News from Africa
12 July 2011
The activists will be developing climate justice petitions derived from interaction with citizens of ten African countries which they expect to present both to their national governments as well as the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) members who will be participating at the 17th Conference of Parties scheduled for December in Durban, South Africa.
NAIROBI---As preparation for the next discussions on climate change move to high gear, African activists on climate change are to begin beating drums to rouse interests among the rural populace, most of who although are aware of the changes in the weather pattern, hardly link these to the changes in climate change.
The activists will be developing climate justice petitions derived from interaction with citizens of ten African countries which they expect to present both to their national governments as well as the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) members who will be participating at the 17th Conference of Parties scheduled for December in Durban, South Africa.
The activists meeting in Nairobi, Kenya this last week expressed concerns on the failure of the negotiations to consider either the urgency or causes of the implications of climate change on the African people and their livelihood.
According to Cecilia Kibe, who also is the executive Director, Revitalization of Indigenous Initiatives for Community Development (RINCOD), all nations being involved in international negotiating process and outcomes should accord a particularly strong voice to those countries and communities who have contributed least to the problem of climate change, but who will suffer most to its impacts.
They are strongly opposed to soil carbon markets as it compromises food security and the sovereignty for African agriculture.
She said to help build a coalition and raise debate on the issues that Africa will need discussed at the climate change forum in Durban, Kibe said the African activists are set to launch a trans-African caravan which they hope will galvanise and consolidate African people’s voices and efforts so as to highlight the continent’s priorities, concerns and hope that despite scepticism occasioned by north-south divide, in international climate change dialogue progresses.
According to Mithika Mwenda, Coordinator from the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance the caravan will be a mobilization activity aimed at bringing together the African youth, farmers, economists and help build up momentum towards discussions at the COP 17 which will be taking place on African soil.
Already civil society groups from 10 African countries in East, Central and Southern Africa have already joined the caravan.
The caravan will begin moving from Bujumbura (Burundi), then move on to Kigali (Rwanda), Kampala (Uganda), Nairobi (Kenya), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Lusaka (Zambia), Lilongwe (Malawi), Harare (Zimbabwe), Gaborone (Botswana) and land in Durban (South Africa) on the eve of the beginning of COP 17.
The Nairobi meeting was organized to strategise and discuss how the Caravan will be organised, and the role of each country in the petition to the global communities in their response to climate change.
Kibe said key question on African mind is how the climate change negotiations align with (African) position.
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