The latest environmental news from Africa, brought to you by UNEP/GRID-Arendal.http://www.earthwire.org/africa The European Investment Bank is no longer involved in the Gibe III hydroelectric project; the Ethiopian government has found alternative sources of finance. To be Africa's tallest dam Gibe III drew a lot of criticism because of the effect it was likely to have on the food security of at least eight Ethiopian tribes. DN http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=24209 http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=24209 2010-08-21T00:00:00-00:00 AfricaFiles Desertification has long been recognised as a major environmental, economic and social problem for countries the world over. But despite major efforts, which started with the United Nations Conference on Desertification (UNOCD) in 1977, the process of land degradation is intensifying. http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52501 http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52501 2010-08-16T00:00:00-00:00 Inter Press Service A Greek conservation group has made a pit-stop at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi during an environmental road-trip that will cover the length of Africa. The team of nine scientists and artists is visiting renewable energy projects across the continent. http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=646&ArticleID=6718&l=en&WT.rss_f=pr&WT.rss_a=646-6718 http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=646&ArticleID=6718&l=en&WT.rss_f=pr&WT.rss_a=646-6718 2010-08-13T00:00:00-00:00 UNEP An innovation by researchers in Nigeria could be a cure for the devastating Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) - responsible for annual losses in excess of 500 million dollars of crop across East and Central Africa. But it has also fuelled debate on the genetic engineering of crops in Africa. http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52472 http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52472 2010-08-12T00:00:00-00:00 Inter Press Service The race to invent a new energy future is not waiting for the last sack of coal to be dug out of the ground. Ironically, this new energy future is being shaped despite the intensity of coal use in a somewhat out-of-step South Africa today. AB http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=24160 http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=24160 2010-08-11T00:00:00-00:00 AfricaFiles Approximately 500,000 trees have been planted around the city of Juba, in South Sudan, as part of the <i>Keep Juba Green</i> Campaign, launched by the South Sudan Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and the Environment in cooperation with UNEP. http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=628&ArticleID=6633&l=en http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=628&ArticleID=6633&l=en 2010-06-28T00:00:00-00:00 UNEP While the global community is fighting wars on many fronts, the Commonwealth Secretary-General has said that there is no greater fight than climate change, "where the battle for the forest represents the front line, and the very thick of the action." "We know that by protecting forests from deforestation and degradation, and by restoring forests that have been lost, we can make a huge contribution to the global effort to avoid catastrophic climate change," http://allafrica.com/stories/201006281346.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006281346.html 2010-06-28T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com On the occasion of the 2010 World Environment Day that was recently celebrated globally, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Nigeria, Daouda Toure, sheds some light on the extent of the UN body's initiatives to address challenges related to biodiversity loss and climate change http://allafrica.com/stories/201006280983.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006280983.html 2010-06-28T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com The Bauchi State Commission for Youth and Women Rehabilitation and Development (BACYWORD) has procured three recycling plants for installation in each of the three Senatorial Districts in the state expected to generate over 5,000 jobs to the unemployed youths across the 20 Local Government areas in the state. http://allafrica.com/stories/201006281106.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006281106.html 2010-06-28T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com The Government has allocated about sh47b ($20.3m) for the improvement of water quality in the Lake Victoria catchment areas. http://allafrica.com/stories/201006281212.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006281212.html 2010-06-28T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) Unlimited has admitted another oil spill from its facility at Qua Iboe oil field but declined to disclose the volume of crude lost in the fresh spill, which brings to three the number of such incidents since January this year. http://allafrica.com/stories/201006281057.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006281057.html 2010-06-28T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com In a bid to improve waste management and environmental protection, the Ministry of Infrastructure is set to promote the biogas programme in all schools and prisons across the country. Pascal Karemera, the Quality Assurance Director and Biogas Project Manager at World Vision, said that the project, which will be completed by September, estimates to reduce the use of firewood by 50%. http://allafrica.com/stories/201006280822.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006280822.html 2010-06-28T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com AS a country highly dependent on agriculture and especially lifestock farming, it has become a matter of urgency to recover the productive capacity of our land. These remarks were made by the Governor of the Erongo Region, Samuel Nuuyoma, at Omatjete on Thursday. He said food security is threatened by desertification and biodiversity loss everywhere in the world. "We are concerned as such that information and knowledge on desertification becomes essential to be shared with all at all levels. http://allafrica.com/stories/201006250088.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006250088.html 2010-06-25T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday decried the failure of oil multinationals operating in developing countries to effectively address issues of environmental degradation, particularly oil spills and pollution, compared to what the BP was forced to pay for cleaning up a recent spill in the Gulf of Mexico. http://allafrica.com/stories/201006250437.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006250437.html 2010-06-25T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com A resident of the New Georgia Community, John Weah Jr., has called on residents of the New Georgia community to pay attention to the environment in which they live.Mr. Weah said if the community takes good care of their environment and live in harmony, as well as seeking the welfare of their neighbours, brothers and sisters and make it their concern, he added, a lot could be achieved. http://allafrica.com/stories/201006250462.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006250462.html 2010-06-25T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com In a bid to protect the coastal environment of West Africa from hazardous waste, a modern laboratory has been set in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, to improve the port's waste monitoring standards. http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=628&ArticleID=6626&l=en http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=628&ArticleID=6626&l=en 2010-06-24T00:00:00-00:00 UNEP After a heavy afternoon downpour, 40-year-old James Okwalinga slowly limps towards his groundnut farm with a smile. "Farmers rushed for the exotic or hybrid groundnuts because they mature fast, taking about 90 days or three months to mature, but they are not drought-resistant," Omoding saids. "Most farmers who had abandoned the local groundnuts which take up to 120 days to mature and are drought resistant lost most or all of the crop," http://allafrica.com/stories/201006240667.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006240667.html 2010-06-24T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com Dynamite fishing here has been singled out as a major challenge for the newly established Tanga Coelacanth Marine Park Authority. http://allafrica.com/stories/201006240769.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006240769.html 2010-06-24T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com More than ten million people across West Africa are facing severe hunger and malnutrition because of drought, poor harvests and rising food prices, warns the international aid agency, Oxfam, which has launched a £7 million emergency appeal to help more than 800,000 of the most vulnerable people. http://allafrica.com/stories/201006240258.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006240258.html 2010-06-24T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com Dr Ngeri Benebo is a medical doctor by profession and the pioneer Director General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NERSEA. In this interview she bares her mind on the battle the agency is waging to ensure healthier and safer environment for Nigerians http://allafrica.com/stories/201006240289.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201006240289.html 2010-06-24T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com