THE MANAGEMENT OF ECOLOGICAL DISASTER IN THE SAHEL REGION OF AFRICA BY THE UNITED NATONS: THE CAE OF

1
THE MANAGEMENT OF ECOLOGICAL DISASTER IN THE
SAHEL REGION OF AFRICA BY THE UNITED NATONS THE
CAE OF NIGER REPUBLIC.BYOLUYEMI
FAYOMIDEPARTMENT OF POLICY AND STRATEGIC
STUDIES/INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSCOVENANT
INIVERSITY, OTA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIAA PAPER
PRESENTEDAT ECOLOGICAL AND A SUSTAINABLE
SOCIETY CONFERENCE, HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA,
CANADA.JUNE 23-27, 2007
2
WHAT IS SAHEL REGION?

• Sahel means edge or shore of the desert.
• It is a boundary zone in Africa between the
  Sahara to the North and the more fertile region
  to the South, known as the Sudan.

3

• Sahel Region of Africa is an area of low
  rainfall, frequent drought, and few natural
  resources.
• The vegetation is composed of
  mainly stunted and scattered trees, shrubs,
  bushes, and grasses.
• As one moves Southwards towards the tropical
  rainforest, the vegetation cover becomes denser

4
                                                
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                   The coloured countries are the
countries in the Sahel region.
5
REASONS FOR THE UN HUMANITARIAN ROLE

• Article 1(3 and 4) of the United Nations Charter
  
• to achieve international cooperation in
  solving international problems of an economic,
  social, cultural or humanitarian character and in
  promoting and encouraging respect for human
  rights and fundamental freedoms for all without
  distinction as to race, sex , language or
  religion and

6

• To be the center for harmonizing the actions of
  nations in attainment of common ends.

• As the process of globalization accelerates,
  the UN finds itself at the center of world
  events.
• Developmental issues whose resolution require
  international attention .

7

• Examples are Famine, global poverty,
  preventable diseases, typhoon, education,
  migration, climate change, access to water,
  malnutrition, conflict, hunger and bio -
  diversity etc.
• The effects of these global issues are being felt
  in our societies
• The mechanism for addressing them are still
  evolving .

8
THE PROBLEM

• Sahel Region is one of the poorest and most
  environmentally damaged places of earth.
• Ecological disaster has become a serious concern
  to the Sahelian people
• The consequences of the famine crisis drew the
  attention of the UN specialized agencies for
  humanitarian assistance.

9
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

• Broad Objective
• To contribute to the discourse on the global
  issue that has arisen from the United Nations
  Millennium Development Goals.
• Specific Objective
• To analyze the role of UN humanitarian agencies
  in ameliorating human conditions in Niger
  Republic.

10
JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

• All human societies are faced with one form of
  catastrophe or the other.
• There has been a global consensus by the
  international community on the principles of
  development effectiveness which is transforming
  how developed and developing countries work
  together.

11

• There is a focus on Africa because throughout
  2002-2003, series of international commitments
  have continued to channel resources to specific
  development challenges in the worlds poorest
  countries.
• Ecological disaster is a global issue and the
  rationale for this research has arisen from the
  United Nations Millennium Development Goals of No
  7 and 8 which focus on ensuring environmental
  sustainability and to develop a global
  partnership for development.

12

• MDGs No 7
• Target integrate the principles of sustainable
  development into country policies and programs
  and reverse the loss of environmental resources.
• MDGs No 8
• Target address the special needs of landlocked
  and small island in developing states.

13
THE MANAGEMENT OF THE DISASTER BY THE UNITED
NATIONS SPECIALIZED AGENCIES

• Niger was originally an administrative division
  of the French colonial empire that got
  independence with little economic opportunities.
• Niger Republic ranks 177 out of 177 countries in
  the United Nations Development Programme Human
  development index (2006),
• thus, ranking the poorest nation in the world.

14

• In 2004, a severe drought and a subsequent locust
  invasion destroyed up to 100 of the crops in
  some regions, leaving more than a third of the
  population short of food.
• According to a World Health Organization (WHO)
  report (2005), an estimated 800,000 under five
  children suffered from hunger of which at least
  160,000 were moderately malnourished and 32000
  severely malnourished..

15

• The most affected agro pastoral regions of
• Tillaberi, Tahoua, Marah, Diffa, Agadez, Zinder
  and Gaya are the poorest and the most vulnerable
  areas.
• According to Niger fact sheet (2005) the revised
  UN flash appeal launched on 8 August sought US
  80.9 million for an extended period up till
  December 2005. As of August 17th, 2005, the
  appeal was 36 funded with US 29.1 million thus
  leaving a new short fall of US51.1 million.

16

• The three appealing agencies represent 94 of the
  total appeal
• United Nations Children Educational Fund (US14.6
  m),
• World Food Programme (US 8.9 m)
• FAO (US 3.9 m).
• The UN Humanitarian assistance focused on food
  supply more than health risks associated with
  malnutrition.
• There has been an increase in death from disease
  outbreaks among people that had been weakened by
  malnutrition.

17

• Niger fact sheet (2005), Children and pregnant
  and lactating women are mostly at risk out of
  which 261,300 are vulnerable pregnant and
  lactating women .
• Majority of Nigerien families practice
  subsistence farming.
• Livestock breeding play a key role for agro
  pastoralist families.
• Note a loss of livestock or decrease in the
  market value deprives the household of a major
  resource and exposes it to food insecurity.

18

• Since then the United Nations agencies and
  programmes , particularly
• WFP, FAO, UNDP, UNICEF and WHO have been
  closely monitoring the financial situation and
  supporting the Niger government in evaluating and
  mitigating the locust invasion and the prevailing
  food insecurity.
• The UN Country Team (UNCT) and the Food Crisis
  cell organized a donors meeting on March 17th,
  2005 in the state capital, Niamey where donors
  were provided with an update on the
  implementation of the 2004-2005 Emergency plan,
  elaborated with UNDP support.

19

• The government of Niger has developed a mechanism
  to prevent and mitigate famine crisis to which
  regular contributions are mainly made by France,
  the European Union (EU) and Italy.
• The food crisis prevention and mitigation
  Mechanism (DNPGCA) is the National Coordinating
  body for all partners active in Food Security.
• The World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and
  Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United
  Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the
  United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF)
  participate in the DNPGCA.

20

• These partners also contributed in support of the
  Mechanism.
• According to Niger Flash Appeal (2005), the
  appeal to donor was estimated at US 1.6 million
  for DNPGCA,
• US 1.4 million for WFP and
• US 4 million for FAO.
• WFPs 2005 initiatives in response to the 2004
  drought and locust infestation and FAO emergency
  plan for the provision of agriculture inputs were
  presented during the meeting.
• All UN initiatives were fully integrated into
  2004-2005 Emergency Plans and the DNPGCA.

21
AGENDA FOR ACTION

• It is necessary to be able to predict the
  climatic risk (droughts and famine) that has
  severe consequences on human beings and animals.
• Energy problems should be resolved in Niger
  Republic where 90 of the energy resources are
  based on wood exploitation
• There should be improvement in the surface and
  ground water resources management where 10 of
  its potential resources are used and the need for
  clean water in most of the rural areas.
• Ecosytems should be well managed so as to meet
  the needs of the next generations.

22
THANK YOU