East Africa Climate Change

Peat bog as big as England found in Congo-Brazzaville Swamp thought to contain billions of tonnes of peat dating back 10,000 years will offer window on Africa's past, say experts. Scientists say investigating the carbon-rich material could shed light on 10,000 years of environmental change in the region. Photograph: Simon Lewis For peat's sake, a British scientist trekked for three weeks through perilous jungle swamps in one of the most far-flung corners of  Africa . His reward? A peat bog the size of England. But while some explorers might have found this anti-climactic, for  Simon Lewis  it was like striking gold. His discovery is being hailed by experts as a breakthrough in unlocking secrets of the Congo basin and  climate change . The monster swamp in Congo-Brazzaville is thought to contain billions of tonnes of peat dating back 10,000 years. Studies of this carbon-rich material could reveal how the environment has changed over millennia in central Afri

Researchers have made an astonishing discovery in the jungles of the Philippines: a scrubby tree that sucks metals out of the ground and stores them in its leaves. It’s not the first hyperaccumulating plant, as scientists reported in the journal  PhotoKeys  earlier this month, but it is the newest addition to a family that could give a boost to green tech. The plant, called Rinorea niccolifera ,  can accumulate up to 18,000 ppm of metal in its leaves and roots without being poisoned. These plants could be used to clean up old mines or metal-filled soils, and the roots and leaves can be burned, leaving behind valuable metals that can be sold and repurposed. Only about 450 species around the world have the ability to suck up nickel from the soil. “Most plants—99.99 percent of plant species—are very good at excluding the metal from entering their roots and shoots,” said Augustine Doronila, a research fellow at the University of Melbourne in Australia and senior author of the pap

Submitted by: Doug Cress By the year 2030, experts predict that human development will have impacted over 90 per cent of great ape habitat in Equatorial Africa, and that less than one per cent of the orangutan’s undisturbed rainforest homes in Southeast Asia will remain. That means the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan, whose population is already fragmented across northern Sumatra, will become even more isolated. Cross River gorillas in Cameroon and Nigeria will struggle to survive in the 11 pockets of forest they currently inhabit, mountain gorillas might lose the ability to roam freely across parts of the  Albertine Rift , and the 24 chimpanzees that cling to the tiny Gishwati Forest in Rwanda – nicknamed the  “Forest of Hope”  – might cease to exist at all. But finding a way to enhance the value of those forests and identify vital corridors that might expand the great apes’ range is at the heart of a new project undertaken by two United Nations’ initiatives – th

European researchers have been training the pollinators to track down explosives buried during the Balkan War. Share with your friends Tumblr Gmail Hotmail Y! Mail AOL Mail Linked In Digg Stumbleupon (Photo: Caravan Images/Getty Images) A European army of   bees   has been given a unique (and completely flower-free) mission: to find explosives.  Researchers in France and Croatia have raised bees that they claim are able to sniff out the thousands of unexploded mines that still dot the Balkans.  The Telegraph  reports that almost 120,000 land mines remain underground in identified minefields in the wake of the 1992–95 Bosnian war. Since then, hundreds of people, including de-miners, have been killed by the hidden explosives in Croatia alone. Recent weather has worsened the situation: A flood has wiped out warning signs that marked the fields and caused some land mines to resurface. Finding the underground explosives has

This paper introduces a special issue on the extractive industries, community development and livelihood change in developing countries. The collection of papers presented in the issue reflects upon a broad range of emerging community development challenges surrounding the growth of the mining, and oil and gas sectors in different settings across sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Melanesia. Recognizing the distinction between ‘community-led’ development and ‘corporate-controlled’ development, the contributions critically explore how different stakeholders respond to extractive industries development and reflect upon the role that communities might play in mitigating some of the problematic issues that arise. The collection sheds new light on the complex relationships between communities, companies, governments and non-governmental actors and provides a more nuanced picture of the challenges faced in pursuing more sustainable community-led trajectories. Address for correspondence

In Malawi, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of foreign companies looking to invest in the mining sector. However, in a country where mining sector regulations are woefully inadequate but where the government seems determined to attract overseas investors, it is important to adopt approaches which ensure that the benefits of mining are maximized and that its adverse community-level impacts are minimized. Focusing on the experiences of the Kayerekera Uranium and Chimwadzulu Ruby projects, this paper critically examines how the rapid increase in mining activities in Malawi is affecting local livelihoods. In doing so, the paper explores how civil society has influenced the development of the corporate social responsibility strategies of incoming companies and how well the needs of communities are being met. Given the inadequacies of mining regulations, greater participation from civil society actors and the communities themselves in decisions pertaining to mine devel

This paper examines perspectives on the recent proliferation of sargassum  (free-floating seaweed) in the oil-producing region of Ghana. The shores of many fishing villages surrounding Ghana's Jubilee Oil Field are now covered with decomposing  sargassum , which, in addition to releasing offensive smells, clogs the fishing nets and boat engines of local fishermen, in turn, disrupting livelihoods considerably. Fishermen from villages such as Cape Three Points have linked the ‘blackened’ colour of rotting  sargassum  to the recent commencement of oil production, calling on the government to discipline Tullow, the main company operating in the Jubilee Oil Field, and to compensate them accordingly. Representatives from the government and Tullow have countered by stating that the growing presence of  sargassum , which is an important source of food for numerous aquatic species, has more to do with local fishing habits: that it is a result of overfishing,  not  oil production. Whether t

Peru has been the largest gold producer in Latin America since 1996. This is mainly attributable to the open-pit gold mines in the northern regions of Ancash, Cajamarca and La Libertad, which are managed by Barrick Gold Corporation and Newmont Mining Corporation. The expansion of these large-scale mining projects has engendered social protests and conflicts that, in a context of weak institutions, have developed with little oversight from the central government. In some cases, corporate–community conflicts have driven mining corporations towards more responsible management of natural resources. For example, in some remote areas, the mining industry has filled the gap left by the State and has promoted sustainable socio-economic development through public–private partnerships. However, evidence indicates that an enhanced democratic framework with more attentive public management of natural resources is needed before such best practices may be established as the norm rather than the exc

This paper provides a clearer conceptual exposition of the nature of social transformations around large-scale mining by theoretically delineating the place of corporate community development (CCD) initiatives in the transformations that mining brings to adjacent communities, and the livelihoods and developmental prospects of the affected peoples. We illustrate this argument with reference to an examination of CCD initiatives at four Papua New Guinea mine sites. This highlights the diversity of contexts (geographic, institutional and transnational), structures, activities and motivations that drive these activities. One aspect that is particularly apparent is the conservative nature of these CCD initiatives in the face of the often chaotic social transformations that the presence of the mine has sparked. We conclude with reflections on how such CCD activities can be shaped to provide more positive, sustainable outcomes for communities and livelihoods. Address for correspondence : Gl

Sustainable mining has become a paradigm that mobilizes companies, governments and community groups. The struggles between an expansive mining sector and a significant part of the rural population for access and control of land and water show that the association between large-scale mining and rural livelihoods faces a number of challenges. This paper analyses  change s in rural livelihoods associated with the expansion of mining in the Andes. Framed within the sustainable livelihoods approach and the role of institutions, in particular property rights, in development, it argues that: (i)  change  in livelihoods respond to a broad set of factors that include but are not limited to the influence of mining; (ii) the presence of mining accelerates such  change  and introduces inter-generational distribution effects; (iii) institutions governing land and water rights play a significant role in the power relationships between companies and communities. The paper concludes by suggesting a

This article represents an edited conversation between two practitioners exploring both an ecological-organic approach to community development practice, and the idea of practice as a ‘responsive dance’. The practice ideas have emerged from a dialogical inquiry between the two authors conducted during 2011/2012, augmented by consideration of various literatures. The dialogue involved comparison and contrasting of two development practice frameworks: one the ‘developmental approach’ from a community of practice within South Africa, and another, the ‘dialogical approach’ from a community of practice within Australia. This exchange included conversations and processes of co-writing. The exchange between the two frameworks led to a cross-fertilisation, which we argue has provided exciting new signposts for community development practice. These new signposts are considered in-depth within the promissory reflections, but in a nutshell focus on what we have called organic or ecological com

Ethiopia may until recently have been a byword for famine, but in one part of the country at least there are people who have lived largely without outside help for hundreds of years. With the connivance of the British government, this is about to change forever. The tribes of the Lower Omo Valley in south west Ethiopia – chief among them the Mursi, the Nyangatom, the Bodi and the Daasanach – depend on a combination of flood retreat cultivation on the banks of the Omo River, rain fed cultivation further back from the river, and cattle on the grass plains. They move between these resources seasonally so as to exploit them to their best advantage. A self-sufficient existence outside mainstream society has meant that few speak Amharic, and that fewer still can read or write. Like most of us they are strongly attached to their way of life and their traditions, and believe passionately in their right to decide for themselves whether and how to change them. But flood retreat cult

Over the past few decades, health policy advocates, nutrition activists, journalists, community organizers, First Lady Michelle Obama, and others have created a lively discussion about the United States' food system. This debate is incredibly wide ranging and can be difficult to understand. Furthermore, despite these various food-related calls to action, there remains a disconnection between the rhetoric and available solutions for everyday people. To bridge this gap, this paper advances a new community development framework called the AgroEcological-Educator. Inspired by the practice of Paulo Freire, this social change agent works with people to discuss the ecological, economic, and personal health implications of our food choices, while promoting the development of community-based food systems. This essay synthesizes Freire's theoretical and practical guidance with the needs of the food movement to challenge the oppressive structures of the agri-industrial complex and suppo

If you are choosing a reusable bag, look closely at a product such as the Nature Bag. This eco-friendly bag is clearly beneficial for everyone concerned because of its long life-cycle, biodegradability, freedom from agricultural production, miniscule weight, stretchable versatility, absence of manufacturing, life-enriching impact on its at-home makers, practical beauty and thousands of years of rigorous in-use testing, refinement & sustainability. What is Nature Bag? The Nature Bag is unique in style, structure and shape. Homemade in Laos from wild-growing JungleVine™ cord, its design has been perfected by thousands of years of use on steep mountainsides by the Khmu indigenous minority. The result is a sturdy versatile eco-friendly bag evolved from the survival necessity of safely carrying a day’s harvest. http://www.kirkscubagear.com/nature_bag.html

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