28 February 2022
Zimbabwe: As the 26 March by-elections are approaching, the opposition is facing brutality in deeds and words. In Kwekwe at a rally of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), “men armed with spears, machetes, iron bars and rocks” attacked CCC supporters yesterday Sunday, killing one and injuring several. Another rally was dispersed by police using teargas and water cannons – though it had been approved by the High court. “Over the weekend the country’s vice president warned that the opposition would be crushed as lice”.
BBC Africa Live 28 February 2022. 5:50
Climate change and culture: A group of experts set out to find out how exposed African heritage sites are to sea-level rise and coastal erosion in future? Presently, 20% of Unesco world heritage sites on the continent (56 sites) are at risk – by 2050, if climate change proves moderate, that number will more than triple to 191, and it will increase to 198 under a high emission scenario. The “most exposed cultural sites are the iconic ruins of Tipasa (Algeria), the North Sinai Archaeological Sites Zone (Egypt), Saloum Delta in Senegal and Kunta Kinteh in The Gambia. (…) Natural sites most exposed include Marais de la Mekhada (Algeria), Parc National du Diawling (Mauritania) and Lake Burullus (Egypt).”
https://theconversation.com/rising-sea-levels-may-threaten-70-of-africas-heritage-sites-by-2050-177385
Nigeria: The country has done much too little to combat plastic pollution. Lagos alone is estimated to produce 2,250 tonnes of plastic waste per day (total waste: 13,000 to 15,000 tonnes per day). The article details the negative effects of plastic pollution and makes recommendations how to improve matters.
https://theconversation.com/nigerias-plastic-pollution-is-harming-the-environment-steps-to-combat-it-are-overdue-177839
Tuberculosis: It is an emergency, yet remains largely overlooked. “TB incidence remains plateaued at 10 million cases per year. In 2020 (…, because of Covid, world-wide) mortality rose for the first time in a decade to 1.5 million deaths.”
https://theconversation.com/like-covid-tb-is-a-pandemic-and-must-be-treated-as-an-emergency-177559
Côte d’Ivoire: Natural soil fertility in virgin forests is best for high cocoa yields. After 5 to 10 years, fertility decreases, so in order to sustain high productivity, cocoa farmers move to virgin forest. Deforestation and illegal logging are the results. Such logging is well-organised. In 2020, the country lost 47 000 ha of forest in its cocoa belt.
https://enactafrica.org/enact-observer/seeing-the-wood-for-the-trees-in-cote-divoires-cocoa-fields
26 February 2022
Global food prices: With Russia and Ukraine both major producers and exporters of wheat, the already high global food prices are suffering more upward pressure because of the war. This will affect African importers.
https://theconversation.com/how-russia-ukraine-conflict-could-influence-africas-food-supplies-177843
African Fish stocks: Small-scale fishers’ income has reduced by up to 40% over the last decade. African countries must do more to protect them from international competitions. Fishery agreements with the EU are exploitative and favour the Europeans – the revenue that accrues to African states is significantly less than the value of species removed. Then there are illegal fishing activities by European vessels – which the EU is unwilling to do anything against. The article goes on to make suggestions what African states can do to improve matters.
https://theconversation.com/african-countries-must-protect-their-fish-stocks-from-the-european-union-heres-how-177095