Are You Ready to Be Part of the Biodiversity Plan?

The worldwide observance of the International Biodiversity Day commemorates the adoption of the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 22 May 1992 and provides a unique opportunity to foster wide support for the Convention, its Protocols and related action frameworks. The Theme of Biodiversity Day 2024 is: "Be part of the Plan"

This is a call to action for all stakeholders to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity by supporting the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, also referred to as the Biodiversity Plan. As humanity is facing the intertwined triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution, collaborative action is needed from all sectors of society to restore harmony with nature and foster a transition to sustainable socio-economic systems. Adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework in December 2022 was therefore an important step to commit to action that protects nature.

East Africa is globally recognized for its rich biodiversity and iconic landscapes.  Wildlife is a critical asset for East Africa’s future growth and development.  For example, the total direct contribution toGross Domestic Product of nature-based tourism to Kenya and Tanzania is over USD $1.2 billion. Managed well, these resources spur economic growth and improve livelihoods.  However, factors like climate change, wildlife crime, habitat fragmentation, human wildlife conflicts, and urban expansion are threatening conservation efforts.  

Invasive alien species remains as a ‘silent’ but major challenge to biodiversity globally and in East Africa, as it is underappreciated, underestimated, and often unacknowledged. Goal D of the Biodiversity Plan (Invest and Collaborate) focuses on ensuring adequate financial resources, capacity-building, technical and scientific cooperation, and access to and transfer of technology is imperative to fully implement the Plan in addressing the above and other challenges.  But this should not suffer the fate of unfulfilled financial commitments (the USD 100 billion per year) under the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

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Can the First Ever UN General Assembly Sustainability Week Act to Brighten Up Progress on Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy For All?

 

                                              

Today, we enter the last day for the first ever United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Sustainability Week (15 – 19 April 2024) – yet another global gathering, which has brought together global leaders to discuss and debate five critical topics on this year’s General Assembly agenda, in the context of sustainable development: debt sustainability, sustainable tourism, sustainable transport, infrastructure connectivity, and sustainable energy.

What legacy does it leave behind with respect to access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all?

The SDG Summit 2023 that took place on 18-19 September 2023 in New York was clear that world remains woefully off track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, with development challenges compounded by COVID-19, armed conflict, geopolitical tensions, humanitarian crises, and the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

Similarly, the Special Edition of the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023 warns that while lack of progress is universal, it is the world’s poorest and most vulnerable who are experiencing the worst effects of these unprecedented global challenges. It also points out areas that need urgent action to rescue the SDGs and deliver meaningful progress for people and the planet by 2030.

It is a hard fact that in 2023 - the mid-point of the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the picture on progress since the adoption of the Agenda in 2015 is mixed. SDG target 7.1 on ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services is off track, with an estimated 675 million people still without access to electricity and 2.3 billion without access to clean cooking in 2021. Current trends suggest that the world’s shot on the target will fall very wide of the mark in 2030.

Furthermore, The SDG 2023 Report notes that International public financial flows for clean energy in developing countries have declined consistently, even before COVID-19.

At the launch of the African Women Clean Cooking Support Programme (AWCCSP) on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai last year, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan said 80% of households in sub-Saharan Africa rely on wooden biomass for cooking. She said, “Women and girls are disproportionately affected when there is no access to clean cooking solutions. Exposure to toxic fumes affects their health and well-being,” and that the programme will ensure the long hours they spend fetching firewood, are spent on productive economic activities.

President Suluhu said cooking with wooden biomass accelerates deforestation. “This has led to the loss of 3.9 million hectares of forest between 2010 and 2020 in Africa,” she said and pointed out that while access to clean cooking had increased across the world, in Africa it is the use of wooden biomass that is growing.

At this event, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina,  President of the African Development Bank said, “300,000 women and 300,000 children die every year due to respiratory diseases because of simply trying to cook a meal—what is taken for granted in developed economies.” Adesina said the global economic cost of women’s hours spent fetching firewood is estimated at $800 billion annually and the health cost for that is estimated at $1.4 trillion annually. “The risk of women dying from a lack of clean cooking solutions is three times higher than the risk of dying from malaria.”

It is therefore important that the first ever UNGA Sustainability Week goes an extra mile to brighten the future for the thousands of women and children who are currently victims of lack of clean cooking solutions. Scaling up diffusion of clean cooking solutions and options is something that should have been done yesterday – but calls for increased finance and other means of presentation.

As we noted at International Day of Clean Energy, it is also important to pursue and speed up inclusive clean energy solutions where there glaring gaps exist, for example in sub-saharan Africa. 

It is correspondingly important to note that there are inherent dividends in having a sharp progress towards SDG 7, as it is inextricably linked to other SDGs, including poverty eradication, food security, health, education, prosperity, gender equality, employment, transport, ocean, clean water and sanitation, as well as gender equality and the empowerment of women, youth and children. 

EU Deforestation Regulation Raises Anxiety Amongst East African Small holder Coffee Farmers

The EU's new deforestation regulation (EUDR) seeks to ensure that seven commodity products—soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, coffee and rubber, all of which are major drivers of deforestation—will no longer be sold in the EU if sourced from areas affected by deforestation or forest degradation practices. Operators and large traders will need to demonstrate origin, including geo coordinates in an auditable manner, to prove the product/commodity is deforestation free.

A key area of contention is how the EUDR will be implemented. As part of this regulation, the European Commission will create a three-tier benchmarking system to categorize commodity-producing countries and regions as low, standard, or high risk. The system will allow regulators to focus checks on products from high-risk countries, and allow operators to conduct simplified due diligence for products from low-risk countries. ‘However, it seems that the EU is oblivious to the potential consequences of these labels on the affected countries’ reputations. Many are concerned about being categorized as “high-risk”, which could discourage importers from buying coffee.’ notes Coffee Intelligence.

‘The need to prepare for the imminent enforcement of the EUDR and to demonstrate that the provenance of coffee from small scale farmers in East Africa is deforestation-free, is going to be taxing for coffee supply chain actors before entering the EU’, notes Kimbowa Richard, Chairman of INFORSE East Africa. In the meantime, climate change impacts that are pushing coffee farmers into fragile and in ‘more productive’ farmlands in coffee growing areas have been documented for both Robusta and Arabica coffee species. So, how will implementation of the EUDR be, given the structural bottlenecks and historical factors related to absence of property rights for many remote areas where small holder poor farmers are located, given that satellite imagery will need to be supplemented with field realities? How will climate change and the insatiable demand for fuel wood be factored in? How far are the coffee exporting countries ready in terms of facilitating provision of data, to be in line with the EUDR requirements for the coffee supply chain? To what extent are their agricultural extension set ups up to speed to support farmers, exporters and cooperatives to comply with the EUDR?

The stringent requirement of this legislation is of particular concern. For instance, aerial or satellite photography must be provided for every parcel of land used for coffee production. These images must demonstrate no deforestation has taken place and need to be submitted with each trade – or else the entire container can be rejected. In effect, many exporters feel the practicalities of mapping small farms and digitizing farm biodata to enhance sustainable coffee traceability to secure supply of accurate data on an ongoing basis as required under the law, will be very complex and quite costly.

Read the full article from the East African Suswatch INFORSE East Africa E bulletin (February 2024) from here

The Colossal Power of the Century-Old Radio to Promote Sustainability Remains High in Uganda

It is very common for folks in the countryside to tune in their mobile radio sets on phones to listen to their favourite radio news bulletins, talk shows, music and other programmes. It is not unusual to have people call in to interface with talk show hosts on issues of health, economics, politics, fashion, education among others. Therefore, radio remains a key platform for communication and development even if social media has made a huge bang in media relations

On the occasion of World Radio Day 2024, Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, notes that, “Since its creation at the end of the nineteenth century, radio has always been with us, bringing us together around powerful moments and shared emotions. And so, for over a century, it has been informing us, entertaining us, and also educating us, as this year's theme underlines”. The theme of the World Radio Day 2024 is ‘A century informing, entertaining and educating’ reflecting the 100-year-plus milestone of Radio on this planet.

According to the East African Radio Service, each and every day, Ugandans choose one of almost 300 Radios for information, news, announcements, and entertainment. Over 30 million Ugandans tune in regularly, making Radio the most frequently used medium in the country.

Even in the face of the COVID-19 crisis that emerged in late 2019 radio stations played a significant role in keeping communities informed worldwide. For example, radio stations in Uganda and Zambia remained on-air with full programming, though in some cases with scaled-down staff due to curfews. All were broadcasting special shows and public health messages to help combat the virus, while sharing messages of hope for victims

Indeed UNESCO has noted that, 'the on-going utilitarian value of Radio as a relatively free and portable public safety net during emergencies and power outages brought on by natural and human-made disasters such as storms, earthquakes, floods, heat, wildfires, accidents and warfare'.

Uganda still faces environmental problems that call for sensitization campaigns and sustained information updates to the general public. For example, the dangers of single user plastics are appreciated and remain a major discussion issue in public domain. Air quality, water pollution and the rising cost of firewood and charcoal are of concern to many in Uganda and radio stations have been vanguards in providing spaces for the public to share their experiences and perspectives on them. Similarly, weather updates and alerts can still reach the public more effectively through radio than any other media.

Perhaps, this year’s World Radio Day should entice all, to further make full use of the potential of radio in raising awareness, educating, entertaining the public. In doing so, creativity is necessary so as to scale up behaviours that uphold sustainability from individual to community and global levels. This comes in the face of concerning global picture of the SDG progress at the midpoint, where 37% of the SDG targets in stagnation or regression stage