Africa Report on New and Emerging Challenges

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Africa Report on New and Emerging Challenges

• Ken B. Johm
• Manager, Natural Resources and Environment
  Management Division
• African Development Bank

Seventh Session of the Committee on Food Security
and Sustainable Development The Experts
Segment of the Africa Regional Preparatory
Conference for the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio20)
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

• Objectives and approach
• Key messages
• New and Emerging Challenges
• Issues, Challenges, Actions taken
• Opportunities
• Recommendations

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OBJECTIVES AND APPROACH

• Synopsis on New and Emerging Challenges
• The intent is to highlight
• Challenges and opportunities
• Avenues to address challenges and harness
  opportunities presented by challenges
• Basis global literature will be complemented by
  detailed regional reports

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NEW AND EMERGING CHALLENGES

• The new and emerging challenges addressed are
• Biodiversity and ecosystem loss,
• Climate change,
• Water scarcity,
• Food crisis,
• Desertification,
• Energy crisis,
• Youth unemployment and
• Financial and economic crises

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KEY MESSAGES

• Mixed progress towards achieving sustainable
  development goals within the context of poverty
  reduction.
• Some progress areas
• Biodiversity protection
• Combating desertification
• Access to improved water sources
• Agricultural production
• Education
• Emerging challenges - climate change, water
  scarcity, and the food, economic and financial
  crises - slowing down rate of progress

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KEY MESSAGES

• Additional resources are required to meet targets
• Coordinated and harmonized approaches are
  necessary to focus efforts and avoid duplication
• Integrated approaches and leveraging
  opportunities across sectors
• Commitment needs to be reaffirmed
• Capacity is needed at various levels
• Effective monitoring of progress and sharing of
  experiences are essential

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BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEMS LOSS

• TARGET
• Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a
  significant reduction in the rate of loss
• STATUS
• Expanding agriculture
• Clearing of forests for fuel and agriculture
• Loss of wetland ecosystems (e.g. large systems
• Lake Chad and Inner Niger Delta loss gt 80
• ACHIEVEMENTS
• Increased protected areas
• 14 land area in Eastern and southern Africa
  protected10 in Central and West Africa and 7
  land area in North Africa
• Increasing use of ESIAs
• More than 90 of African countries have NBSAPs

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BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEMS LOSS

• OPPORTUNITIES
• Integrated approaches
• Green Economy strategy
• CC adaptation and mitigation programs

• CHALLENGES
• Failure to achieve targets
• Adverse effects of Climate change on habitats
• Failure to integrate biodiversity with other
  sectors
• Identifying and exploiting key inter-linkages
  e.g. with climate change, water and agriculture

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WATER SCARCITY

• STATUS
• Mixed progress
• Access to safe water remains lt 60 in over 20
  countries with deterioration of access levels in
  20 countries
• Low level of water resources development and
  infrastructure limitations
• Average per capita storage lt100m3/yr compared to
  gt1, 000m3/yr in developed countries.
• Increasing (physical and economic) water scarcity
• ACHIEVEMENTS
• gt90 access in more than 13 African countries
• More than 15 of African countries achieved MDG1
  by 2008
• Promotion of integrated water resources
  development and river basin / watershed
  management plans
• Water and Sanitation Trust Fund established
• Water for African Cities Programme addressing
  urban water crisis
• Facilitation of IWRM by the GWP by 2006, over
  70 African countries implementing IWRM plans

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WATER SCARCITY

• Economic water scarcity in SSA need resources
  to develop infrastructure
• Many competing uses
• Agricultural is largest user (e.g. South Africa)

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WATER SCARCITY

• CHALLENGES
• Water resources management
• Potential adverse impact of Climate change on
  water quantity and quality
• Water quality degradation due to anthropogenic
  effects and industrial activities such as mining
• Weak and fragmented institutions
• Poor technical and financial capacity
• Inadequate political and financial support.
• Effective integration / harmonization with other
  sectors

• OPPORTUNITIES
• Relevance of water interventions for other
  sectors (energy, agriculture, environment)
• Relevance for delivery of MDGs
• Inter-linkages with other sectors
• Energy
• Climate change adaptation measures
• Agriculture
• Biodiversity

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FOOD CRISIS

• STATUS
• Mixed results for MDG1 some progress, but more
  work ahead
• Highest under-nourishment among all regions
• Nearly 240 million people in SSA undernourished
• Increasing proportion of undernourishment in
  other countries
• Food crisis slowing down progress for MDG1
• ACHIEVEMENTS
• Achievement of MG1 by some - the Congo, Ghana,
  Mali, and Nigeria
• Considerable progress in others e.g. Mozambique

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FOOD CRISIS Achievements

• Increased yields and agricultural growth through
  increased investments in agricultural RD

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INCREASING AGRICULTURAL GROWTH
Several countries have passed target others
making progress
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FOOD CRISIS

• CHALLENGES
• Persistent high food prices
• Market weaknesses
• Low productivity and water efficiency
• Adverse impact of Climate change on crop yields
• Increasing water scarcity
• Global economic and financial crises
• New challenges
• competition for land and water resources
• Trade-offs between cash and food crops
• Emerging land dynamics

• OPPORTUNITIES
• Commercial agriculture and improved farming
  systems
• Capacity building as medium to long term response
• Broader opportunities from investments in water
  infrastructure

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ENERGY Electrification rate

• STATUS
• Low rate of electrification in SSA.
• High dependence on charcoal and wood for cooking,
  heating water, and heating homes ? a threat to
  forest resources

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ENERGY Some Actions

• Formulation of the Programme for Infrastructure
  Development in Africa (PIDA)
• Investments in hydropower
• Inga hydropower plant in the DRC capacity of
  39,000 MW and potential for regional
  interconnected electricity network
• Bujagali power plant in Uganda
• Itezhi-tezhi hydropower plant in Zambia, a PPP
  project
• Regional urban and peri-urban electrification in
  the EAC
• Investments in solar and wind energy South
  Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Cape Verde and the Sahel

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ENERGY

• CHALLENGES
• Energy security
• Access to appropriate energy services in rural
  communities
• Environmental impacts of adoption of alternatives
  to fossil fuels.
• Inadequate resources
• Barriers Economic, regulatory and institutional
  
• Lack of technical capacity
• Slow rate of adoption of new technologies

• OPPORTUNITIES
• New partnerships and new windows of investment.
• Opportunities linked to the adoption of renewable
  energy options
• Review of policies
• Pursue ways to remove barriers
• Opportunities for skills development, enhancing
  employment opportunities

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DESERTIFICATION

• STATUS
• Most countries have formulated NAPs
• Implementation and elaboration process of the
  NAPs in some countries
• By 2007, 42 countries had developed and adopted
  NAPs
• Some countries have set up National
  Desertification Funds as part of the NAP process
• 4 Sub-regional Action Programmes finalized

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DESERTIFICATION Actions taken
Initiative / program Objectives
The NEPAD Environment Initiative (EI) Combating desertification Finalizing sub-regional action plans for the NEPAD Environment Initiative
The Green Wall for the Sahara Initiative To slow the advance of the Sahara Desert Control land degradation, promote integrated natural resources management, Conserve biological diversity
African Monitoring of Environment for Sustainable Development (AMESD) Environmental Monitoring
GEF OP15 SLM program Supporting activities to combat desertification and mitigate drought impacts. Supporting the implementation of UNCCD and SLM
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DESERTIFICATION

• CHALLENGES
• Slow and ineffective process of integrating NAPs
  into NDPs and PRSPs
• Limited progress in implementing NAPs due to
• Failure to integrate desertification control
  plans into planning and budgetary frameworks
• Lack of capacity
• Lack of resources
• Poverty Levels

• OPPORTUNITIES
• Integrated action leverage climate change and
  biodiversity initiatives

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CLIMATE CHANGE

• Inter-linkages with all sectors impacts on all
  areas on development
• Increasing frequency of droughts and floods
  resulting in destruction of infrastructure,
  crops, land cover, settlements
• Loss of runoff, reduced river flow, limited
  groundwater recharge
• Water stress limited hydropower production
• Salinization of groundwater and surface water
  resources due to sea encroachment increasing
  pressure on water supply infrastructure
• Increased burden of diseases with changing
  patterns
• Changes in agro-ecological zones

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CLIMATE CHANGE Some Actions

• Establishment of the ClimDev Africa Program
• The Green Economy Strategy
• JICA, IDRC and DFID programmes on Climate Change
  Adaptation in Africa
• Ratification and implementation of the UNFCCC by
  African countries
• Preparation of NAPAs
• Launching of the Nairobi Framework in 2006 by
  UNDP, UNEP, World Bank Group, AfDB, and the
  UNFCCC
• Implementation of Programmes under the Climate
  Investment Funds( PPCR, FIP, CTF,SREP)
• Global Environment Facility country allocations

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CLIMATE CHANGE

• CHALLENGES
• Resources to adequately address impacts of CC
• Lack of technology and know-how
• Low adaptive capacity to climate related stresses
  
• Unintended impacts of mitigation and adaptation
  measures

• OPPORTUNITIES
• Climate smart and sustainable agriculture
• Improved crop varieties
• Sustainable land and water management
• Use of renewable energy and improved energy
  efficiency
• Fuel efficient polluting public transportation
• Maintaining ecosystems and biodiversity
  protection

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GLOBAL FINANCIAL ECONOMIC CRISES

• ISSUES
• Growth slowdown in Africa is a result of
  declining trade flows
• Decline in capital inflows and remittances
• Declining tourism receipts
• Economic down turn in 2009 slow recovery from
  2010
• The economy showed signs of recovery in 2010,
  with growth of 2.4, and is expected to grow by
  5 in 2011
• Impacts have been varied across countries
  commodities vs agricultural economies
• Loss of jobs across all sectors

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GLOBAL FINANCIAL ECONOMIC CRISES

• CHALLENGES
• Rising costs of implementing public programs
• Rising costs of basic commodity imports
• Negative impacts on the countries ability to
  achieve MDGs.
• Job losses
• Missed commitments

• OPPORTUNITIES
• New realistic assessments of resources required
• Benefits of integrated actions
• Leveraging opportunities
• Coordination and Harmonization

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YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

• ISSUES
• Africas youthful population percentage of youth
  has increased to about 20.
• The labour markets have not increased at similar
  pace
• Other contributors to youth unemployment
• Skills mismatches between the outputs of the
  education systems and the needs of business
• General shortage of decent work
• Global financial and economic crises

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YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT Some Actions

• Investments in education
• Skills training programs
• Public sector work programmes in Ethiopia and
  South Africa designed to absorb the unemployed
• Business skills training
• Micro-credits to start businesses
• Ethiopias Technical and Vocational Education and
  Training (TVET) to make the educational system
  responsive market needs

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YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

• CHALLENGES
• Improving skills of the youth
• Meeting the quality needs of education
• Job-less economic growth
• The right incentives
• Imports and impact on domestic businesses

• OPPORTUNITIES
• Youth as future skilled labour
• Increasing targeted technical and vocational
  training
• Skill development links to job market

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MEANS OF IMPLEMENTATION

• CHALLENGES
• Lack of Harmonization
• Inadequate resources
• Low and declining flows of ODA and FDI
• Complex institutional structures
• Inadequate capacity
• Engagement of the private sector

• OPPORTUNITIES
• New institutions
• Renewed commitment
• Inter-linkages
• Climate change interventions

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Identify opportunities for inter-linkages and
  enhance leveraging to speed up responding to
  challenges and to improve efficiency of use of
  resources
• Increase the effective use of available financial
  resources and enhance partnerships to achieve
  development goals
• Generate new public and private sources of
  finance
• Improve the capacity for implementing and
  monitoring national policies
• Create opportunities for the coordination of
  implementation mechanisms at lower operational
  levels

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Promote, facilitate and finance appropriate
  access to and the development, transfer and
  diffusion of environmentally sound technologies
  including renewable energy
• Increase use of information and communication
  technologies to enhance effective communication
  and information sharing
• Expedite activities and enhance decision making
  at lower levels to improve land and water
  management
• Mainstream climate change into national planning
  to build resilience and support transformation to
  greener economy
• Increase investment and improve inputs to ensure
  increased yields and productivity in the
  agriculture sector

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION