Africa Day 2020: African Climate Reality Project along with 25 fellow civil society organisations, are calling on the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) to immediately put in place and publish on the AfDB website a fossil fuel finance exclusion policy that states that the Bank will not fund, provide financial services or capacity support to any coal project on the African … [Read more...]
Africa’s efforts towards eradicating plastics
The ongoing global movement for eliminating plastics is gaining momentum in Africa. Several countries are now taking steps to eliminate the production and distribution of single-use plastics, some adopting a total ban on the production and use of plastic bags. Cameroon, Egypt, Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania have taken the … [Read more...]
Finally, Kenya effects ban on plastic bags
Susan Khalayi, a shopper in Nairobi walks out of a supermarket in the city’s central business district carrying foodstuff, mostly fruits. The goods are packed in an eco-friendly, reusable bag made of cloth. Just a day before, the groceries she bought at the same outlet were packed in plastic bags. That was the norm in Kenya until August 28, when the government effected a … [Read more...]
Kaldi’s goats discover coffee in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. It was discovered by a goat herder named Kaldi in the 11th century. Kaldi’s goats ate some coffee cherries and became energised and as a result, Kaldi gave the cherries a try and was delighted to experience the same effect. Kaldi reported his findings to the abbot of the local monastery, who made a drink with the cherries and found that … [Read more...]
Ethiopian farmers made a desert bloom again
Ethiopia is in the middle of the worst drought in 50 years. It’s the sort of shock to the system we are likely to see more of with climate change. But Ethiopia is also home to a successful experiment to make the land more resilient to drought. If we are going to adapt to our changing world, it’s experiments like these that will show us the way. In the steep fields of … [Read more...]
SIMA celebrates best impact documentaries from around the world
The annual Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA) celebrate the best impact documentaries from around the world that inspire activism, compassion and social transformation. SIMA has announced the finalists for the 2016 edition of their unique initiative. The selected finalists will compete in the two categories Documentaries (Features, Shorts) and Impact Videos (Innovations, … [Read more...]
How will Africa adapt to green energy?
US President Barack Obama has unveiled a final set of rules to cut greenhouse gas emissions in a big initiative which would form a major plank of his legacy as he winds down his term in office. In what has been termed the strongest action ever taken in the United States to combat climate change, the rules will see the country’s hundreds of coal-fired—and polluting—power … [Read more...]
UNESCO publishes climate change guidebook for journalists
African media can and should do more to tell the story of climate change, observes a new UNESCO publication, titled Climate Change in Africa: A Guidebook for Journalists. “This guidebook is part of UNESCO’s overall effort to raise awareness of the interdisciplinary core of climate change, and how journalists can reflect that in their practices”, says Fackson Banda, UNESCO … [Read more...]
Ethiopia opens Africa’s largest wind farm
Africa's biggest wind farm began production in Ethiopia on Saturday, aiding efforts to diversify electricity generation from hydropower plants and help the country become a major regional exporter of energy. The Horn of Africa country - plagued by frequent blackouts - plans to boost generating capacity from 2,000 MW to 10,000 MW within the next three to five years, much of … [Read more...]
Young girl’s wish provides hope
Samantha Paul was supposed to be planning her daughter Rachel Beckwith's birthday party. Instead, she was in Tigray, Ethiopia, pumping water from the wells built in Rachel’s memory. It was the dream her little girl never got the chance to see come true. "She wouldn't believe it, she'd be like awestruck," Paul told NBC News via Skype from Tigray. The Seattle mom herself was … [Read more...]
All of life is infused with spirit
Custodians of Sacred Sites from four African countries are working together to revive tribal traditions and protect their sacred sites and territories. They have released a statement of Common African Customary Laws to protect these sacred places and bring their message to an increasingly detached modern world. The Nanyuki Custodian Meeting in Kenya has drawn up a statement … [Read more...]
Dam will displace half a million people
International NGOs are calling for the halt of the destructive Gibe 3 Dam on Ethiopia’s Omo River. The dam threatens the land and livelihoods of 500,000 tribal people in Southern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya. By ending the river’s natural flood cycle, the dam would destroy harvests and grazing lands along the river banks, and destroy fisheries in Lake Turkana, the world’s … [Read more...]
Crisis in the Horn of Africa
Parts of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia are facing one of the worst droughts for 60 years, and around 20 million people are desperately in need of food, clean water and basic sanitation. Many of the affected people are already living on the margins of survival due to conflict, displacement and chronic poverty. Drought is also not a new phenomenon to the region. However, this … [Read more...]
