Environmental News from Africa

EarthWire Africa provides a daily overview of the environment in Africa as reported in the media. The web site is updated every day by a team of editors that reviews media sources for environmental news stories.

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Encroachment on Ecosystems

Ethiopia at centre of global farmland rush
Guardian Unlimited | 21 Mar 2011
Locals move out as international contractors seize opportunities offered by government to lease farmland at knockdown rates. It's the deal of the century: £150 a week to lease more than 2,500 sq km (1,000 sq miles) of virgin, fertile land - an area the size of Dorset – for 50 years. Bangalore-based food company Karuturi Global says it had not even seen the land when it was offered by the Ethiopian government with tax breaks thrown in.

Two Percent Price-Tag for a Green Economy
Inter Press Service | 23 Feb 2011
The present "brown" economic system driven by fossil fuel energy and the serial depletion and degradation of natural resources and ecosystems has no future and must be replaced by a green economy, says the Green Economy report launched in Nairobi, Kenya this week by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Namibia: Diamonds On Rocky Road to Recovery
AllAfrica.com | 14 Feb 2011
It hasn't got its groove back yet, but at least there is some sparkle in the local diamond industry: gems mined in Namibia last year were up 57 per cent on those produced in 2009, and sales generated N$5,6 billion for the year. This meant 32 per cent more money in diamond mines' kitty than in 2009.

Namibia | Economics and the Environment | Encroachment on Ecosystems | Industry

Africa: Coffee Prices Up Amid Rising Global Demand
AllAfrica.com | 14 Feb 2011
Coffee prices rose to new highs last week, cranking up returns for marketers and cushioning farmers against a drop in supply. The average price of various grades at the coffee auction rose five per cent compared to the previous week to stand at $411, from $393.50 per bag, at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange.

Kenya | Agriculture | Economics and the Environment | Encroachment on Ecosystems | Food Security

Drought and desertification a growing threat to food security ' UN expert
feedproxy.google.com | 12 Feb 2011
Increasing drought and aridity around the world, linked to climate change and land degradation, are becoming a major threat to food security and poverty reduction efforts, according to the United Nations' anti-desertification chief.

Climate Change Impacts | Encroachment on Ecosystems | Food Security | Governance

Uganda: Government Builds Three Landing Sites in Mpigi
AllAfrica.com | 08 Feb 2011
The government through the Uganda-Egypt weed control project has constructed three landing sites in Mpigi to enable people in the area engage in commercial fishing. The landing sites, constructed at Buvumbu, Mussa and Buyaga islands, will also ease water transport and boost trade in the area. "They were water sources chocked by weed that we have helped to clear in order to allow fishing, transportation and trade," State Minister for Fisheries Fred Mukisa said yesterday.

Uganda | Access to Freshwater | Encroachment on Ecosystems | Fisheries

International Year of Forests (IYF) - "Celebrating Forests for People"
UNEP | 02 Feb 2011
Forests represent many things to many people including spiritual, aesthetic and cultural dimensions that are, in many ways, priceless. But they are also cornerstones of our economies, whose real value has all too often been invisible in national accounts of profit and loss.

Access to Information | Encroachment on Ecosystems | Environmental Impacts | Forest Quality | Forests and Woodlands

From tequila to the 'tree of life', bats are nature's invaluable allies
UNEP | 21 Jan 2011
More than 1,200 species of bats comprise nearly a quarter of all mammals, and their ecological services are essential to human economies and the health of whole ecosystems worldwide.

Agriculture | Biodiversity | Conservation | Encroachment on Ecosystems

Rwanda: Forest Conservation Calls for Carrot and Stick
Inter Press Service | 21 Jan 2011
For years, the various campaigns for sustainable use of forests just passed Pascal Segatashya by. But Rwanda's ambitious Forest Conservation Project eventually found him - and it has transformed his life and livelihood.

Coal of Africa shares jump after environment deal
Reuters | 12 Nov 2010
JOHANNESBURG- Shares in Coal of Africa (CoAL) jumped on Friday after the company reached an agreement with a provincial government over environmental issues which had threatened its Mooiplaats mine with closure.

Economics and the Environment | Encroachment on Ecosystems | Energy | Pollution

Nigeria: Chad - FG Commits N1.65 Billion to Desert Encroachment
AllAfrica.com | 02 Nov 2010
Abuja — President Goodluck Jonathan has said in the past two years, Nigeria completed its contribution of N1.65 billion to ensure that the shrinking Lake Chad which has reduced from its original size of 250,000 square kilometres to just 25,000 square kilometres was arrested.

Chad | Nigeria | Deforestation | Encroachment on Ecosystems

Kenya: Vegetation loss threatens to push wildlife species into extinction
Daily Nation | 01 Nov 2010
Before the Mau forestland rush, the dark- green rain forest was a showcase for the diversity of life. There was hardly a break in the canopy of giant trees, and virtually every acre was alive with all kinds of flora and fauna. Then, in the mid-1980s came a horde of settlers, both legal and illegal, slashing and burning huge swathes of the forest to create land for farms and infrastructure. They came to enjoy a promised land, full of milk and honey, but in essence produced a trail of devastation.

Kenya | Encroachment on Ecosystems | Farming Practices | Sustainable Forest Management

Angola: Fires Cause Negative Impact On Fauna And Flora
AllAfrica.com | 26 Oct 2010
Luanda — Anarchic fires, furtive hunting and illegal fishing cause severe damage in several natural reserves of the country, environmentalist Vladimir Russo denounced today.Speaking to Angop, Vladimir Russo said the conflict between men and animals causes negative impact on the flora and fauna, such as destruction of the habitat of many types and reduction of animal and fish stocks.

Angola | Encroachment on Ecosystems | Forests and Woodlands | Impacts on Ecosystems | Wildlife Conflicts

Placing a value on Kenya's largest forest
BBC World Service | 20 Oct 2010
David Shukman looks at the fragile balance of nature in Kenya's Mau ForestThey fall as mere raindrops but quickly transform into cogs in a billion-dollar machine crucial to the future of a nation's economy. That's the startling conclusion of new research into the economic value of the preserving...

Road threatens Serengeti migration
Guardian Unlimited | 20 Sep 2010
Plans for a new road that would cause the Serengeti ecosystem to 'collapse' is attracting international concern • In pictures: Wildebeest migration under threatThe world's greatest migration spectacle - the annual charge of nearly 2 million wildebeest, zebra and other mammals across the Serengeti...

Uganda: Government Gives Sh40 Billion to Clean Urban Water
AllAfrica.com | 28 Jun 2010
The Government has allocated about sh47b ($20.3m) for the improvement of water quality in the Lake Victoria catchment areas. Lino Musana, the national project coordinator, said about sh13.8b ( about $6 million) has been allocated to the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) for the...

Uganda | Encroachment on Ecosystems | Urban Environment | Water Pollution

South Africa: Limited Harvesting of Abalone to Resume
AllAfrica.com | 21 Jun 2010
THE government has lifted a two-year ban on commercial harvesting of abalone, which will benefit communities on the southwest and west coasts of the country that rely on the product for their survival. The harvesting of wild abalone was stopped in February 2008 to allow it to recover from poaching and the ecological effects of the West Coast Rock Lobster on abalone.

South Africa | Encroachment on Ecosystems | Habitat Loss | Threatened Species

Ethiopia: Protest targets Italian government over Ethiopian dam disaster
AllAfrica.com | 15 Jun 2010
Demonstrators outside the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome today will urge the government to deny Ethiopia €250 million for construction of the controversial Gibe III dam.Gibe III, which is being built by Italian firm Salini Costruttori with equipment provided by US company Harsco Corporation, will destroy the natural flood cycles along Ethiopias Omo River. The Lower Omo Valley tribes depend on the rivers floods for their survival. They have not been consulted about the dam.

Ethiopia | Encroachment on Ecosystems | Hydropower

Uganda: What Environment Will Our Children Inherit?
AllAfrica.com | 11 Jun 2010
ON July 26, 1989, I was part of the six Ugandans, all members of Mountain Club of Uganda, who set out on an expedition to scale Margharita Peak (5,109 metres). This is the highest point in Uganda, covered by the Stanley glacier. As we continue to cut trees indiscriminately to meet the ever increasing energy needs of our urban dwellers, it would be naïve for us to think that urbanisation is not an enemy to the environment.

Uganda | Encroachment on Ecosystems | Environmental Impacts

Nigeria: Kogi to Plant Over 100,000 Trees
AllAfrica.com | 08 Jun 2010
The Kogi State will soon begin to plant over 100, 000 species of trees to address the ecological problems in the state. The state Commissioner for Environment and Physical Planning Architect Muhammed Sule disclosed this on Saturday in Lokoja, the state capital at the 2010 World Environment Day.

Nigeria | Biotechnology | Encroachment on Ecosystems

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