by Mukundi Mutasa – SANF 07 No 47
East Africa has launched the second continental report on Africa’s environment, Africa Environment Outlook 2: our environment, our wealth.
The report profiles Africa’s environmental resources as an asset for the development of the continent, and highlights the opportunities presented by the natural resources base in supporting the continent’s development.
Launching the report in Kampala, Uganda’s Minister of State for Environment, Jessica Eriyo, applauded the collaboration between United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the regional collaborating centres.
The Southern African Research and Documentation Centre is UNEP’s collaborating centre in southern Africa, while the National Environmental Management Agency of Uganda represents East Africa.
“This is our product, let’s use it,” said Eriyo.
The African Environment Outlook (AEO) reports are UNEP’s flagship publications for Africa, prepared at the request of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment.
They analyse the current state of the environment and environmental trends in the region, and examine emerging issues such as climate change.
The first AEO, launched in 2002, focused on past, present and future environmental perspectives.
The east African launch of AEO-2 came a few days after a new global report was launched in 45 cities around the globe.
Speaking at the GEO-4 launch in New York on 25 October, Achim Steiner, UNEP’s Executive Director, lamented the slow response of a well-informed society to tackle global environmental challenges.
“The fact that we are in the year 2007, with all the knowledge that we have and with all the capacity to do things differently ” to present to the world at this point a report that essentially says that our response has been woefully inadequate is a very sobering realization,” said Steiner.
On the same day, UNEP released a report acknowledging the significant strides that China has made to “green” the 2008 Olympic Games to be held in Beijing from 4 – 24 August.
South Africa has also launched its first national Environment Outlook and the Imvelo Yethu Youth State of Environment Outlook reports. The Imvelo Yethu report reaffirmed the need to involve all citizens in environmental management.
The National Environmental Management Act in South Africa highlights the special role youths play in development.
“The vital role of women and youth in environmental management and development must be recognised and their full participation therein must be promoted,” the Act says.
UNEP published the first Africa Environment Outlook for Youth in 2006, a report of Africa’s environment as seen through the eyes of Africa’s youth.
The AEO-2 report launch was preceded by the review meeting of the Africa Environment Information Network (AEIN) in the east African sub-region.
The AEIN is now in its second phase of capacity-building for environmental assessment with Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia, being the Phase 2 countries from southern Africa.
The meetings in Uganda focussed attention on disaster management as the country battled to come to terms with the effects of flooding that devastated the eastern, central and northern parts of the country since July.
The floods arrived just when the first season’s harvest was ready, as Uganda harvests its first season produce in July and August due to the double rainy season.
The second farming season usually starts in September. However, the second season planting has been delayed in some areas as a result of too much moisture in the soil.
The United Nations World Food Programme has warned of a looming disaster if the post-flood period is not attended to urgently.
“The situation is dire for hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their homes, their belongings and most of their crops.”
The AEO-2 was also launched at a time when there is concerted effort from governments in the East African Community (EAC) to ban some types of polythene plastics considered a threat to the environment. These plastics have been banned in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania.
The EAC is a five member regional bloc with its secretariat in Arusha, Tanzania. Rwanda and Burundi were formally admitted into the EAC on 18 June 2007.
Tanzania is also part of the 14 member Southern African Development Community.
