joint
mag 15
Perspectives on German-African futures
December 2010
Our Environment
Environmental policy and environmental
movements in Germany and Africa
Editors: Alexander Schwartz, Dennis Kumetat,
Linda Poppe Editorial Team: K. Asante, J. Bergmann, M. Gatobu, L. Tsebe, B. Zasche, L. /Narib
AVAILABLE ONLINE:
www.bpb.de
CONTACT US:
goafrica@bpb.de
]
in this issue
3 Editorial
]
joint
mag 15
Perspectives on German-African futures
4 Environmental Protection in Egypt
partnerships
Negotiations on
Global Biodiversity
6 sustainable
10 More than a still Picture
12 The Impact of Deforestation on Agriculture
13 Alumni Profile
Interview with Claudia Hargarten
THE JM TEAM
EDITORS: Alexander Schwartz, Dennis Kumetat, Linda Poppe // Editorial Team: K. Asante, J. Bergmann, M. Gatobu, L. Tsebe,
B. Zasche
LAYOUT & DESIGN: Leitago /Narib
COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Leitago /Narib
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EDITORIAL
]]
Dear readers,
Dear Go Africa…Go Germany community,
We proudly present this year’s Christmas Joint MAG to you. Its subject
is environmental policy and movements in Africa and Germany.
Next to Keren Asante’s article on the impact of deforestation on agriculture the this MAG features three interviews: Joint MAG journalist Julian
Bergmann interviewed Omnia Amr, the head of a small environmental
NGO based in Cairo. Secondly, Dennis Kumetat interviewed the IUCN’s
Thomas Greiner, member of the German delegation to the global biodiversity summit in Nagoya, Japan in November 2010 and last but not
least, Go Africa Go Germany generation 3 alumna Claudia Hargarten is
featured in this issue.
Enjoy Joint MAG 15; we wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new
year,
Alex, Dennis and Linda
Editors
CALL
FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
In JM 16, we will be looking at the vast and contested field of arts and culture – lauded
for its potential as „creative industry“ and platform for public diplomacy; at the same
time labeled a hindrance to dialogue, feared for its critical potential and always top of
the list when it comes to public budget cuts. So how do culture and related policies
work in the respective regions and what can it contribute to promoting change and
partnership? Deadline for contributions is January 25th 2011.
jm 3
joint mag ] DECEMBER 2010
Environmental Protection in Egypt
An interview with Omnia Amr
Omnia Amr is the managing director of Donya Desee – Eco Options Egypt. She graduated from the American University in Cairo in June 2008 with a BSc in Biology and two minors in Chemistry and Environmental Sciences. She
worked with UNIDO ITPO Italy (Cairo office) between October 2008 and June 2010, as an Energy and Environment
Consultant in their Environment Program. In September 2009, she founded Donya Desee - Eco Options Egypt to raise
awareness about eco-friendly lifestyles options, products and services as well as organize and promote environmental
events in Egypt.
Julian: Dear Omnia, how did it come that you
decided to engage in the area of environmental
protection in Egypt and to set up an NGO?
some, I had the impression that cycling in Cairo is not
an easy thing to do. Could you tell me more about this
initiative?
Omnia:
Actually, there are a lot of cycling
groups in Egypt, as for example the Cairo Cycling Club.
Options Egypt is a civil company, itis not an NGO, al- They are very active and promote the use of bicycles
though it is non-profit in essence and non-govern- as a clean means of transport, for example by organizmental.
ing bicycle trips on weekends. Maybe it is not very apparent, but some people do cycle in Cairo and there
I launched Eco Options Egypt in September 2009, but might be a trend that more people will use cycling as
the idea already came to my mind in May 2009, when a clean means of transport in the future.
I was browsing the web for an online magazine about
environmental issues. At that time, I was working at
What is your experience with regard to
UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Or- the environmental awareness of people in Egypt?
ganization) as an environmental consultant and had How important is environmental protection in the
already established contacts with companies and
daily life and in the consciousness of the people?
NGOs in the environmental sector. Therefore, I knew
what kind of actors and projects were already in place
In the daily life, the environmental
in Egypt. Thus, I asked myself: why is there no online
awareness is not very strong and apparent. This is
magazine that covers environmental issues in Egypt?
due to the fact that, since the poverty rate in Egypt
Thatis how I decided to set up Eco Options Egypt as
is high, many people are primarily concerned about
a hub where people have the ability to remain inearning enough money to secure a basic income to
formed about environmental issues and participate in
satisfy their basic needs accordingly. But within the
projects. For example, one main part of our website
upper and middle class, there is more potential for enis the directory where we try to bring up alternative
vironmental awareness and these parts of society do
and eco-friendly lifestyle options and inform about
in fact show the highest awareness for environmental
eco-friendly products. To expand the audience and
issues. Today, many universities, for example, have an
beneficiaries, we also organized events with local enenvironmental club. Additionally, TV and newspapers
vironmental activists and in liaison with international
cover more reports on environmental issues, although
projects and campaigns. This was to attract offline authe problem remains that the portrayal in the media
diences as well and increase the effect of awareness.
regards it as an elitist thing or a matter of concern to
developed countries only.
When I browsed your website, one event
that was very interesting to me was the Egyptian CyDo you have the feeling that environcling Day. When I was in Cairo three weeks ago, I did
not see many people riding bikes and if there were mental protection scores high on the current gov-
Omnia: Dear Julian, let me clarify first that Eco
Julian:
Omnia:
Julian:
jm 4
joint mag ] DECEMBER 2010
Julian:
ernment’s agenda? How is the cooperation with
government institutions?
Omnia:
With regard to my civil company, there
has not been any cooperation so far, although in my
work with UNIDO I have worked with the government
in some programmes. In fact, there is a lot of big government-driven projects going on in the environmental sector, but the problem is that people do not really
know about them because of the lack of environmental awareness and the fact that these projects are not
well advertised and therefore do not attract the attention and support of the average Egyptian citizen. This
is highly wasteful, as the efforts are made to protect
the environment and livelihoods of the population,
which should be aware enough to be able to support
the efforts wholeheartedly.
Omnia: My biggest wish for the future is for Eco
Options Egypt to be sustainable. It is difficult to sustain
a private company if you are not educated in business
or management, but, luckily, I have people who advise
me in business issues and support from various entities that are highly effective in managing Eco Options
Egypt. I would like to expand to cover more projects
and to encourage companies to produce more ecofriendly products. Furthermore, we want to connect
to other individual projects that create innovation. Today, companies are still reluctant to sponsor events,
because they think it will not benefit them in attracting a unique eco-friendly audience. More flexibility
and interest from companies in our events would be a
great benefit for our work.
sustainable partnerships
Julian: Speaking about the future, what are your
wishes regarding your work and your civil company?
for more information on Donya Desee - Eco Options Egypt please visit:
http://www.ecooptionsegypt.com
jm 5
joint mag ] DECEMBER 2010
Negotiations on Global Biodiversity
Experiences from Nagoya’s biodiversity summit
Thomas Greiber is working as senior legal officer at the Environmental Law Centre of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest
global environmental network. It supports scientific research, manages field projects all over
the world and brings governments, non-governmental organizations, United Nations agencies, companies and local communities together to develop and implement policy, laws and
best practice. At the Environmental Law Centre, his main area of work is currently access and
benefit-sharing (ABS) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but he has also recently published in the areas of
payments for ecosystem services and rights-based approaches to conservation. Thomas has recently been part of the German delegation on the biodiversity summit in Nagoya, Japan.
))Thomas Greiber
))Dennis Kumetat
Dennis Kumetat: Please tell us about
your role as part of the German delegation in Nagoya
Thomas Greiber:
the holders of biological diversity as well as increasing
awareness about the invaluable role of nature.
The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources
and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization was finally adopted on the
last day of the tenth Meeting of the Conference of
the Parties (COP 10) to the Convention on Biological
Diversity. The adoption of the Protocol after 8 long
years of negotiations is a huge step forward for the
implementation of the CBD. It made Nagoya one of
the most successful meetings in the CBD history to
date. With the adoption of the ABS Protocol we have
now created an international framework which provides for concrete measures, rules and procedures to
implement the CBD´s third goal.
One of my latest
projects at the Environmental Law Centre (which has
a long history of ABS-work) was providing policy and
legal advice to the German Federal Ministry of Environment in the process of negotiating the ABS Protocol under the CBD. So, in Nagoya and already at previous meetings of the CBD’s ABS Working Group, I was
part of the German delegation. My role was to assist
colleagues in the German government with the legal
analysis of the negotiations. Now, as part of the Nagoya follow-up, I am helping with the interpretation
of the outcomes, meaning the ABS Protocol, and I am
supporting the implementation of the Protocol at the Apart from that, the adoption of the ABS Protocol was
national level.
crucial for another reason. Before COP 10, developing countries had announced that they considered
Please let me know: what are, from your per- the adoption of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for
spective, the greatest achievements of the Nagoya the Period 2011-2020, the Strategy for Resource Mobilization in Support of the Achievement of the Consummit?
vention’s Three Objectives and the ABS Protocol as a
Access and benefit-sharing makes up the third package deal. This means, without the adoption of the
pillar of the Convention on Biological Diversity and as Protocol it would probably not have been possible to
a result, it is intrinsically linked to the CBD’s other two agree on a new CBD Strategic Plan and a Resource
pillars, namely the conservation and the sustainable Mobilization Strategy, or in other words the whole
use of biodiversity. Benefit-sharing encourages sstates COP 10 would have failed.
DK:
TG:
as well as their indigenous and local communities
(ILCs) to conserve and sustainably use their biological
diversity and at the same time rewards them for such
efforts. More broadly, ABS shall work as an incentive
for conserving biodiversity, bringing recognition to
jm 6
joint mag ] DECEMBER 2010
Also, it would have given a very bad signal for biodiversity conservation and international environmental
governance in general. We have to keep in mind that
2010 was proclaimed the international year of biodi-
versity in which the international community, unfortunately, missed its 2010 biodiversity target, namely to
reduce biodiversity loss if not even to halt such loss.
Now imagine the international community would
have shown in this important year its inability to agree
at least on a new way forward, a new Strategic Plan…
And last but not least, failure of COP 10 would have
meant another Conference of the Parties of one of the
three Rio Conventions leading to no results. After the
disaster of the climate change COP in Copenhagen in
2009, this could have created enormous frustration
regarding international environmental governance
processes amongst policy makers, but also the general public.
wards ratified by at least 50 Parties before it actually
enters into force. In addition, it “only” provides an international framework which, as always, requires implementation at the national level.
So, one of the challenges will be to keep ABS in the
spotlight, and to create enough political support for
the ratification process. This is not a given. You have
to keep in mind that while the negotiation process
might have been led by a country’s ministry of environment, the ratification and implementation at the
national level will require the consent of other ministries as well, such as those in charge of trade, health,
agriculture, justice issues, etc. In some countries, theses ministries might still be reluctant to promote the
ratification process.
In short, to understand the real meaning of the Nagoya ABS Protocol, you have to see the bigger picture Another challenge will be the concrete implementaand not only the ABS issue itself.
tion of the Protocol at the national level. All countries
are potential providers and users of genetic resources.
Could you tell us why and how the confer- So, both developed and developing countries will
ence has come to these results? I heard that the have to implement in particular the provisions related
to the so called ABS ABC (access, benefit-sharing and
Japanese hosts were instrumental to that?
compliance).
DK:
TG: This is definitely true. Throughout the COP,
an open-ended informal consultative group (ICG) on
ABS continued negotiations on the draft Protocol text
that was previously developed by the CBD’s Working
Group on ABS. Furthermore, several small groups were
established to address specific outstanding issues.
There were still quite a number of open questions…
However, neither the ICG nor the small groups were
able to find answers to all open questions. So, ministerial informal consultations took over the negotiation
process in the end of the COP. Ministers discussed a
compromise proposal on the outstanding issues put
forward by the Japanese COP Presidency. These informal consultations finally lead to the agreement on a
compromise package, including a multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism to address benefit-sharing for
genetic resources and TK that occur in transboundary
situations or for which it is not possible to grant or obtain prior informed consent (PIC). This was one of the
dealmakers in the end of the negotiation process that
lead to the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol on ABS.
Parties have to develop their national ABS regimes
while so far, many states do not have any ABS legislation in place, or their existing ABS regimes are insufficient, contradictory, and are rather blocking access
to genetic resources than facilitating it. So, there is a
lot of work to be done to create greater transparency
and legal certainty in all countries providing genetic
resources and/or associated traditional knowledge.
Also, Parties face the obligation to ensure that benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources
are shared in a fair and equitable way. Again, all Parties
have to implement this provision at the national level.
However, the possible measures of user countries to
ensure such benefit-sharing are probably limited. You
have to imagine that the benefits will be negotiated in
a contract between the provider and user of a genetic
resource, and the latter will usually be an individual
researcher or a company, so not the state where such
users are hosted. Now the influence of the state on
such negotiations is relatively limited. One possibility
might be to initiate national processes in which potential users of genetic resources commit themselves
Is it already certain how states will make
to such equitable and fair benefit-sharing.
sure that the items agreed upon will be actually enforced?
Finally, effective and efficient compliance measures
need to be developed by all parties in order to comWe must not forget two important things bat future cases of biopiracy. There are also differhere: This Protocol still needs to be signed and after- ent instruments that can be imagined here. And the
sustainable partnerships
DK:
TG:
jm 7
joint mag ] DECEMBER 2010
))continued from page 7
compliance measures must be backed up by at least
one checkpoint in every party. The idea behind these
checkpoints is to create an institution which will monitor the utilization of genetic resources in a country in
order to confirm that those resources were obtained in
accordance with a country’s domestic ABS regime. The
Protocol remains quite flexible in this regard as it does
not prescribe in detail where a checkpoint has to be established. It rather concentrates on describing the function of a checkpoint and certain criteria to measure its
functionality. Again, you see that countries still have to
make up their mind how they will implement the different provisions and concept of the Protocol.
es of the accord? How could/should they be tackled in
further meetings/COPs?
TG:
Well, I would not call it a weakness of the Protocol, but rather outstanding work that still needs to be
done. The Protocol was an important step in the right
direction, but the framework created will need to be
tested in practice and then evaluated in the future. Such
evaluation will hopefully clarify in which points the Protocol needs to be revised. Again, the Protocol is quite
progressive in this regard. Its Article 25 foresees an assessment and review process four years after the entry
into force of the Protocol and thereafter at intervals.
DK: What are the accord’s implications for African
Furthermore, the relationship between the Protocol and
other international processes related to ABS, such as
countries – and what do they mean for Germany?
those on access to pathogens under the World Health
If properly implemented, the Protocol creates Organization (WHO), or on patents under the World
opportunities for increased benefits on the African side, Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Intellectual
such as increased bilateral and multilateral opportuni- Property Organization (WIPO), will need further clarificaties for benefit-sharing arising from utilization of ge- tion and evaluation in the future.
netic resources; support for capacity-building based on
national needs and priorities; further financial support And not to forget the multilateral benefit-sharing mechthrough the Protocol’s financial mechanism, namely the anism which might be developed in the future. It is not
Global Environment Facility, etc. But also African indig- yet decided whether such a mechanism is really needed
enous and local communities should benefit from the and how it would work in practice. But these questions
framework set by the Protocol. The Protocol introduces will be discussed in the future meetings of the openlegal obligations for prior informed consent and benefit- ended Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Committee and the
sharing with respect to traditional knowledge associat- meetings of the Parties to the Protocol.
ed with genetic resources and genetic resources held by
Why could, in your perspective, such a comindigenous and local communities, in accordance with
domestic law. And again, from an African perspective prehensive accord be negotiated in Nagoya while the
it is important that legal and monitoring tools have to climate COP 15 in Copenhagen quite miserably failed?
be developed which will help ensure users comply with
the domestic rules governing access and with mutually
This is a good question, but a difficult one to anagreed terms.
swer as well. I can only speculate, as I was not in Copenhagen and I am not following the climate change proFrom a German perspective, it is important to under- cess closely enough. However, my feeling tells me that
stand that Germany is, of course, a potential provider two main reasons might have made the difference here:
country. But the Protocol is more interesting for its users
who want facilitated access to genetic resources. Ger- First of all, the attention given to the climate change neman industries as well as researchers will benefit from gotiations is not comparable with the attention that ABS
greater transparency and legal certainty in the context received over all these years. Surely, there were reports
of ABS. As mentioned before, the Protocol provides a of biopiracy in the media from time to time. But the ABS
much-needed international legal framework to govern issue was not and is still not covered to the same extend
access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing, ending as climate change in the public discussion. Also, climate
the uncertainty that has characterized this activity since change is much more perceived as a threat for human
the Convention’s entry into force and creating more pre- survival than the loss of biodiversity. Whether this is true
dictable access conditions.
or not is another question. But the bottom line is that
the pressure on the climate change negotiations from
What do you think are the greatest weakness- all sides, and most important from the industry side, is
TG:
DK:
TG:
sustainable partnerships
DK:
jm 8
joint mag ] DECEMBER 2010
“
African indigenous and local communities should benefit
from the framework set by the Protocol. ))Thomas Greiber
TG:
much higher than it was for the ABS negotiations. This
There is already plenty of information availmeans less flexibility on the side of the national negoable on ABS in general, and more specific informatiators which again makes a huge difference.
tion on the Nagoya ABS Protocol will be developed
And another important point may be the different in the near future. For the time being, I can suggest to
settings of the negotiating processes. Although dif- check out the CBD website on ABS at www.cbd.int/
ferent regional groups had their own points of views abs. Here you find information on ABS in general, but
and specific agendas in the ABS negotiations, the also on the negotiation process and its outcomes, esbattle field was still much clearer than it is in the cli- pecially the COP 10 report and the text of the Nagoya
mate context. ABS is marked by the “classic” north- ABS Protocol. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin is also an
south confrontation, developing countries with high interesting source of information. This is a reporting
biodiversity and interesting genetic resources as well service for environment and development negotiaas associated traditional knowledge on the one hand, tions which has followed all important ABS negotiatand developed countries with economic interest that ing meetings. Their COP 10 report, for example, can
need access to these resources on the other hand. The be found at www.iisd.ca/biodiv/cop10/. Last but not
setting is much more diverse and therefore difficult in least, I can suggest checking out the ABS publications
the climate change context. Here the “boundaries” be- developed by the IUCN Environmental Law Centre.
tween developing and developed countries are not Their download is free of charge and provides a good
basis to get a better understanding of the different
existing or at least not that clear.
issues at stake. So, please check out our website at
www.iucn.org/law.
Where can interested stakeholders obtain
more information about the accord and further reThank you very much for this interview!
lated work?
DK:
DK:
jm 9
joint mag ] DECEMBER 2010
More than a still picture
Rural communities embrace mobile communications
))Leitago /Narib
December is a month of celebrations, fun and sun but
above all it is a month of weddings. To plan the best
day of your life in the holiday season makes sense because you can be assured that friends from near and
far can attend. In the case of Namibia the truth is that
most friends will usually have to come from far. In a
vast country such as Namibia with a small population
of just under 2 million it is unavoidable that the month
of merriment will take you on a 700 Kilometer journey.
Last December the wedding season took me to a little
village called Omba in the Ohangwena region in northern Namibia. Even there, deep in the rural areas with
no electricity or running water, the hand of technology
has its reach.
Since the groom was a popular Namibian filmmaker it
was no surprise that a few professional cameras were
on base to capture the moments. They were outnumbered, to the surprise of us city people, by the number
of cellphones also clicking away and committing the
sunny happy day to digital memory. The bride and the
groom sat on the long and heavy log of wood in the
Olupale (a traditional reception room) to drink the traditionally prepared Oshikundu. All around them, outstretched hands holding cellphones struggled against
each other to capture the moment. This made for a not
so traditional scene. The immediate question is how
and when a small town like Omba with less than 100
inhabitants has become so tech savvy? Furthermore it
beckons what other innovations cellphone usage has
already brought about.
The use of cellphones to capture photographs has become popular and increasingly common in rural areas.
In these areas there are no business centers to do tech
shopping or money to afford even the cheapest pointand-shoot camera much less a Canon or Nikon DSLR.
Here the cellphone has become the camera of choice.
jm 10
joint mag ] DECEMBER 2010
There are still challenges to the full realization of the
technology. The biggest problem is the difficulty to
charge cellphones in areas where electricity is not readily available. The most common solution for this is solar
energy. With more than 300 days of sun Namibia has
an untapped resource in solar energy and especially in
rural areas where it is difficult to introduce infrastructure to provide electricity to rural communities, solar
energy offers a practical solution. In small villages like
Omba there is usually one household with solar panels
where community members can charge their phones
for a nominal fee.The bigger problem for these budding
photographers is printing.The printing shops are usually
in bigger towns and business centres which makes it
difficult for people in remote areas to access these services. Financial implications also have a bearing as there
are more important things to consider before spending money on photos. For now, the photographs have
to be enjoyed on the cellphone screen and shared via
MMS. The use of a cellphone around a fire may already
have become a common form of entertainment in many
places.
It is no understatement that Africa is the fastest growing mobile phone market. The lack of infrastructure to
support fixed line access has perhaps been the biggest
factor to the wide adoption of cellular telecommunications. The mobile phone, or rather the cellphone as it
is known in Namibia, offers a viable alternative to the
fixed network. The statistics tell the story of the rapid
increase in cellphone users. In South Africa, which is beyond a doubt the leader in cellphone users, there are
less then 20% fixed telephone lines for every 100 people
(Internet World Statistics, 2008); in contrast, the mobile
phone network covers 96% of the country, (Bridges.org,
2006) and the country boasts over 35.9 million mobile
phones, (The eBusiness Handbook, 2006) for a population of 45 million. The trend is mirrored, although at a
much smaller scale, in Namibia where more than 90% of
the 2 Million inhabitants have access to mobile phones. ing used to enhance the practice of democracy and
For most people living in a rural community cellphones citizenship.The most popular and widely read ‘The Naare the only access to electronic data.
mibian’ newspaper introduced a sms messaging section
in the newspaper in order to provide the public with
Today there are two networks vying for control over a platform to express issues of concern. This column,
the small Namibian market. Mobile Tele-Communica- which started as bi-weekly feature, allowed individuals
tions (MTC) is the oldest network while Leo (in the to send sms messages to the newspaper which could,
beginning known as Cell One) has recently entered depending on the issue, be printed in the paper for the
the market to try and tap into the market. Telecom country to see. This column has taken on a life of its
Namibia, with virtually no market share, is crawling in own and is now a daily feature with a full page devoted
on distant third. Despite the lack of competitors and to sms messages. In many instances issues raised in the
the small market there have been benefits for mobile column are addressed by the appropriate organization
phone users. The scramble for the customer base re- or government department in a letter to the public
sulted in dramatic decrease of starter packs as well as (published in the same newspaper).
other specials. While starter packs used to cost more
than N$ 200 during the time MTC was alone in the The biggest challenge for mobile telecommunications
market (circa 1998) the price has decreased to under is still coverage. The country is just too big for mobile
N$ 50 for both networks. In addition both networks networks to cover. A good example of this difficulty
have introduced calling specials such as free call hour was raised in the sms column of ‘The Namibian’ newsas well as free minutes. The most popular of these spe- paper on the (15th January 2010):
cials is the Aweh service which allows those who are
registered to call 10 of their contacts for free as well Can MTC please bring their network coverage to Otjias call free at night and on weekends. This week long uaneho and Omungondo so that all the villages nearby
special has become so popular that it is the cause for can have access to the network? We have to climb trees
to connect to the network and even this doesn’t always
network overload.
work. Otjinene is very far please help us. Otjinene residents
The Omba photographers and others like them can
take pretty pictures, even if they are in low quality, and The sms service is also being used to fight crime. By
send the pictures to their friends. This is fun but still sending a message to a dedicated number citizens are
lacks the viral interaction that consumes the market able to alert law enforcement agencies to pending
and turns a trend into movements. There is another or ongoing criminal activities. During the presidential
aspect of the technology which has engulfed the Na- elections in November 2009, some independent elecmibian community with a feverish frenzy; that is the tion watchdogs also had similar initiatives to gather inshort message service or sms. This is by far the most formation about the election process. In the years to
utilized feature of cellphones. Recently the popularity come it will be interesting to see how the technology
of mobile instant messaging as the most widely used will bridge the illiteracy divide.
mobile application among South African youth was recognized as a viable communication tool to and among Browsing the internet is the third and increasing growthe youth. The need to stay connected with friends in ing use of mobile phones but is currently limited to
get updates in real-time have made MIM services such urban youths. With the social media revolution having
as MXit a mainstay in youth culture. In fact, during Pres- trickled through to the streets of Windhoek, Ondanident Obama’s first visit to Africa the president’s team gwa and other major towns young people are using
used the medium quite effectively to interact with Af- their phones to stay connected with their friends onrican youth. Its simplicity of use, immediate nature of line with social media such as Facebook. For now it
delivery and affordability has always pushed it as a fa- seems unlikely that an illiterate communal farmer in
the rural area will find any benefits in a Facebook provourite above costly phone calls.
file.
In Namibia the war of the networks has made sms
messaging virtually costless. Simply by registering for Considering the trend in rural Namibia and the lack
one of the many offers one qualifies for a large amount of infrastructure in most African countries, it is safe to
of free sms messages. And it is these free sms messages assume that cellphones and the sms messaging service
that have become the primary source of communica- they offer will define the future of rural communication for most mobile phone users.The use of sms mes- tions.
saging beyond pure leisure and basic communication
has already begun to take shape. The medium is be-
jm 11
joint mag ] DECEMBER 2010
The Impact of Deforestation on Agriculture
))Karen Asante
Deforestation in historical settings has caused economic hardships and misery to humans. In the early 1980’s
a particularly bad rainfall led to a major decline in food
production in some parts of Africa. This led to a shortage of food crops which affected the livelihoods of many
local people. Even though people had the money, food
crops were not available to buy; and individuals had to
experiment with all kinds of leaves in order to survive.
The occurrences in the 1983 famine, to me, represents
the likely impact of deforestation on agricultural practices and, consequently, food supply in the world.This is,
because practices of cutting down trees for firewood,
herbal medicine, and crop cultivation has increased over
time. Peter Fisk in his book People, Planet and Profit
estimates that “every year we destroy 44 million acres
of forest. We lose 100 million acres of farmland, cutting
down trees, diverting natural irrigation, and creating 15
million acres of new desert around the world”. If these
estimations represent practices in the real world, then
we need to start taking precautionary measures to prevent history from repeating itself.
There is a dual relationship between deforestation and
agricultural practices. On the one hand farm lands must
be cleared for crop production; and on the other clearing of forests create negative conditions for successful
farming. A major impact of deforestation on agriculture
is the likely increase of production cost and the possibility of yield decreases. This can occur because deforestation deprives the earth surface of the shade that
it needs to keep moist and rich for cultivation. As a result, farm lands dry up and lose its nutrients over time.
Farmers would therefore have to spend more money
to fertilize in order to improve crop yield and quality.
Secondly, the loss of canopy for the earth leads to high
temperature changes that can affect the crops and livestock. Climatic conditions become difficult to predict
and farmers may find themselves victims of low yield as
a result of low rainfall or drought. These consequences
jm 12
joint mag ] DECEMBER 2010
will trickle down to society at large causing high levels of food shortage around the world. It is therefore
important for farmers to understand the concept of
ecosystems and how the earth’s resources are linked
and interdependent on each other for survival. This understanding can help them devise farming methods that
will minimise deforestation, but increase food production and supply.
In 1989, Ehui and Hertel conducted research to test
the impact of deforestation on aggregate agricultural
productivity, using Côte d’Ivoire as a case study. Côte
d’Ivoire was a good test case as the country had been
involved in rapid deforestation. Their research results
indicated that deforestation “contributed positively to
yields” in the short-run due to the nutrient content of
ash. However, “increases in the cumulative amount of
deforested land caused yields to fall”. Their report also
mentioned that continuous increase in cumulative deforested lands would cause a more than proportionate
decline in aggregate yield. If these research outcomes
still hold true today, then we are bound to have food
shortages in the near future. This is, because deforestation has continued to an even larger extent since
1989, so the decline in yields should be getting worse.
Recently, Fisk has confirmed this trend estimating that
“deforestation will reduce crop yields across Africa by
33%, adding to the hunger”. This raises alarm for legislation that will cause the culprits of deforestation to
act responsibly. Probably, some of our farmers are not
aware that some of their farm practices, such as land
rotational farming and bush burning as a means of clearing their lands, are contributing factors to the problem.
In that case, government should sensitize farmers in rural communities about these issues. Stakeholders in this
industry must learn to improve in a way that will not
only reduce the impact of their activities on society but
rather contribute to making the planet sustainable.
ALUMNI PROFILE
Interview with Claudia Hargarten
JM: Hello Claudia. You are one of the first Genera- CH: What I cherish most and still benefit from are
tion 3 alumni we feature here – can you tell us a little
definitely the good talks and lively discussions we had.
Exchanging ideas and fully sharing common, as well as
differing views and perceptions does not only enable
After I had been travelling and working in you to look beyond your own horizon, but also to reSouthern Africa for about a year, I studied Internation- think your own viewpoint.
al Development Studies at the University of Vienna, in
Austria. During this time, I attended additional courses At least as much – even if partly unexpected for an only
on Human Rights and Justice at the University of Utrechild - I enjoyed being in a group and undergoing
cht in the Netherlands and also gained further practical
everything with each other in this sense of togetherexperience with working at a refugee-camp in India or
ness. I remember how lost I felt on the first day after the
doing an internship with UNODC. Having completed
programme; although we separated in my own home
my studies in summer 2010, I am now participating in
town. That’s why I also appreciate the good progress we
a young professional programme by the BMZ (Federal
are making with our network, realizing that it is really
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development).
something we can build on for the future.
Among others, the programme will lead me to Nairobi,
where I will work in a project that seeks to promote soHow do you envision German-African relacial justice, reconciliation and national cohesion in cooperation with the Kenyan truth commission, which tionships in 10 years? What can specifically German
was established in consequence of the 2007/2008 post technical cooperation contribute to the continent;
election violence.
and what could be a reciprocal effect on Europe/Germany?
So your job will lead you to Kenya soon. What
In 2020, I hope that German- African relationare your expectations towards your new surroundships are more of a partnership than they are at present.
ing?
Considering that environmental protection becomes
That’s a good question. I think I expect a vibrat- more and more important, this topic can become a
ing and exciting city, no more snow, traffic, maybe a bit valuable and reciprocal link between us and a common
chaos in the beginning, but then also a new home and basis for our future. Global environmental concerns
friends. But above all, I expect a challenging work. Re- rarely stay on the spot but extend beyond country borgarding Kenya’s crucial political phase at the moment- ders. This growing interdependence demands cooperawith a new constitution and the International Criminal tion and partnership rather than one-sided aid. And this
Court taking up work by recently naming six major per- is certainly, where German technical cooperation could
petrators of the post election crimes- I expect to see step in. At the moment, the GTZ supports regional netand experience political, as well as, social changes and works, such as the Sustainable Forest Management and
dynamics. For that reason, I am glad to be in Kenya dur- Conservation Project in cooperation with SADC, or the
Rioplus- programme to support international standards
ing this interesting and eventful time.
of environmental policy. In the long-run, it would be
Looking back at your GAGG programme: what desirable to extend these networks by German or European partners.
elements did you take away from it / do you cherish
most looking back to it now?
bit about yourself?
CH:
JM:
JM:
CH:
CH:
JM:
jm 13
joint mag ] DECEMBER 2010
joint
mag
Perspectives on German-African futures
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