The Africa Ecological Footprint Report, a recent joint publication by WWF and the African Development Bank, draws our attention to the fact that Africa is walking the tightrope of living within the continent’s (and by extension the planet’s) means and continuing with business as usual (unsustainable consumption and production), risking exceeding the continents carrying capacity. Although the average per capita footprint for the continent in 2008 was 1.4 global hectares (gha), the report estimates that the ecological footprint of all African countries increased by 240 % between 1961 and 2008; and projects that Africa could be in bio-capacity deficit as early as 2015 as the average available per capita bio-capacity in Africa is estimated at 1.5 gha. Read more
Runaway consumerism and “ugly” vegetables
Mar 5th 2013
There was a story in the news recently, about the United Nations Environment Programme hosting a banquet for Ministers and high-level officials in Nairobi, Kenya, with food rejected by international supermarket chains because the produce did not meet regulations in terms of size, shape or other specifications. In short, the produce did not look right, it was “ugly”. But, more importantly, did the food taste good?
Locking in Inequality
Feb 20th 2013
Development, both economic and human, is necessary. Africa is going through its most dynamic growth period in recent times. The continent has achieved growth rates above five per cent for most of the past decade, making Africa one of the fastest growing regions in the world today.
How can Africa tackle the problem of solid waste?
Dec 12th 2012
A friend recently travelled to Rwanda, and called me to express her amazement at how clean the streets in Kigali are. ‘It’s so clean here’ is a comment frequently expressed by people from Africa who travel to parts of the developed world for the first time - clean streets in Africa are often seen as the exception rather than the norm.
