Africa's complex climate system is, unusually, influenced by the three main global ocean basins. Fourth, more funding is needed to promote sustainable development practices, such as creating more resilient communities and climate-proofing cities to help Africans prepare for and respond to the inevitable impacts of climate change (Grant, 2015). WebAfrican environmental issues are caused by human impacts on the natural environment and affect humans and nearly all forms of life. For example, until 2003, the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources - an African wide agreement on the environment - had no provision for a Conference of the Parties or a Secretariat. The currently observed recovery of the rains is projected to continue through the 21st Century, particularly over the central and eastern Sahel. Issues include deforestation, soil degradation, air pollution, water pollution, garbage pollution, climate change and water scarcity (resulting in problems with access to safe water supply and sanitation ). There is strong evidence that warming in Africa has increased significantly over the past 50 to 100 years, with clear effects on the health, livelihoods and food security of people in Africa. What does Africa want from the UN climate summit? Africa has many endangered species of flora and fauna. Garth Meyers, "Environmental Issues in Africa's Cities," Wiley Online Library, (April 2019), https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118568446.eurs0002, Carolyn Lamere, "UNEP Highlights Environmental Impacts on Health in Africa," New Security Beat, (March 2013), https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2013/03/unep-highlights-environmental-impacts-health-africa/, Globe Afrique, "Africa Faces Some Serious Environmental Problems: Greenpeace," Globe Afrique, (November 2016), https://globeafrique.com/africa-faces-some-serious-environmental-problems-greenpeace/, R Clay, "A Continent in Chaos: Africa's Environmental Issues," National Library of Medicine, (December 1994), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7713013/, Akin Mabogunje, "Environmental Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa," Africa Technology Forum, (May 1998): http://web.mit.edu/africantech/www/articles/EnvChall.htm, Scott Fields, "Continental Divide: Why Africa's Climate Burden is Greater," Environmental Health Perspectives 113 no. This change requires broadening the engagement of stakeholders in the post-MDG process, which is imperative to move beyond the reliance on expert insiders and donor communities in the Global North (Grant, 2015). Among respondents who believed that more tax money should be spent on the environment, 62.28% were male and 37.72% female. Though the countries of this continent do not contribute much to the world air pollution, the increasing Water Pollution. Only 0.09% of the respondents reported environmental issues as the most important priority in the country. In South Africa, one in every four women aged 1849 years old has experienced violence from an intimate partner. Swimming pools of the rich driving city water crises, study says. The study population were adults, aged 16 years and older, of both sexes and all races, geographical locations and nationalities. But that change seems to depend on exactly where future heating in the central Sahara peaks, emphasising cruelly the region we least understand. We hope you enjoy this website. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. Climate change poses a significant threat to economic, social and environmental development in Africa. These include a lack of finances, expertise, and data with which to design, implement and monitor effective environmental policies. The report identifies local ownership as being fundamental for success, while high-level political support and access to finance are also crucial. Camilla Adelle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Sudan has a population of 48 million. Environmental issues did not appear in the top 10 most important challenges they identified. The causes of water pollution, and its effects on people, flora and fauna, is currently one of the biggest environmental threats to Africa. It is a matter of social justice that we succeed. UN Climate Change News, 27 October 2020 Increasing temperatures and sea levels, changing precipitation patterns and more extreme weather are threatening human health and safety, food and water security and socio-economic development in Africa, according to a new report devoted exclusively to the WebClimate change. Moreover, Africas drylands are increasingly more vulnerable to climate change and their restoration is a priority for adaptation and building resilient and sustainable food systems. Through efforts such as the ongoing Future Climate for Africa (FCFA), a programme funded by the UK's Department for International Development and Natural Environment Research Council, the experience and insights of African climate scientists have led to a discernible jump in our ability to understand and model African climate. For Africans to deal effectively with climate change, they should not be merely the recipients of advice but also participants in discussions on how to best deal with the challenge. Deforestation is one of the main factors that harm the ecological balance of the entire planet, not 2. Analysis of responses revealed that 77.62% of respondents had negative attitudes towards the environment and 22.37% had positive attitudes. The AU can play an important role in promoting and supporting such research. It is the third largest on the African continent. Second, efforts to reduce the competing challenges could create an opportunity for more awareness around environmental change and development concerns. For many, many countries that are also feeling the devastating impacts of sea level rise or huge floods like the one we saw in Pakistan, or droughts like the one that they're experiencing in the northern part of Africa or the one we're seeing here at home, we know that climate change is also very destructive.. The challenge is to move beyond the rhetoric and translate these high level commitments and plans into action. WebClimate change. This has led to the death of many other animals too. Read about our approach to external linking. The major source of energy here is wood. Here are six charts that tell the story: Sub-Saharan Africa will be the worlds slowest growing region in 2021. Swimming pools of the rich driving city water crises, study says. Credit: WMO/Cornel Vermaak. The finding that females do not prioritise environmental challenges as much as males is an opportunity to inform females about the immediate benefits that climate change strategies could present to the care and daily functioning of their households. In short, for Africa to achieve sustainable development in the face of the grave threat of global climate change, it is vital to increase funding, integrate more local perspectives into the policymaking process, and demand greater accountability from companies that heavily pollute. African countries face a wide array of environmental problems that pose a major threat to people in the region. Top Environmental Issues in Africa in 2023 1. In 2020, 281.6 million of Africans suffered from hunger. The survey was carried out five years ago and the COVID-19 pandemic has since had a huge impact on peoples lives. There are major challenges to the greening of African cities. Its our planet, and if we cannot save it, then no one else can. Africa Day is an annual commemoration of the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on May 25, 1963. What you need to know. To advance its support for Africa even further, the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa was established in 2003 to enhance international support for African development and security and to improve coordination of UN system support. The groups that were inclined to be negative about the environment were: older than 16-19; female; black; less educated; unemployed. Climate change intensifies many existing challenges in Africa. Only 0.09% of the respondents reported environmental issues as the most important priority in the country. Stepping up global efforts to combat land degradation is the only way to safeguard food and water security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ward against future threats to health and the environment, the UN General Assembly President told ambassadors meeting in New York on Monday. Deforestation. Climate change is an issue impacting many countries right across the world, including many in Africa. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Senior Lecturer, Demography and Population Studies, Schools of Social Sciences and Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand. Its a long-term process but it is a sustainable, forward-looking solution, she added. Central Africa, one of three regions on the planet where thunderstorms drive the rest of the planet's tropical and sub-tropical weather systems, lives perilously close to the rainfall minimum needed to support the world's second largest rainforest system. Evidence points to Western industrial aerosol pollution, which cooled parts of the global ocean, thereby altering the monsoon system, as a cause. Water pollution is among the top problems. Deforestation. In 1960 the first peacekeeping operation in Africa was deployed in the Republic of the Congo to ensure the withdrawal of Belgian forces and to assist the Government in maintaining law and order. Air Pollution. It is widely acknowledged that Africa is the continent most vulnerable to climate change and the least equipped to cope. From an extremely modestly resourced lab in Cameroon, for example, Wilfried Pokam and his team of researchers are exposing the way that the central African climate system and southern Africa are linked, thereby breaking the mould of our stubborn piecemeal, regional view of the continent's climate system. Top Environmental Issues in Africa in 2023 1. The AU should encourage member states to do the same. [1] To foster sustainable development in Africa, several policy solutions should be considered. While it is beyond doubt that the war is an existential threat for Ukraine, it is also creating new problems that may affect the environment long into the future. Emerging from one of those rapidly warming oceans, tropical cyclones Idai and Kenneth in March and April 2019 destroyed parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, with Kenneth following a particularly unusual path over Tanzania. Most of the projects assessed in the Review have a strong climate change dimension that not only aims to sequester carbon but also to create jobs and reduce the vulnerabilities of rural people to food insecurity. Write an article and join a growing community of more than 163,400 academics and researchers from 4,609 institutions. Deforestation. PIP: Half of Africa's almost 450 million inhabitants have no access to health services, while two-thirds lack safe drinking water, according to a 1991 report by the World Bank. [We] will continue to push forward on solving these great environmental challenges so that we can ensure that our children and our grandchildren will have a healthy planet., The War in Ukraine and Impact on Environmental Degradation and Climate Change. We need to find out ways on how to save our environment. According to the report, the numbers vary across the subregions; the number of undernourished people reaches about 44% in Eastern Africa, 27% in Western Africa, 20% in Central Africa, 6,2% in Northern Africa and 2,4% in Southern Africa. Degraded forest landscapes intensify the effects of climate change and are a barrier to building resilient and prosperous communities when 60 percent of Africans depend on their land and their forests, said the FAO official. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Our site includes quite a bit of content, so if you're having an issue finding what you're looking for, go on ahead and use that search feature there! Launched during Africa Climate Week, and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the Review of Forest and Landscape Restoration in Africa 2021, shows, that more needs to be done to tap the continents opportunity to return land to sustainable production, protect biodiversity, and shield livelihoods in the battle against climate change. The continent's biggest environmental challenges are water pollution, air pollution, and droughts, which directly impact the health of Africans. The Africa Program works to address the most critical issues facing Africa and U.S.-Africa relations, build mutually beneficial U.S.-Africa relations, and enhance knowledge and understanding about Africa in the United States. Third, there needs to be more accountability for companies that pollute heavily. April 2023. Climate change is likely to lessen crop yields, increase water scarcity, aggravate biodiversity loss and contribute to desertification, hence imposing a severe challenge on the continent. As a result, a growing number of Africans have joined the middle class each year. The environment ranked 17th among respondents top priorities. The African continent will be hardest hit by climate change. Environmental issues were on the list they could choose from. But much of the blame can also be laid at the door of regional organisations like the African Union. Air Pollution. In 2019, NEPAD's mandate was reformed. Climate change is a major threat to food production, and is displacing people and increasing the risks to health globally. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Africa, in particular, suffers from an excess of advice yet a lack of opportunity for real engagement on global issues. The list of third most important issues was dominated by: poverty; corruption; education. To combat these threats, Africa's leaders should evaluate numerous policy solutions. By day, they keep the first Lidar system in central Africa running. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. This is justifiable at present, but many of these issues will be exacerbated by climate change in the future, adding another challenge to the countrys development prospects. These results tell us that economic, social and health competing interests currently overshadow environmental interests in South Africa. WebAbstract. Up to 65 per cent of productive land is degraded, while desertification affects 45 per cent of Africas land area, according to the review. UN Climate Change News, 27 October 2020 Increasing temperatures and sea levels, changing precipitation patterns and more extreme weather are threatening human health and safety, food and water security and socio-economic development in Africa, according to a new report devoted exclusively to the Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation, University of Pretoria. This predicament is partly due to obvious constraints on national governments. The results also suggest where efforts to change perceptions could focus. In eleven African countries, women hold close to one-third of the seats in parliaments, according to Women in Parliament in 2020. Top Environmental Issues in Africa in 2023 1. It is now serving as the first development agency of the African Union. The institutional arrangements for implementation, monitoring and enforcement of environmental commitments are generally weak or absent. The region is almost completely devoid of weather measurements yet it is a key driver of the West African monsoon system, which brings three months of rain that interrupts the nine-month long dry season across the Sahel region, south of the desert. The outbreak has been the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976. The AU has a colossal task in promoting effective environmental governance infrastructure across the continent. The tragic dilemma is that although Africa is the continent that contributes the least to the earth's environmental change, it is the most vulnerable to its impact. This shows there is a common group within the population that could be targeted for environmental and social change movements. The vision and ideals in the Agenda serve as pillars for the continent in the foreseeable future, which will be translated into concrete objectives, milestones, goals, targets and actions/measures. Here, environment came in at 15th (1.04%). At the same time, international financing institutions are restricting investment in electric power projects in Africa to wind and solar on grounds of environmental concerns. The two most extensive land-based end-of-century projected decreases in rainfall anywhere on the planet occur over Africa; one over North Africa and the other over southern Africa, Finally, the capacity for adaptation to climate change is low; poverty equates to reduced choice at the individual level while governance generally fails to prioritise and act on climate change. The continent's biggest environmental challenges are water pollution, air pollution, and droughts, which directly impact the health of Africans. Above all, it requires international cooperation and commitment based on an accurate understanding of the relevant issues. Climate change poses a significant threat to economic, social and environmental development in Africa. Receive daily updates directly in your inbox -, New FAO report highlights urgent need to restore Africas degraded landscape, Review of Forest and Landscape Restoration in Africa 2021, Africa has one billion hectares of drylands, Boost investments in nature to combat climate, biodiversity and land degradation crises, FROM THE FIELD: Restoring life to Ghanas land, UN agency calls for urgent action to protect global soil from depletion, degradation, Restoring nature the test of our generation: UN General Assembly President, UN chief:Desertification and drought destabilizingwell-being of 3.2 billion people, World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. Participants who ranked social challenges as a main priority were also more likely to have positive attitudes towards environmental challenges. Sudan has a population of 48 million. Environmental issues like climate change, air pollution and water scarcity do not stop at national borders. HIV prevalence is at 13.5% and current unemployment is the highest in many years at 33.9%. [1] Africa has an estimated additional 132 million hectares of degraded cropland, which combined with climate change, makes millions more vulnerable. The town where it hasn't rained for five years. The government has started awakening people and has made many efforts to get the conditions under control. WebAfrica + Environment. We've created informative articles that you can come back to again and again when you have questions or want to learn more! Hence, strict measures should be taken by the African government and even the worlds environmental organizations to check these issues before it leads to dangerous consequences. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Males and urban residents were more likely to have negative attitudes to environmental issues than females and rural residents. It can: institutionalise climate change as a security issue and develop a climate security policy, establish a climate change commission and climate change directorate, develop a general framework and plan of action on climate change and, improve public awareness and civil society involvement. It also has fewer resources than other regions of the world to adapt to environmental change. [1] WebClimate change. These must span across multiple sectors like water, transport, energy, agriculture and the environment. An alternate energy source will require money and the continent is not so strong financially, so, this may take a while. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The survey results suggest that South Africans would rather see efforts go into tackling other challenges even though climate change will intensify those challenges. UNEP "Africa: The Challenge," United National Environment Program, (2020). April 2023. Chaos at port as thousands rush to leave Sudan, Air strikes pound Sudan capital as truce extended, Suspected IS chief killed in Syria, Turkey says. PIP: Half of Africa's almost 450 million inhabitants have no access to health services, while two-thirds lack safe drinking water, according to a 1991 report by the World Bank. First, African countries can expand access to energy. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. WebCurrent Issues Deforestation. Degradation in the quality of soil and loss of fertility has also become a very serious concern. New models, developed as part of FCFA, are now run at extremely high resolution with grid spacing of around 4km (2.5 miles) for the entire continent. Environmental issues did not appear in the top 10 most important challenges they identified. The African continent will be hardest hit by climate change. Rwanda and Namibia, two Sub-Saharan African countries, belong to the top ten of the most gender-equal countries, according to the 2021 World Global Gender Gap Report.
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