Latest news with #AfricanMinisterialConferenceontheEnvironment
Daily News Egypt
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily News Egypt
Egypt's Environment Minister attends AMCEN conference in Nairobi
Egypt's Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad, has arrived in Nairobi to participate in the 20th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), taking place from 14 to 18 July under the theme 'Four Decades of Environmental Action in Africa: Reflecting on the Past and Imagining the Future,' marking the conference's 40th anniversary. This high-level gathering brings together ministers from across the continent, alongside senior figures including the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the President of the African Development Bank, and the African Union Commissioner for Environment, as well as prominent environmental experts. Fouad highlighted the importance of AMCEN in shaping unified African positions ahead of major international events, including the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), ongoing negotiations towards a global treaty on plastic pollution, and the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP30). She noted that the conference will also review progress on previous resolutions and set Africa's environmental priorities for the period 2025–2027. During the opening session, which included the ceremonial handover of the AMCEN presidency to Libya, Fouad took part in several high-level ministerial dialogues. These included discussions on 'Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Budgeting and Finance' as a means to address climate change, natural disasters, and environmental degradation. She also engaged in a dialogue titled 'Leveraging the G20 to Address Environmental Challenges,' and participated in the official launch of the African Union's Continental Circular Economy Action Plan (2024–2034), designed to support sustainable economic growth and reduce environmental waste across Africa. On the sidelines of AMCEN-20, Minister Fouad is holding a series of bilateral meetings, including with Musonda Mumba, Secretary-General of the Ramsar Convention, to discuss preparations for COP15; Elizabeth Maruma, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UNEP; and Jim Skea, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to follow up on preparations for the IPCC's 63rd session scheduled for October 2025. She is also set to meet with Jessica Roswall, EU Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience, and a Competitive Circular Economy.
The Star
4 days ago
- General
- The Star
Wetland loss could cost global economy 39 tln USD, report warns
NAIROBI, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Unchecked wetland degradation could trigger a 39 trillion U.S. dollar loss to the global economy, alongside worsening water stress and food insecurity, according to a report released Tuesday. Unveiled at the ongoing 20th Ordinary Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN-20) in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, the Global Wetland Outlook report said that although wetlands cover only 6 percent of the Earth's surface, they provide critical ecosystem services, including flood control, food production, and carbon storage, valued at the equivalent of 7.5 percent of global gross domestic product. Compiled by the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention), the report said that the world is losing wetlands at an annual rate of 0.52 percent. This loss significantly undermines global efforts to combat the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, hunger and poverty. Musonda Mumba, secretary general of the Convention on Wetlands, said that restoring degraded wetlands could unlock massive socio-economic benefits for rural communities and accelerate the green transition. "We need to value wetlands and increase investments towards their restoration, since losing them comes at a heavy cost to planetary health and livelihoods," Mumba said. The report, titled "Valuing, Conserving, Restoring and Financing Wetlands," estimated that about 411 million hectares of wetlands have been lost globally since 1970, representing a decline of 22 percent. It added that 25 percent of the remaining wetlands are degraded, suffering from unsustainable land-use practices, invasive species, pollution, rapid urbanization, and climate change impacts. The report was released ahead of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP15), scheduled for July 23-31 in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife Evelyn Ndlovu said that the data from the report will help inform policy and legislative interventions to halt wetland depletion. Ndlovu called for cross-border wetland conservation initiatives, knowledge sharing, innovative financing, and greater community engagement to help restore the ecological health of this vital ecosystem across Africa.
The Star
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Experts warn of Africa's surging environmental crimes
NAIROBI, July 14 (Xinhua) -- A spike in environmental crimes in Africa is threatening peace, stability and sustainable development, experts said Monday on the sidelines of the 20th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. Ababu Namwamba, Kenya's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) Office at Nairobi and the UN Environment Program, said that eradicating all forms of environmental crimes is urgent to place Africa on a path of renewal, resilient growth and stability. "We want to see action against environmental crimes in Africa to be at the center of our conversation around sustainability, climate action and biodiversity protection," Namwamba said. Giovanni Broussard, acting head and Africa coordinator for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Global Program on Crimes that Affect the Environment, said that Africa has borne the brunt of illegal actions against nature, amid threats to tourism, heritage pride and ecosystems' resilience. In the last two decades, the continent has grappled with poaching of iconic species such as elephants, rhinos and pangolins, with illegal logging being rampant as well, Broussard observed. "We also see a lot of smuggling of waste that generally comes from the Western world and then dumped illegally on landfills in parts of Africa," Broussard noted, adding that unregulated fishing and extraction of critical minerals threaten environmental sustainability on the continent. Fred Boltz, head of the Programming Division at the Global Environment Facility, said that partnerships, innovative financing and community engagement are key to revitalizing action on environmental crimes in Africa, enhancing the resilience of nature and societies.
The Star
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
African ministers hold environment meeting with call for green transition
NAIROBI, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The 20th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) opened Monday in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, with a call for securing a green, resilient and inclusive future for the continent. The five-day conference, held under the theme "Four Decades of Environmental Action in Africa: Reflecting on the Past and Imagining the Future," brought together more than 1,000 delegates, including ministers and representatives of multilateral agencies, civil society, academia and industry. Mensur Dessie Nuri, president of AMCEN, said the biannual meeting offers a platform for discussing Africa's ecological challenges such as climate change, habitat loss, pollution and biopiracy, while proposing durable solutions. According to Nuri, delegates attending the conference will also come up with the continent's common position on upcoming global environmental summits focusing on climate change, biodiversity protection, chemicals and waste management, plastic pollution and ocean governance. Fatima Zahra Jihane El Gaouzi, head of the Sustainable Environment Division at the African Union Commission, said that consensus is key to elevating the continent's green agenda, bringing benefits to communities and vital ecosystems. El Gaouzi stressed that regional collaboration is required to tackle ecological challenges of transboundary nature that have worsened poverty, conflicts and inequality across the continent. Rose Mwebaza, director and regional representative of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Africa office, said the 20th session of AMCEN presents an opportunity for the continent to reimagine a green future in the wake of intensifying climate emergencies, food insecurity, conflicts and forced migration. In the face of geopolitical shifts and disruption to the global financial architecture, Mwebaza urged African countries to explore alternative ways of securing funds for climate action and nature restoration. Established in 1985, AMCEN has been fostering cooperation among African governments and their multilateral partners to design and implement policies that promote environmental sustainability. The UNEP Africa office serves as the secretariat for AMCEN, manages its trust fund and helps the organization implement its mandate.
The Guardian
31-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Logging is quietly ravaging US forests. Trump is taking an axe to protections
The world is running out of time to halt deforestation and forest degradation. Yet instead of stepping up, the United States is dismantling forest protections and undermining global progress – highlighting the dangers of global forest policy that fails to hold the wealthiest, most powerful countries accountable. Unsustainable logging is one of the global north's best-kept secrets. Each year, millions of acres of old-growth and primary forests across North America, Europe, and Australia are clearcut under the guise of 'sustainable forest management'. International policy, by design, looks the other way, focusing attention instead on deforestation in the tropics. This double standard allows the world's wealthiest nations to evade accountability for industrial logging's catastrophic consequences. It is a system built on the false assumption that the global north behaves responsibly, while scrutiny is reserved for tropical countries. But the latest actions by the US highlight just how dangerous and unbalanced this paradigm is. President Trump has taken an axe to forest protections in the US, announcing two executive orders that aim to strip away foundational checks on destructive logging. Under the pretense of national security, Trump's orders aim to gut environmental safeguards and fast-track industrial clearcutting in some of the US's most precious and climate-critical forests. This aggressive expansion will degrade irreplaceable forests like Alaska's Tongass national forest – one of the world's largest intact temperate rainforests. It will also increase carbon emissions and make communities more vulnerable to climate disasters. Meanwhile, as Europe strengthens forest accountability, US state officials are pushing to exempt the country from new deforestation protections.. These officials, echoing industry talking points, are urging the EU to exclude US wood products from a law requiring due diligence to prevent imports or exports tied to deforestation or forest degradation. Their argument? That the US doesn't need oversight. The global north has long dictated the terms of international forest policy, supporting stricter environmental standards on tropical nations while sidestepping accountability at home. Canada, for example, clearcuts over 1.3m acres of forest every year yet claims near zero deforestation through regulatory loopholes. Sweden has marketed its forestry sector as a climate leader while logging threatens its last remaining old-growth forests. But Trump's latest action clearly shows the current model needs to change. The world needs a more equitable, partnership-driven model of forest protection. In August 2023, the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment called for the creation of a framework to drive more equitable global forest policy. More than 100 environmental organizations echoed this call ahead of last year's UN climate conference in Dubai. With the next UN climate meeting taking place this year in Belém, Brazil – the gateway to the Amazon rainforest – Brazil has an opportunity to work with other countries to create this new reality. There are some signs of change. The EU is strengthening trade policies to exclude deforestation-linked products. Investors and corporations are aligning with international commitments to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. In Illinois, legislators have introduced a bill to eliminate state procurement tied to deforestation and forest degradation. United Kingdom policymakers recently acknowledged the need to avoid incentives for logging primary and old-growth forests. A fragmented system that arbitrarily evaluates risk differently in the global south and global north is bad for the climate and bad for business. Markets need consistency, and environmental policies should apply universally. For decades, the global north has molded international forest policy to benefit its logging sector. After marking the International Day of Forests, on 21 March, in this critical year, the global community must seize this moment to shape a new, more equitable, form of global forest governance. The world needs unified standards for all forests that hold all countries, including – especially – the most powerful, accountable. Jennifer Skene is director of global northern forests policy for the Natural Resources Defense Council
