of the rural population has access to electricity.5 The overwhelming alternative is charcoal. In fact an enormous and often lucrative charcoal industry has emerged. Roads throughout the countryside all over Africa are replete with makeshift lean-tos holding charcoal cut and burned from the local forests and bagged for sale to the city. Where Africa once boasted seven million square kilometers of forest, a third of that has been lost - most of it to charcoal. Wood and its by-product charcoal, unless radical steps are taken, are likely to remain the primary energy source for decades.
    What is needed are comprehensive education plans. Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan Nobel peace laureate, has worked hard to educate and engage citizens in her homeland through the Greenbelt movement. "One adaptation option for Africa is to keep her forests standing so that they provide essential environmental services such as carbon sinks," she said. The Greenbelt movement works to promote the planting of indigenous trees in forest catchment areas, private farms and public spaces so as to preserve local biological diversity, enhance natural beauty, and prevent soil erosion. Sensitization and mobilization seminars are held to disseminate information on the importance of tree planting6.
    Despite the success of the Greenbelt movement and others, the argument is a notoriously tough sell. For years many efforts to stall the growth of the Sahara by planting trees at its edges have been undercut (literally) by people seeking fuel for food and shelter. The long-term solutions to Africa’s plight are difficult in a region of the world where today’s considerations are of paramount importance over next year’s or even next week’s.
    The untold cost of the devastating floods in West Africa remains to be seen. Beyond the loss of property and the cases of loss of life, the flooding has ruined large amounts of food crops and land, risking food shortages and even starvation. Furthermore, flooding severely damages infrastructure in the areas affected, spoiling clean water supplies and inviting disease. Unfortunately the desperate times risk inviting more desperate measures and the cycle of extremes will continue.



1 http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=87&art_id=qw1156502520623A162

2
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/09/08/west.africa.flooding/

3 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8272603.stm

4 http://www.carbonpositive.net/viewarticle.aspx?articleID=1678

5 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8272603.stm

6 http://gbmna.org/w.php?id=13

What are the Real Issues in Somalia?

The recent hijacking of a Ukrainian arms ship off the coast of Somalia has thrust the world's most notorious "failed state" into the spotlight of mainstream Western media. While what appears to be a major weapons shipment to South Sudan is certainly noteworthy, it's unfortunate that it takes such a dramatic, sensational incident to get Somalia in the news. At today's critical political and humanitarian moment, the people of Somalia deserve attention for more than just this "pirate ship."

Here are some other less high profile Somalia stories to take your understanding of Somalia deeper than the pirate drama:

1) October 6: Fifty-two aid agencies working in Somalia released a damning statement urging a stronger international response to the deteriorating humanitarian crisis: "The international community has completely failed Somali civilians. We call on the international community to make the protection of Somali civilians a top priority now." 37,000 people have fled Mogadishu in the past few weeks. 870,000 have been displaced so far in 2008. The city is emptier than it was during the 1994 botched international intervention.

2) May 5: Somalis protest the deaths of civilians after the U.S. launches airstrikes into Somalia, targeting al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists. Since January 2007, the U.S. has intervened with cruise missile assaults and air attacks multiple times in Somalia, with little success in eliminating key terrorist targets.

As South African Politics Blaze in Controversy, Zimbabwe Drops From Western Spotlight

A common critique of South Africa’s relations with its southern African neighbors has been its tendency to monopolize the attention of the international community. Since even well before 1994, South Africa’s politics, economics, and societal progress have dominated the scant Western news coverage of the African continent. The momentous events that have rocked South Africa's political sphere this past week are well worthy of coverage. Indeed, without the U.S. presidential election circus and financial crisis, they probably would be more prominent.  The small Western appetite for African affairs however, seems to have settled on the Mbeki drama as its sole sustenance. Zimbabwe's landmark power-sharing deal has been swept off the headlines.

South Africa was widely criticized by Western commentators for its silence on the on-going crisis in Zimbabwe, and President Thabo Mbeki took the brunt of it for his so called "silent diplomacy" policy when it comes to Zanu-PF's violent repression of political opposition. Yet despite the ANC's apparent policy of denial, Mbeki was appointed by the Southern African Development Community to facilitate a resolution that would end the violence in March 2007. Since then he made several fruitless visits to Zimbabwe attempting to facilitate a compromise between the long standing president, Robert Mugabe of Zanu-PF, and MDC opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Mbeki came to Harare after the presidential runoff that was widely condemned locally and internationally as unfair, to head the Southern African Development Community (SADC) sponsored power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare.

GMOs or Organic Farming: What’s the Best Approach?

In approaching the food crisis facing Africa today, there is much support for a “green revolution” that involves the use of new technologies and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to substantially increase crop yields. This approach is advocated by both biotechnology industries in the United States and well-known philanthropists like Bill Gates, but has drawn criticism from some civil society groups and environmentalists.

As a follow up to Africa Action's new issue page on food sovereignty and the food crisis, this post examines this debate as well as the role of organic agriculture in feeding Africa.

Text Messages and Methane Gas: African Farmers Capitalize on Technology Advances

In a global society revolving around new technology, computers, and cell phones, African farmers and individuals have capitalized on technological advancements to attempt to alleviate the food crisis and improve their yields.   

 

How much more efficient could farming be if farmers were able to predict weather patterns, access future water table balances and analyze crop status? In South Africa, sugar cane farmers are doing just that with the help of a cell phone technology system called My Canesim. The system, developed by a South African agronomist, uses automatic weather stations, the Internet and cellular technology to update farmers on water deficits, soil content, crop statuses and yields in real time.