Africa

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By 2030 the ambition is to restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land and sequester 250 million tons of carbon. Credit: Greatgreenwall.org

By Issa Sikiti da Silva
DAKAR, Senegal, Jun 11 2018 (IPS)

Hope, smiles and new vitality seem to be returning slowly but surely in various parts of the Sahel region, where the mighty Sahara Desert has all but ‘eaten’ and degraded huge parts of landscapes, destroying livelihoods and subjecting many communities to extreme poverty.

The unexpected relief has come from the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI), an eight-billion-dollar project launched by the African Union (AU) with the blessing of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the backing of organizations such as the World Bank, the European Union and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The Sahara, an area of 3.5 million square miles, is the largest ‘hot’ desert in the world and home to some 70 species of mammals, 90 species of resident birds and 100 species of reptiles, according to DesertUSA.

Restoring landscapes

The GGW aims to restore Africa’s degraded landscapes and transform millions of lives in one of the world’s poorest regions. This will be done by, among others, planting a wall of trees in more than 20 countries – westward from Gambia to eastward in Djibouti – over 7,600 km long and 15 km wide across the continent.

The countries include Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Senegal. There is also Algeria, Egypt, Gambia, Eritrea, Somalia, Cameroon, Ghana, Togo and Benin.

A girl learns about the project through a virtual reality headset. Credit: Greatgreenwall.org

Popularity

Elvis Paul Nfor Tangem, AU’s GGWSSI coordinator, told IPS that the project was doing well, gaining popularity and generating many other ideas as the implementation gains momentum.

Tangem also said that the AU had begun working with the Secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Namibian government for the extension of the GGWSSI concept to the dry lands of the Southern Africa region.

Namibia, which borders South Africa, is located between the Namib and Kalahari deserts. Namib, from which the country draws its name, is believed to be the world’s oldest desert.

Largest project ever

If the GGW is indeed extended to Southern Africa, it will take the number of countries drawn to the project to over 20, making it one of the world’s largest projects ever.

Fundraising for beneficiaries countries is being done through bilateral negotiations, as well as through national investments, the AU said.

International partners including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Sahara and Sahel Observatory (SSO), among others, are also playing a critical role to ensure that the project is being successfully implemented, and upon its completion by 2030 will become the world’s largest living structure and a new Wonder of the World.

The icon of GGW shows the path of the Great Green Wall. Credit: Greatgreenwall.org

Food security

The GGW is set to create thousands of jobs for those who live along its path and boost food security and resilience to climate change in the Sahel, one of the driest parts of the world, where the FAO said an estimated 29.2 million people are food insecure.

The project founders said that by 2030 the ambition is to restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land and sequester 250 million tons of carbon.

Asked if the project is being implementing one country after the other, Elvis replied: “The implementation of the initiative is first and famous country-based, meaning all the countries are undertaking implementation at their levels.

“However, the common factor among all the countries is the fact that their activities are based on the Harmonized Regional Strategy and their National Action Plans (NAP). We are supporting the production of the NAP in Cameroon and Ghana and also working on the SADC region.”

Returning home?

In Senegal, a total of 75 direct jobs and 1,800 indirect jobs, including in the nurseries sector and multipurpose gardens, have already been created through the GGW in the last six years, according to official statistics.

Also in Senegal, where desertification has slashed 34% of its area, the GGW has since ‘recovered’ just over 40,000 hectares out of the 817,500 hectares planned for the project. This is good news for people like Ibrahima Ba and his family who left their homeland to move to Dakar in the quest of greener pastures.

Now, he is contemplating a return home. “I’m planning to go back towards the end of the year to rebuild my shattered life. The Sahara hasn’t done anybody any favor by taking away our livelihood,” Ba, a livestock farmer Peul from northern Senegal, told IPS.

An estimated 300,000 people live in the three provinces crossed by the GGW in Senegal.

Participatory approach

However, Marine Gauthier, an environmental expert for the Rights and Resources’ Initiative, (RRI) said a participatory approach was needed if the project was to be implemented successfully.

“In a conflictual region, where people depend on the land for their survival and where there are numerous transhumance activities from herders peoples (Peuls) potentially impacted by the project, a careful participatory approach is needed,” Gauthier said.

“Conflicts have already arisen a couple of years ago with Peuls (herders practicing transhumance, whose travels were to be restrained by the project). Just like any other environmental protection project, its capacity to engage with local communities, to make them first beneficiaries of the project, is the key to its success on the long term.

“Participatory mapping is a very successful tool that has been used within other projects and that could be of great help in defining and establishing the Great Green Wall,” Gauthier said.

Furthermore, Gauthier said empowering communities would be very interesting at the scale of the Great Green Wall. “It would take a lot of efforts, consultations, financial and human resources. It is however the only way to ensure that this project, which people are talking about for more than 10 years now, reaches its goal.

“Because when the communities are empowered and when their rights on the land are secured, it benefits directly to the environment and to preserving this land from more damage.”

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The post Great Green Wall Brings Hope, Greener Pastures to Africa’s Sahel appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

This article is part of a series of stories and op-eds launched by IPS on the occasion of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on June 17.

The post Great Green Wall Brings Hope, Greener Pastures to Africa’s Sahel appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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By WAM
ABU DHABI, Jun 10 2018 (WAM)

The Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation has sent a ship loaded with humanitarian and food aid to the Yemeni island of Socotra. The move follows the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the follow-up of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Khalifa Foundation.

The Foundation’s team began to distribute the relief aid among locals which included 7,000 food baskets, 4,732 blankets, 358 tents and 338 food containers.

The people of Socotra commended the efforts of the UAE leadership for their assistance, saying that this aid has a great impact in relieving the hardships of locals, especially during the difficult conditions they are facing.

 

 

They also thanked the Khalifa Foundation for the aid, saying that its efforts in Yemen, together with that of the Emirates Red Crescent, have greatly contributed to helping the Yemeni people and in alleviating their suffering.

The latest aid is part of the Foundation’s recently launched Ramadan Project which aims to provide 10,000 food baskets to residents of the Yemeni island, via sea and air.

WAM/Esraa Ismail/Rasha Abubaker

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Participants at the GMFF participatory video workshop in Boa Vista, Brazil. Photo: IOM/A. Nero

By International Organization for Migration
BOA VISTA, Brazil, Jun 8 2018 (IOM)

More than 300 indigenous people of Warao and Eñepas ethnic groups from Venezuela, local authorities and NGO representatives gathered last week (31/05), at Pintolandia Shelter, in Boa Vista, Brazil, for a special edition of the Global Migration Film Festival (GMFF).

The event was organized by IOM, local partners and authorities to present two videos created by 20 shelter members trained in participatory video making by IOM GMFF facilitators over four days. These indigenous people were affected by the situation in Venezuela and left the country in search of basic needs such as food and medicine.

The State of Roraima has registered the highest number of Venezuelans who have entered Brazil recently. According to the Brazilian Government, until April over 40,000 Venezuelans have applied for the regularization of their migration status in the country.

Through games and exercises, the Waraos and Eñepas learned how to use the video equipment and choose the themes and stories they wanted to record in their films. Through a participatory editing process, they edited their videos which were screened to the community living in Pintolândia, a shelter specifically set up for indigenous migrants, currently hosting over 700 people.

This initiative aims to empower and amplify the affected community’s voices and foster social cohesion between the different ethnic groups and communities living in the shelter.

According to Madga Azevedo, a Representative from Labour and Social Welfare Secretary’s office – the governmental entity which manages Pintolândia shelter – the method is collaborating to strengthen the integration of the two indigenous groups living in the same space. “I felt emotional with their reactions watching their own videos. It was about empowerment and self-recognition,” she says.

Immediately after the screening, members of the participatory video making process spoke about how they felt after watching themselves on the big screen along with fellow community members. “I enjoyed that we looked at two themes: the Waraos and the Eñepas. This was excellent because we have never looked at ourselves like this, through a video camera. It was like a big meeting between the two ethnicities living here. It was wonderful to see that happening,” explained Baudilio Centeno, a Warao participant.

Karina Lopez, an Eñepas participant, said she was delighted after the screening: “I liked watching both videos and also enjoyed that they were made by us.”

Almost 80, Pillar Paredes was the eldest participant amongst the two groups and had never made a video before. She filmed a segment presenting a typical Warao dance. During the video screening, she was sitting by her grand-daughter who laughed when Pillar appeared on the big screen singing and dancing. Her reaction after watching their video? “I have decided that I will teach the children here our traditional dances.”

The two facilitators leading the process, Amanda Nero, IOM Communication Officer and Fernanda Baumhardt, a participatory video expert from the Norwegian Refugee Council’s NORCAP, both noted that the process was challenging as the two ethnic groups have very different ways of expressing themselves and communicating. “It was important to have two different processes for each group to respect their own pace and style,” explained Nero. Baumhardt observed that despite coming from different indigenous background, they are similar in many ways. “They also have similar stories, needs and concerns,” Baumhardt explained.

IOM has recently carried out a study about the rights and legal status of indigenous migrants in Brazil, especially the Warao. Through the study, IOM emphasizes the legal tools available to grant equal treatment to Brazilian and Venezuelan indigenous groups and focus on the Warao demands to reshape public policies to their specific needs, safeguarding their indigenous identity. More information about this research can be found here.

IOM’s GMFF Participatory Video Project is an initiative to amplify voices, empower and foster social cohesion in migrants’ affected communities. The workshop tour kicked off in Amman, Jordan, in October 2017. In November, IOM went to Malakal, South Sudan, to work with communities that have fled war and violence and in December last year, the workshop was done with a group of migrants living in Geneva, Switzerland.

The initiative is funded by the IOM Development Fund (IDF) and supported by NORCAP.

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President of the Central African Republic H.E. Faustin-Archange Touadéra and Executive Director of the Geneva Centre Ambassador Idriss Jazairy

By Geneva Centre
GENEVA, Jun 8 2018 (Geneva Centre)

On 7 June, the Executive Director of the Geneva Centre Ambassador Idriss Jazairy was given an audience in Geneva by the President of the Central African Republic H.E. Faustin-Archange Touadéra – in the presence of the Permanent Representative to UN Geneva HE Ambassador Leopold Ismael Samba. The President expressed his support for the initiative to organize the World Conference on “Religions, Creeds and Value Systems: Joining Forces to Enhance Equal Citizenship Rights” to be held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 25 June 2018 under the patronage of HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The President indicated that the approach of the conference was consonant with the policy of reconciliation promoted in Central African Republic and could contribute to enhancing inter-religious harmony and reconciliation in the Central African Republic as in other parts of the world.

The post President of Central African Republic Expresses Interest in Forthcoming Geneva Conference on Religions and Equal Citizenship Rights appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A woman walks in the street of Roseau, capital of Dominica, which has struggled to overcome the severe impact of two category 5 hurricanes which tore through the region in September 2017. Credit: UNICEF/Moreno Gonzalez

By Deodat Maharaj
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 8 2018 (IPS)

As a new hurricane season approaches in the Caribbean, I attended last week’s dialogue focused on “Financing Resilience in SIDS” held in Antigua and Barbuda and sponsored by the host government and Belgium.

The gathering sought to identify the main risks facing Small Island Developing States (SIDS), especially in terms of financing and innovative solutions to the countries’ challenges.

These vastly different SIDS have much in common. There was a clear recognition that the splendor of their beauty, wealth of their culture and vibrancy of their people mask a deep vulnerability to both natural disasters and economic shocks, which are further exacerbated by climate change.

This is true for Caribbean countries and beyond. In addition to the Caribbean, participants at the event last week also included representatives from Africa, Indian Ocean and the Pacific, from their Permanent Missions to the UN.

The hurricanes of last September 2017 that devastated our host, Antigua and Barbuda, and other Caribbean countries provided a compelling testimonial to this “new normal”. Dominica lost 226 percent of its GDP and a generation of development gains in a matter of hours with the passage of Hurricane Maria.

In our host country, the island of Barbuda endured a similar fate just 10 days earlier after Hurricane Irma left a path of destruction. The story is very much the same in other SIDS, such as Vanuatu and Fiji, which suffered massive losses from Cyclones Pam and Winston in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Notwithstanding the compelling narrative of adverse weather events, there are also other challenges, which hamper the ability to build resilient Small Island Developing States. As a UNDP presenter, I emphasized that resilience in the context of SIDS should be holistic and not exclusively associated with hurricanes and natural disasters.

The outcome document, “The St John’s Call for Action” clearly recognized that building resilience in the Caribbean is about managing the risks associated with natural disasters, but this entails much more than hurricanes, as our Human Development Report for the Caribbean also stressed.

One big challenge is accessing finance. SIDS are largely classified as middle or high-income countries with limited access to concessional financing and Overseas Development Assistance (ODA).

This is compounded by high levels of debt in places such as the Caribbean, which is one of the world’s most highly indebted regions. Indeed, its debt burden stands at an estimated $52 billion with a debt to GDP ratio of more than 70 percent. In some countries, debt levels are more than 100 percent of GDP.

At the same time, due to the small geographical and population size, SIDS invariably have a narrow tax base, limiting the ability to mobilize resources domestically. Mindful of these constraints, the St John’s Call to Action made some specific recommendations.

The role and importance of innovation was placed at the forefront on the way forward. Peter Thompson, the UN’s Special Envoy for Oceans made a compelling case for the blue economy—or boosting sustainable use of the ocean’s resources for gains in the social, economic and environmental realms—as a viable policy option.

The example of Seychelles and the launch of the World’s first Blue Bond was cited. Such Blue Bonds will help mobilize public and private resource to advance the Blue Economy, including through sustainable fisheries.

It was also noted that UNDP has started preparatory work to help Grenada launch a Blue Bond as well, which will be the first in the Caribbean. The outcome statement was clear on the importance of focusing on the green economy and transition to renewables.

Recognizing that innovation is required in financing, a call was made to rethink the role the diaspora plays in building resilience and providing the financial resources. In the Caribbean, remittances exceed foreign direct investment and ODA combined.

I made the point that the region needs to facilitate approaches that orient remittances toward investment instead of almost exclusively on consumption. Based on the experience of SIDS and the huge costs of recovery post disasters, the importance of new insurance products to help manage the risks faced by SIDS is a key issue.

The ”St John’s Call for Action”spoke to the need for sustained global advocacy for the recognition of SIDS’ vulnerability as a criterion to access concessional financing. At the same time, there must be a clear recognition that to attract the financing to build resilience and reach the SDGs, private capital is essential.

Attracting it is hard work; and creating an enabling environment is a necessary first step. Caribbean SIDS must work hard to improve the ease of doing business and lower energy costs, which represent major obstacles to attracting foreign direct investment. SIDS representatives also agreed on the importance not only of getting additional financing but also on the value of intensifying collaboration between and among the countries. UNDP with its global expertise and access has key role to play.

Therefore, teaming up, building partnerships and sharing innovative experiences, including through the UNDP-backed Aruba Centre of Excellence Sustainable Development of SIDS is a crucial and urgent step. There is no magic pill or easy solution.

The “St John’s Call for Action” by its very nature emphasized that the time to talk is over; the time to act is now. UNDP will continue to be a strong partner of SIDS, together, in the same boat.

The post Beyond Hurricanes: How Do We Finance Resilience in the Caribbean? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Deodat Maharaj is UNDP Senior Advisor for the Caribbean

The post Beyond Hurricanes: How Do We Finance Resilience in the Caribbean? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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