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26 | NEWSFOCUS SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 www.mygov.go.ke African groups outline climate change priorities Civil society organisations fall under the umbrella of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) BY STEVE INGABO C ivil society organisations from Africa have outlined the salient climate change issues they want addressed by the continent’s governments in the next one year. The organisations position was contained in a communiqué presented to the 7th special session of the African ministerial conference on the environment (AMCEN) held at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi between 15 - 21 September 2018. The civil society organisations fall under the umbrella of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA). PACJA CEO Mwenda Mithika challenged African environment policy shapers to refrain from only consuming solutions but be part of the conversation that heralds solutions. “It’s a high time we stopped this top-bottom approach and embraced bottom-top approaches in solving environmental issues bedevilling the continent,” he observed. The one-week AMCEN was attended by ministers of environment from 54 African countries, climate change experts, researchers and representatives of African environment civil society groups. The outcomes of the conference will shape Africa’s position to the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA- 4) that will take place next year. The Conference ran under the theme “turning environmental policies into action through innovative solutions”. They organisations noted that for Africa to implement sustainable development goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement and UN agenda 2063, it required integrated approaches of all sectors of government working in collaboration with non-state actors, the media, the private sector and civil societies. “We urge governments to link agriculture policies to land tenure systems, farmer cooperatives, extension and advisory services and adopt policies that allow small scale farmers to get easy access to farmland integrating policies for national security e.g. export policies, energy policy, water policy, seed policy, post-harvest wastage, health of soils and organic methods Deaths caused by air pollution , which accounts for 16% of all deaths globally - and especially linked to inefficient waste management formal policies and laws. “We further urge the governments to integrate sound waste management practices at school curricula and integrate these into education policies to encourage attitude change,” they said. Noting that African countries were net importers of chemicals, the CSOs called for development of a cost-effective way of protecting Africans from chemical hazards in the imported goods. The majority of these chemicals, they noted, were currently unregulated by conventions. “To regulate such, we urge such as Agro ecology,” they said in the communique. They also urged governments to promote publicprivate partnerships and platforms in marketing of agricultural products among government ministries. In ensuring life cycle approaches to resource and waste management, the organisations urged African ministers to integrate informal sector, such as waste collectors, into African ministers to support the establishment of a new global framework for plastic pollution and nominate African experts to the ad-hoc expert working group on marine litter and micro plastics mandated by UNEA 4,” they said. Recognising that air pollution contributed to over 9 million premature deaths - 16% of all deaths globally - and especially linked to inefficient waste management such Kenya PS decries illicit Great Lakes gold trade Besides robbing member states of revenue, the trade is used to finance armed groups that perpetuate crimes against humanity BY MYGOV WRITER T he persistent illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Great Lakes region and its linkages with the proliferation of small arms is of great concern to the member states, Principal Secretary for Mining John Omenge has said. The PS said that besides robbing member states of revenue, the financing of armed groups and perpetuation of crimes against humanity further impede the growth of trade in gold in the region. Mr Omenge was speaking when he officially opened a two-day meeting for Artisanal and SmallScale Miners (ASM) and gold exporters from the member countries assembled in Nairobi to agree the ASM Strategy that seeks to curb illicit trade. He said the objective of the meeting was to finalise the ASM Gold Strategy, which was part of the implementation process of the Heads of States Declaration at the International Conference Lakes Region on the Great (ICGLR), signed in Lusaka, Zambia, on 15th December 2010. The PS said that declaration approved six tools to curb illegal exploitation of natural resources that include regional certification mechanisms, harmonisation of national legislation and regional database on mineral flows. Other tools are formalisation of artisanal mining sector, promotion of Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) and whistle blowing among others. “I am delighted to mention that the State department for Mining has embarked on the formalisation and registration of ASM nationally to facilitate benefit from the government economic empowerment initiatives namely the Women Enterprise Fund, UWEZO, National Youth Fund and the National Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities,” I am delighted to mention that the State department for Mining has embarked on the formalisation and registration of ASM nationally to facilitate benefit from the government economic empowerment initiatives - John Omenge said Mr Omenge. The implementation of “It is against this ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanisms (RCM), one of the six tools of the RINR, has contributed significantly to the reduction of illegal trafficking of the 3T (tantalum, tin and tungsten) mineral, however no positive steps have been made in the case of gold, Mr. Omenge noted. He expressed concern that most of the gold produced in the Great Lakes Region, particularly from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continues to cross the borders illegally without clearance in spite of various pilot gold traceability systems under implementation. background that the ICGLR Secretariat and GIZ funded this meeting after comprehensive consultations among member states to collect information relevant for the development of the Regional Due Diligence Strategy for the artisanal gold. It is envisaged that the Strategy once implemented will curb illicit exploitation of natural resources, gold in particular,” the PS added. The PS informed the meeting that Kenya is endowed with mineral wealth and significant potential in gold especially along the western belt and that the country has been mining gold since pre-independence days. as open burning, they urged leaders at all levels to elevate air pollution control to a high priority within their agenda. They also asked for integration of pollution control into development planning, to actively engage in pollution monitoring, health surveillance, transparent reporting, planning and prioritisation and to link prevention of pollution with SDG commitments in order to slow the pace of climate change and to control non-communicable diseases. The organisations also urged the governments to honour their commitments and pledges to the Central Business District Trust Fund (CBD) and ensure enhanced participation of the African negotiators in the CBD process while at the same time encouraging UN environment, African Union (AUC), New Partnerships on African Development (NEPAD) and other partners to support implementation of programmes to combat land degradation and enhance ecosystem restoration in Africa. 9m

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