THEGUARDIAN,Mon~lune27.2on
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The Environment Nigeria, Cameroon launch $14.7m chimp rescue plan ConserVatIon r"'MEROON imd Nlgeri.1 '-...plan to enurge tOOr prolC'Ctm ~ ~reas and boos!
IMATE adaptation offers ompetlt~ ildvantages to businesses worldwide. ilccordlng to the new repon.. Adapting for a Gre-en Economy: Companies, Communities and Climate Change-, jointly released tooay by lhe UN Global Compact, rhe UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Oxfilm and tfie World Resources Institute. In mponse toa sun'q'ofglobal busineues, 86 pt'r (I"nl descnbed respondmg ro dlmate risks or inveillng In adaptallon as a business op,ponun1tlt 8usiness can only mrive in mble .md enabling environments: saki Georg Kt:Il6eculive director of the UN Glob,1I COm~ct. "Climate adaptation offen a pathW<ly to help communities that are ill~dy feeling tht' devastat· Ing fmpacts of climate cha~ /II. the- lilme time. It creates iI we-alth of new opportunide:s for the private
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senor.·
OriIwing on the results of a 2010 sul"o'tY among companles engaged in Caring for
Professional Practice A. NEW group, African /'\federation of Environmental Jo urn;a:lJsts {AFEIl has emerged as conti nental organisatio n o f the International Federation of Enviro nmental Jo urnalists As iI contJnent<l1 group or ournallsts and media wor en In Africa AFE! will be Involved in trade union dC'Wlopment and joumillJst· s· ...."I"lfareand e-mical jOurnal Ism In the media Industry In Af"~
The endaI1.ered c:himparu:"
Cameroon plans tomiaIgl' tis prot:f'Cted areas by 10 mIllion hectares (24.7 million acre:s~ bycreatlng 10 new pilrks or ~rves thill would boost the country's conservation .lIN 10 21 per cmt of its Iotal
LlndSUl'facr. from 19 perCC'flL There was no specific pledge from Nigeria, but Nigntm environment minister John Odey suggoted the country woukl pby its pan In thejojnt~effon.
-our conviction Is_ that lhC' such as
proposed
1TIC'aSU~
~ protection of forest habitatsandthcmnoulofhunting. wi1Jgmerate an i~ln ilie chimpiUlm' population, and illso Ixnent many other
unique- and eoclangemi primates,' he QkJ.. The plan Includes education programmes for local communftles and Increasing 5ClJJ such as park ~ on
""ground.
UNEp, Oxfam get global compact report on climate change Clitnate Chan e '
mental journalist body debuts
l'fE11:
=scil~~nC~i~=~U~ spKies (rom gorng utlnct because of hunting md habitat destruction. Sdentilits say tM Nigeria-Cilme-foon subspecie-s Is amo ngst the- most endan· ge-rrd o f the chlm~nlC'6, hUmanity's closest IMng reb1M, whkh lives only In Afrka. and Nige-rian Carneroonian orflcl.1b L1unchC'd a rr.'e-)'C'M S,u mlJlion pun LO uy to RSC\IC' the ape. wh k h hasbC'm rdC'ntlessIy hunuod 10 fC"C'd r.hC'thrtvfng bush meat OOJde 0100 S«fllhe forests in which It dwells d~royrd for logs or to maier Wit'j for p.1lm oi~ rubber or t»nal\il pianlatkms. ~e Nlgeriaumeroon subspecies Is _ most e-ndangered: Came-roon's wildlifeminister Elvis Ngolle Ngolletold RrutefS. -we _ muSI srrure them for posterity. In us _ ensure the conservation of thesr animals that shar!' a large proportion of our genet· Icmalerlae II I~ only in Ihe rain fo rested a~ nonh o f Cameroon's Sanaga RMr, and In dwindling flnSt fi<txmC"nts In thC' Nige-r Delta 0100 other parts of southern Nigeria. Its population Is estimated to be anYwhen- bI:twrm J,500 . 9.000 individuals left.
African enviro~
The report offers practical solutions for climate re silience and recommends that businesses integrate climate adaptation into core strategic planning and build a portfolio of climate-resilient goods and services.
risks and d~lop Innova~ strategies toadapt to climate change are likely to be the winners and gain a com~1tive advanta~ moving for·
dimate, the Joint climate .lction platform of the UN Global Compan and UNEP, the- study malees the business GISIe for priv.lte sector adaptAtion to climate change In ways that build the miliena' ol v\lInC'filbl~communities In developing COUntries. Already, buslnessC'li world· wkle are beginning to see the risks and economlc Impacts of more InqlH'llt And Intense storms, water scardty. dedinIng agricultural productMty .aoo poor he-alth. Launched In 2000, the United Natlon~ Global CDmpaCl Is iI call to companies around the world to .lUgn their strategies .md operaUons with ten universal principles In the- a~as oC human rights, labour. environment and anll-corruptlon. and 10 take .action In suppon of broader UN goals. through the development, Impleme.malion. and dlsdoSU~ oC mponsible corporllte polldes and pJ<lCtk:es, busJ.. n~ can hefp ensure that
The study recommends, .mong others, that businesses Inlegrllte climate adapt• • tion Into core strategiC pun· nlngand build a ponColio of climate-resilient goods and SC'rvices. Addressing (MJlicy makers, the authors all for stronger policy and nnance commitments to adaptation, finandal and risk·reductlon in«'ntl~ to stimulate the marlert, and fornew formsoC publlc·prtvate pannershlps. ·Communlties around the world are already deilling wllh the Im~Cl5 of clllTl;lte ch.lnge,- said Raymond C. OffennelsC'r, President of Oxfam America.. ·Slnce companies depC'nd on communItymembers;H ruppliers.cwLOmers ~OO empl~ and need (0 counl on local servlc· es and inCrastrucrure to be able to operate efficle-ntly, the well-beIng or commun}. lies on the fromUnes or clImate changco and the viabilJ.. tyof companies are Intricately Intertwined.·
markm <1dvance In WilY' that benefit economies ana sodetles C'Wrywh~re.. With mo~ than6,OOOcorporllteslgnat~
rit'S In OVN OS countries, It is the- lWrid's largest corporlllC' responsibility InJtliI~ Ac:lllm Steiner, UN Under· Secretary General and UNEP fJcecutM Director. wid: 'We lilo"l" (n a YIOrld whe~ uueme WNther tvrnts on one day GtJl move food ilOO fuel prices the next. Impact· Ing vulnerable- and poor com· munities and a company's supplvctlJoln. We also lIVe In a wOrld where Infrastructure established decades ilgo will become Increaslngly;lt risk to events such as norm surges ;and high winds, that In tum thll'atm the viability of the bWlness-as-usual models of the ~ and the ~lits or losses of firms for the future.. ~ ~ere a~ mUltiple rusons why the worid urgently needs a tfimsitlon to a low<arbon, ~urce effiCient Green Economy. (ncludlng climate change and .ldaptfng to Its
Impacts. This r!'pOn under· lines that cllmate-proofing Is not just a responsibility of governments, but should be at the centre of more and more comp.lnin' business mooels and fOrWoJrd-looking corporate strategies: he added. The study suggests acllons that companIes ;lnd policym.lkers can pursue to at· alyze .lnd snle up private senor engagement. Confimll ng the- notion that the- climate- thre-ats many communities fac~ are a lso business risks. III percent of companies surveyed responded that climate changrlm paCU pcse;l risk to their products and service. -BUSinesses are facing Incrraslng chal1~nges from the rise In extreme weather eve.nu- such as dro~h15. heat WilveS and floods, ~id Ma.nish Bapna, managing dlr«tor, World ResoUrces Institute. ·In this changing environment, companies that move first toaddro.s the
ward.·
ArEj, according fO Akanlmo Re-ports. is corning after online consultations among the African erwlron· ment,jl journ,lIlsts particu l.ltly for those who ar!' the members of the International federation of Envlronme-nlal Journalists ( IFEJ ~ II aims to unite Aftican affiflates of the International Federlllion of Environmental Journalists to belte-r meet challenges faced by the pe0ple of Africa across th~ contInent. The promine-nt liberian lournalist, Jacob Eagan Bright, -0 was elened the chairperson of the federa · tion and other directors are vlc~ chairperson Ama Kudom·AR;yemang from Ghana and coordinator of west Africa region, D.llla Abdel·Salam from Egypt coordlRiltor of Nonh Afiica, Alain GilShaka from Burundi coordinator of Ea~1 and Cenn..] AfriCii region. Daud Abdl Dilud from Somalia Secretary General and George Ke-baso from Ke-nya communications ofrKer. ArId they discussed deeply how It could do to he-Ip them covt'r environmenlallssuC'S. The new federation will spC'arhead a moo."l" SC'C'klng to expand and Improve the media cOVl:'rage of the Itry (ontinentaJ Issues, Including climate change, the environ· ment, human rights. migration, pe.l~keeplngand secu· rity. public health, trade, cor· porate social responsibility. And its main office will be" liberfa bUI will have also three brllnches one In East and central Africa, the SK' ond one in SoUl hem Africa and the- third one- In Nonh Africa. Environmental problems constitute one of the key challenges on the African contin~nt in the 21st c~ntury. Focus is gradually shiJt· Ing from pontles, wan, and overty to envlronmenul $sues. This Is mainly the muil of the de~lopment of new tKhnologtes, whkh has generated an Increase In solid mine-ral mining, 011 aplorllllon, an Incrrase In the numberof pl;Jnts and fac· tories. and the overall upsur~ In the applicalion of manufilcturing tools. The quality and richness of ternsoial. frcsh ...... tu, and marine environments have been pol1ute-d and subsequentlydeclined It Is th~ll'rore safe- 10 say Ihat new developments In industry and manuracturing are the root c.auses of cmrf. ron mental degradnlon CM'r the past three ilecades.
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