Environment

Sudan military facilities strike by Explosion and fire

Sudan military facilities strike by Explosion and fire

A fire broke out following an explosion where military facilities are located, in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. The Sudanese local media says that flames...
Five dead in Uganda due to killer disease

Five dead in Uganda due to killer disease

A deadly virus known as the Marbourg has spread in the capital city of Uganda Kampala after a woman travelling to the city has...
John Teelwa, the Kenyan who wants to kiss a million of  women

John Teelwa, the Kenyan who wants to kiss a million of women

John Telwa is a kenyan of 28 years. He has decided to embrace one million women to be included in the...
Green grass

‘Green economy’: empty rhetoric or pathway to future?

World leaders and some 40,000 people converged on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June in the hope of charting a path towards a better,...
Wangari Maathai, the woman of trees, dies

Wangari Maathai, the woman of trees, dies

Kenya’s Wangari Muta Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner, environmentalist and human rights activist, died 25 September at age 71. A mother of...
Ethiopia: A double standard on land related issues

Ethiopia: A double standard on land related issues

Ethiopia Agriculture Ministry, last month, rejected a petition to reconsider the lease of huge forestry lands to foreign companies. Whilst local environmentalists argue that...
Ethiopia: A new law for horticulture producing and exporting enterprises

Ethiopia: A new law for horticulture producing and exporting enterprises

Ethiopian lawmakers have approved a new law to impose a mandatory Environmental and Social Friendly regulation on the country's horticulture producing and exporting enterprises. Ethiopia's...
Ethiopia: Mega irrigation project on disputed river planned

Ethiopia: Mega irrigation project on disputed river planned

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has announced plans to start an irrigation project on the trans-boundary Omo River. The announcement comes in spite of...
Safety measures for hedge-trimmer and chainsaw use

Safety measures for hedge-trimmer and chainsaw use

The use of hedge trimmers has been proven to cause serious injuries. Always utilise them in dry weather, because using electrical equipment on wet...
Effective utilization of oil revenue, transparency and accountability

Effective utilization of oil revenue, transparency and accountability

I recently delivered two lectures on the Effective Utilization of Oil Revenue, Transparency and Accountability and Local Content issues at the annual conferences of...
Morocco: Heavy rains disrupt transport, leave many dead

Morocco: Heavy rains disrupt transport, leave many dead

At least 34 people have been killed and many left wounded and homeless in Morocco after the Northern African country was hit by heavy...
Benin: Flood victims get swift international response

Benin: Flood victims get swift international response

The World Food Program (WFP) and aid groups CARE and Caritas have moved to distribute food to thousands of homeless affected by flooding in...
Sustainable environmental development in Africa gets international backing

Sustainable environmental development in Africa gets international backing

South African researchers are benefitting from a unique partnership between NASA and agencies in Africa and Europe that is sending more than 30 terabytes...
African penguin gets a new lease of life

African penguin gets a new lease of life

The African penguin, a bird native to Namibia and South Africa, is now listed as an endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act...
The bright spots of Millenium Development Goals in Africa

The bright spots of Millenium Development Goals in Africa

Various reports by the United Nations and other international organizations have shown that Africa is facing enormous challenges in achieving the world's anti-poverty Millennium...
Nigerians dying at 40 in Niger Delta?

Nigerians dying at 40 in Niger Delta?

Oil spills are common in the Nigerian Delta. Identifying the cause of this pollution is not an easy task in a complex and violent...
The Deepwater Horizon Spill and its aftermath

The Deepwater Horizon Spill and its aftermath

A seemingly endless flow of oil from under the sea is ominously approaching the American coastlines from Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana to Pensacola, Florida --...
Africa: AU and U.S agree to cooperate on world issues

Africa: AU and U.S agree to cooperate on world issues

High-level bilateral talks between the African Union and the United States on fighting hunger, climate change, and boosting peacekeeping operations has ended with agreements...
African Meteorology Services gear up for climate change

African Meteorology Services gear up for climate change

On the continent most vulnerable to climate change, officials from across Africa have committed to working with international partners to strengthen national weather and...
Swaziland’s green fighter Thuli Makama wins Goldman Prize

Swaziland’s green fighter Thuli Makama wins Goldman Prize

Thuli Brilliance Makama, Swaziland's one and only public interest environmental attorney, Monday became the proud winner of the Goldman Prize for the environment. Her...
Morocco: First African and Arab state to host Earth Day

Morocco: First African and Arab state to host Earth Day

Earth day, one of the trendiest international events is earmarked to take place in the Moroccan capital of Rabat from April 17 to 24....
Climate deal: ‘An essential beginning’ but hard work lies ahead

Climate deal: ‘An essential beginning’ but hard work lies ahead

It was not the agreement that anyone had wanted. But during the night of 18–19 December — as nearly two weeks of contentious talks...
The importance of African Rain Forests to the world

The importance of African Rain Forests to the world

Rain forests are critical carbon dioxide storage sites that are most useful in their natural state. Their removal from the Earth, as is being...
Africa doubts promises after saving Copenhagen climate talks

Africa doubts promises after saving Copenhagen climate talks

Far too often, African leaders have been unable to present a united front on the world stage. Not this time around. At the Copenhagen...
An Ethiopian revolution and a national green hero

An Ethiopian revolution and a national green hero

Gashaw Tahir was shocked when he returned to his native Ethiopia after living overseas and saw how the land had been degraded, as well...
Ethiopia: Meles Zenawi expresses disappointment over climate talks

Ethiopia: Meles Zenawi expresses disappointment over climate talks

Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, who led the African delegation to the United Nations Copenhagen Climate Summit, has indicated that the deal he appended...
Food could become scarce by 2050

Food could become scarce by 2050

By 2050, global food production will have to double from current levels to keep up with a hungry world, but the delicately balanced ecosystem...
Why Mugabe should not have been at Copenhagen

Why Mugabe should not have been at Copenhagen

Mugabe’s land ‘reform’ set off a chain of disasters. Apart from the possibility of soil erosion, desertification and siltation, loss of trees reduces...
Pollution

Nigeria: UN moves to assess oil pollution in the Niger Delta

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has begun its inspection of the polluted communities in the Nigeria’s Niger Delta. A lack of maintenance, oil...
Cimate Change: Time for Africa to aggressively engage in negotiations

Cimate Change: Time for Africa to aggressively engage in negotiations

“For the first time in history,” says Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, “Africa will field a single negotiating team empowered to negotiate on behalf...