NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - When Dr Leah Tsuma, the founder Asticom Limited succumbed to cancer in August 2021, her idea of converting municipal waste from Kibera slum into some 10 mega watts of electricity seemed to have died too. But, three years down the line, the dream has become a global topic, with scientists calling on the world to start turning rubbish into resources.
During the 2024 United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi, the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report offering assessment of global waste management and an analysis of data concerning municipal solid waste management worldwide.
“Waste generation is intrinsically tied to GDP, and many fast-growing economies are struggling under the burden of rapid waste growth,” observed Inger Andersen, the Executive Director at UNEP.
Generally, municipal waste is generated wherever there are human settlements. It is influenced by each person in the world, with every purchasing decision, through daily practices and in the choices made about managing waste in the home. According to the report, the world generates two billion tonnes of municipal solid waste every year.
One study shows that between 400,000 and one million people, most of them in developing countries die every year as a result of diseases related to mismanaged waste that includes diarrhoea, malaria, heart disease and different types of cancer.
On biodiversity, scientists have pointed out that indiscriminate waste disposal practices can introduce hazardous chemicals into soil, water bodies and the air, causing long-term, potentially irreversible damage to local flora and fauna, negatively impacting biodiversity, harming entire ecosystems, and entering the human food chain.
On the climate change front, a different report by UNEP shows that methane, which is a greenhouse gas is released from the decomposition of organic waste in landfills and dumpsites thereby directly contributing global warming.
And now, the new report finds that getting waste under control by taking waste prevention and management measures could limit net annual costs by 2050 to USD 270.2 billion.
However, projections, according to the report show that a circular economy model, where waste generation and economic growth are decoupled by adopting waste avoidance, sustainable business practices, and full waste management, could in fact lead to a full net gain of USD 108.5 billion per year.
“By identifying actionable steps to a more resourceful future and emphasizing the pivotal role of decision-makers in the public and private sectors to move towards zero waste, this (report) can support governments seeking to prevent missed opportunities to create more sustainable societies and to secure a liveable planet for future generations,” said Andersen.
According to Zoë Lenkiewicz, the lead author of the report, the findings demonstrate that the world urgently needs to shift to a zero waste approach, while improving waste management to prevent significant pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and negative impacts to human health.
“Pollution from waste knows no borders, so it is in everyone’s interests to commit to waste prevention and invest in waste management where it is lacking. The solutions are available and ready to be scaled up. What is needed now is strong leadership to set the direction and pace required, and to ensure no one is left behind,” said Lenkiewicz.
The scientists are therefore calling on counties to adopt the circular Economy scenario, which has a net-positive effect on greenhouse gas emissions and human health, and reduces significantly the negative impact on ecosystem quality.
In his speech at UNEA’s high level segment, President William Ruto said that such efforts in shared resources such as oceans will call for international collaboration.
“International collaboration is crucial in promoting the adoption of the "reduce, reuse, and recycle" life cycle approaches to waste that are vital for sustaining the blue economy and its ecosystems,” said Ruto. “We are (currently) implementing the Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan to shift waste management to a circular economy,” he added.
So far, according to Eath.org, Germany has been celebrated as a world leader in recycling of municipal waste, thus becoming the benchmark for other countries when it comes to implementation of greener practices of waste disposal.
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Environment experts are touting the REDD+process as one of the most promising opportunities to address the most compelling challenges of climate change in Africa.
However the question by stakeholders on the accessibility of REDD+ finance at scale if countries deliver on their promises and how capacity building will be supported to address expectations from it, lingers on.
It is against this backdrop that the African Forest Forum (AFF) and the UN-REDD Programme are co-organizing an innovative four-week long Community of Practice (CoP) approach, “to catalyze a good understanding of REDD+ finance types and sources, as well enhance knowledge of the result-based financing architecture including carbon markets and associated standards, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, other financial instruments supporting the REDD+ process in Africa,” says a press statement from AFF.
The CoP approach that will run from 15 April to 10May, 2024 accordingly, will integrating both web-based discussion and a series of webinars on the theme “Unlocking sustainable solutions for effective REDD+ Result Based finance in Africa.”
The discussions are expected to bring to fruition the exigencies of designing REDD+ Strategies with a wide national lens and efforts to acquire financing, according to the release.
“It will help to explore opportunities to support countries in deepening their engagement with forest carbon markets, that could contribute to harnessing carbon finance as part of their National climate Action strategy.It aims to ensure a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the critical dimension of REDD+ process and finance, stimulate experience sharing among community members, invited guest speakers and experts. The sharing of country and experiences and learning from other members of the community will better improve understanding of the REDD+ process” the release stated.
According to UN REDD+, many countries in the Africa have made tireless efforts to integrate REDD+ into their National planning policy and financing processes. Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia, among others, recognize investments in key sectors of the economy and the need to realign investments in these sectors to REDD+. Through an analytical mapping exercise related to land-use investments, Cote d’Ivoire has been able to re-align investments to REDD+. Ethiopia has positioned REDD+ in its Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) Strategy and Zambia has integrated REDD+ into the implementation matrix of its 7th National Development Plan.
The CoP discussions on REDD+ process accordingly will provide unprecedented opportunity to engage in dialogues at continental and national scale to weigh into what type of policies and measures based on the discussions around the drivers of forest changes, are needed within REDD+ Strategies and how these can be achieved.
Among other expectations, the discussions the release notes “will, enhance knowledge of the REDD+ process and the implementation status in Africa,improve understanding of the importance of REDD+ finance within the framework of the financial instruments for nature-based solutions to climate change,improve understanding of the REDD+ finance types and sources including public upfront finance and results-based finance,equip participants with knowledge of available forest carbon markets (compliance or voluntary),enhance understanding of different carbon schemes and standards (such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards (CCBS), ART-TREES, LEAF process etc) as well as requirements including costs.”
The African Forest Forum is an association of individuals with a commitment to the sustainable management, wise use and conservation of Africa’s forest and tree resources for the socio-economic well-being of its peoples and for the stability and improvement of its environment.
It provides independent analysis and advice to national, regional and international institutions and actors, on how economic, food security and environmental issues can be addressed through the sustainable management of forests and trees.
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Environment experts are touting the REDD+process as one of the most promising opportunities to address the most compelling challenges of climate change in Africa.
However the question by stakeholders on the accessibility of REDD+ finance at scale if countries deliver on their promises and how capacity building will be supported to address expectations from it, lingers on.
It is against this backdrop that the African Forest Forum (AFF) and the UN-REDD Programme are co-organizing an innovative four-week long Community of Practice (CoP) approach, “to catalyze a good understanding of REDD+ finance types and sources, as well enhance knowledge of the result-based financing architecture including carbon markets and associated standards, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, other financial instruments supporting the REDD+ process in Africa,” says a press statement from AFF.
The CoP approach that will run from 15 April to 10May, 2024 accordingly, will integrating both web-based discussion and a series of webinars on the theme “Unlocking sustainable solutions for effective REDD+ Result Based finance in Africa.”
The discussions are expected to bring to fruition the exigencies of designing REDD+ Strategies with a wide national lens and efforts to acquire financing, according to the release.
“It will help to explore opportunities to support countries in deepening their engagement with forest carbon markets, that could contribute to harnessing carbon finance as part of their National climate Action strategy.It aims to ensure a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the critical dimension of REDD+ process and finance, stimulate experience sharing among community members, invited guest speakers and experts. The sharing of country and experiences and learning from other members of the community will better improve understanding of the REDD+ process” the release stated.
According to UN REDD+, many countries in the Africa have made tireless efforts to integrate REDD+ into their National planning policy and financing processes. Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia, among others, recognize investments in key sectors of the economy and the need to realign investments in these sectors to REDD+. Through an analytical mapping exercise related to land-use investments, Cote d’Ivoire has been able to re-align investments to REDD+. Ethiopia has positioned REDD+ in its Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) Strategy and Zambia has integrated REDD+ into the implementation matrix of its 7th National Development Plan.
The CoP discussions on REDD+ process accordingly will provide unprecedented opportunity to engage in dialogues at continental and national scale to weigh into what type of policies and measures based on the discussions around the drivers of forest changes, are needed within REDD+ Strategies and how these can be achieved.
Among other expectations, the discussions the release notes “will, enhance knowledge of the REDD+ process and the implementation status in Africa,improve understanding of the importance of REDD+ finance within the framework of the financial instruments for nature-based solutions to climate change,improve understanding of the REDD+ finance types and sources including public upfront finance and results-based finance,equip participants with knowledge of available forest carbon markets (compliance or voluntary),enhance understanding of different carbon schemes and standards (such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards (CCBS), ART-TREES, LEAF process etc) as well as requirements including costs.”
The African Forest Forum is an association of individuals with a commitment to the sustainable management, wise use and conservation of Africa’s forest and tree resources for the socio-economic well-being of its peoples and for the stability and improvement of its environment.
It provides independent analysis and advice to national, regional and international institutions and actors, on how economic, food security and environmental issues can be addressed through the sustainable management of forests and trees.
African environment activists have called on the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6), underway in Nairobi, Kenya, to order the global industry to turn the tide on the menace of solid waste, mainly plastic pollution and hazardous agrochemicals.
According to Philip Kilonzo, a Nairobi-based environment activist and a smallholder dry-land farmer, several groundbreaking resolutions have been made since UNEA-1. Still, there has never been any global commitment to ensure that they are implemented.
“A good example is the declaration to end the use of disposable plastic materials issued at UNEA 5.2,” said Kilonzo. “But what have we achieved? On average, African countries have made quite progressive commitments, and actions are evident in countries like Kenya and Rwanda. But countries like Korea are headed in the opposite direction, with plastic bags being used to wrap everything, including oranges and bananas.
He added: “Most of the plastics end up in oceans, and since oceans have no boundaries, they transport them to countries that are making efforts to abide by international rules.”
Integrated approaches for a water-secure world
So far, the 2024 UNEA will push for implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, advancing integrated approaches for a water-secure world, and going for responsible mining and sustainable mineral and metal use.
The assembly will also seek action on advancing cooperation concerning nutrients, especially phosphorus, reviewing climate-altering technologies and measures, and aligning the financial system for sustainability.
However, African activists feel that agriculture should have been one of the major factors, considering this year’s theme; ‘effective, inclusive and sustainable multilateral actions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.’
According to Dr Million Belay, the Coordinator for the Alliance for Food Sovereignty for Africa (AFSA), agriculture is one of the main sources of environmental degradation and pollution globally. “As a continent, we need to shift towards sustainable agriculture, heal our soils which synthetic fertilizers have acidifed, move away from agrochemicals, some of which have been banned for use in their countries of origin,” he said.
Unacceptable risks to human health and the environment
A report released in 2023 by Route to Food Initiative (RTFI), a program of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, confirms that African countries are being used as dumping grounds for some of the most hazardous agrochemicals.
The report titled Toxic Business: Highly Hazardous Pesticides in Kenya revealed that almost half of the pesticides used in Kenya (44 percent) of the total volume are already banned in the European Union due to their unacceptable risks to human health and the environment.
So far, the country’s Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) is reviewing the status of some active ingredients on selected pesticides considered Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) for phased withdrawal by December 2024.
Unique platform for decisions and new ideas
“The world has reached the peak, and we must change the mode of production and consumption and address climate change comprehensively,” said Dr Mithika Mwenda, the Executive Director of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance.
“The delegates should reflect on all the resolutions and decisions made in the past five years to see how different countries have implemented them,” he added, noting that the assembly should develop a global framework for implementing the decisions and declarations.
UNEA, held in Nairobi every two years, is the highest decision-making body on environmental matters in the UN system. The assembly provides a unique platform for decisions and new ideas to chart a bold plan of collective environmental action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
